Sir TophamHatt

How do you update the firmware? Is this a sprog job?

I'm a bit confused on how to program CV29. I have a few hard wired locos that I need to change the Polarity for. Most, if not all have a Lenz Silver Plus v2 in them. The manual suggests there are a few individual settings within CV29 and I'm aware that messing up this particular CV means potentially starting again. The Lenz manual says CV29 but then has 'Bit'with a series of 1-6 for individual settings. It's currently set to default 6 but I don't understand what to change this to if I want to change a coupe of the individual settings, such as Polarity and operational mode. Any advice? Cheers

Yeah, I just thought as they're getting the chips manufactured, they would have some that come joined from the factory. I mean, it's not Ikea That's like buying a ready to run model loco but you have to connect the wires to the motor yourself.

I shave every couple of days or so. I wouldn't expect disposable razors to last much more than 5 shaves. I used to use Gillette fusion (the orange one), which lasted a couple of months maybe? Now I use old school double edge razors. You can pick up decent razors for about £30. I bought mine at around £60, but it's a vintage top of the line - although not as top as others! Blades cost less than a few pence each and last between a couple of weeks and a month. At the price point though, I am happy to let them go when I first feel uncomfortable. Found a great razor and really good blades, so much so I spent £100 on a couple of large packs. The Packs have: 5 blades per individual pack 20 individual packs per punnet 10 punnets per pack Worked out the math and turns out I have shaving blades that will last about 40 years. They're likely to out live me. Not bad for just shy of £100. There are forums dedicated to shaving, which helped me get started. Happy to send a pack out to anyone who uses double edge or even trade for railway goodies

Yeah, ran really nicely on DC - better than others in the range, despite being from the same time - maybe a little newer. I'll open her up as it might be worth sticking the wire inside to make sure it's kept clear of the motor area and giving it a go again before putting the body back on. Although I'dd be surprised if there is anything as there wasn't much wire left. I even cut some slightly shorter so I didn't have to screw them all up. Just glad I left two screws off the front end as they were a pig to get off! Will give it a go over the weekend and report back.

Does anyone have a link to Olivas £43 chip? I geuss if I got a speaker, stuck that and the chip in the loco, I'd have sound?

Just a quick question. I'm pretty much out of decoders, so was looking at this DCC Concepts Zen decoder, but I'm a bit put off that it's a fixed position. They don't seem to supply a 4 function (I guess I need 4 functions for the 08, no sound?) that comes on wires. I have a couple of dead spots on the layout. It's strange though as some trains travel freely over it, others not so much, even though they're both small wheel bases. So the real question is, could a DCC Concepts chip with stay alive fit in the 08 model? Cheers

So just a quick side note on this, buying this: https://www.dccconcepts.com/product/decoder-zen-nano-8-pin-wired-2-function-wstay-alive/ means I get the two pieces seperate, IE, they're not already connected? A bit strange.

I've fitted a whole host of chips (well, pushing on 15), so I'm not a pro, but I understand what I'm doing. I hard wired the decoder into a train (Bachmann Emily) connecting everything as usual. Put it on the program track and gave it a number - 12. Stuck it on the layout and applied power. The train buzzed very quietly but didn't move. After applying a little pressure on the top, it did move, but barely a millimetre. It's like it wants to move but it can't. I didn't particularly check the connections but I'm confident they're okay. Here's some info: OO Gauge Train - Ran fine on DC. DZ123 chip - meant for Z gauge but I needed a small chip. Someone recommended this. I removed the circuit board as usual - It had the normal 2 resistors on it, although this version is very slim compared to others in the range that I've converted. I only need motor functions - There's no lights or anything to worry about. Haven't read the manual as yet - Have printed it and will go through it, but I see there's two versions of this chip. Bought the chip off ebay - The seller wrote "A Digitrax DZ123 DCC Decoder, 8 pin connection lead and plug. Small size, suits N and OO Gauge. Complete with user instructions. Excellent condition. Set to DCC address 3." Haven't changed any CV values - not needed to before (10+ other locos are all on the default settings and work fine). Before I delve into the manual, is there anything else I should do or is it simply a case that the chip doesn't have enough clout to move a OO gauge train? I sort of hope that's not the case as it was one of the most difficult I've completed because of the low space and the way the motor is laid out. I mean, I've read about low space in some locos, but this is really tight.

Ha ha, considering I hadn't seen my grandfathers model in over 10, maybe even 15 years. I typed all sorts of things into Google: German Red Diesel Loco Red Diesel Loco Swiss Red Diesel Loco The same but "orange" instead. The same but "italian". Tried DB, OBB, Lima, Peco but nothing would come close Don't worry, I have some coaches I'm looking for. They're sort of like MK3s but green, probably from Germany. Those are a significantly less of a memory - I literally have "green coaches like MK3s from the continent" to go on. Just got to find a supplier of the 2043 now!

Sorry, I thought I wouldn't need a huge amount of detail. Scale: OO (as per my signature) Make: Hornby / Lima (did anyone else make any?) Age: Old. I don't know how old but I have no doubt it's bulb-type lights, not LED. Don't know about DC as I don't own many other DC locos. Suppose I could connect any old DC loco to it and see what happens. I guess I am simply drawing power from the track for no reason as it'll be like the DC power is on full all the time.

After typing in a huge amount of key words and being unsuccessful, I was going to describe this from memory - something like a Class 60, but red/orange colour with a white roof. However, after typing in words for another train, I managed to find this loco. The words from the photo don't seem to be what the actual loco is. It's from here: https://picclick.it/Locomotiva-Ferrovie-Tedesche-Db-Lima-Ho-Diesel-Come-253292175734.html Can anyone tell me?

Hi, sorry - there's three trains so far: One of the trains is an old German BR 80 tank, probably from the 50s or 60s. I bought a newer one made by ROCO, although I think my original was a Peco version. Another is a Lima L208144-LN Type BB Bm4/4 Diesel. The last one is a Fleischmann railbus 4401 - here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/119512-cleaning-up-the-train/ Thanks

I've a couple of trains that are really old. I suppose I could replace the motor all together (although not sure what will fit or what would be better). So I was looking at replacing the brushes as they seem to be worse than anything else on all three of the trains, despite some cleaning with iso-pro. So long as they fit, can I just buy any?

I have an HST non-powered vehicle that I use as a push around test train to make sure track alignment is okay and such. I was fiddling with it the other day and when putting it back on the layout, the unit buzzed and the lights came on. I didn't realise the lights were even working as they haven't before that I can recall. It doesn't have a DCC chip, but will leaving it on the layout cause any problems? Not particularly planning to leave it on much longer but more out of interest.

I run a loop under my baseboard because I have a basic oval (with a few extra bits). I've connected wires to [the bus wire] using suitcase connectors, sometimes two or three wires coming out of that to the track. I don't have any "filters" or anything like that. I think a lot of these "senior" members, while being very knowledgeable, are at the stage where they can tinker and expand the wiring, hence some of the squabbling. I've ran mine for over a year with no decoder resets, no shorts, no problems. Unfortunately there is no hard facts of what is "best". Some people have a loop, others have two or three lines, some people have their bus wires in stars - all depends on your layout shape but so far, it seems sensible to let the track shape dictate what shape the bus wires should be. If it's an "out and back" rectangle, go for two lines, chocing the ends. Lastly, it's not brain surgery, it's relatively small currents that just need to get to the track. One member I spoke to here says they run DCC and have ONE connection to the track. When laying, they made sure the track was all new and in great condition. They don't understand this bus wire this and that business. They said some people almost had some sort of breakdown when it was mentioned.

How do you buy decoders and decide which to buy? The majority of mine have Lenz Silver+ v2, but there's 3 or 4 that have a Zimo MX600 because it's smaller. I'd rate these as good as each other. I have a couple of Bachmanns in a coulple that need 18 and 21 pins, but the others are pretty much hard wired. I have two with Hattons own brand but these don't run as well, which is a shame. Not sure if I'll look at changing them. I have a few CV settings to tweak first. Do you try and stick to one brand? One dealer? Or just have a hosh tosh of all sorts of different decoders?

Oh I wholeheartedly agree... sort of. eBay doesn't care too much. I regularly offer to complete out of ebay. So long as you word messages correctly, they don't get picked up and happy says all round. But what about the protection I hear you say? Still paying using PayPal Goods and Services gives equal protection. As a seller, if someone wants to cut out the middle man, that's great for me. I've had sellers cancel on me, and cancelled on buyers too for various reasons. I'd say people who truly believe you make contracts on ebay are a little blinded. You may think it's a contract but good luck forcing a seller to send you the item after you bought it, and paid, and then they refunded. Even if they openly say the price was too low. If someone wants to pay 99p, and someone is offering £10, would you really/i] do yourself out of £9? As I say, happens with houses so people don't seem to recognise their conscious in that area. Yes, you may say "no contract has been signed" but when the buyer has obviously spent money on surveys and such, many sellers don't seem to think about that. It makes me question where the cut off is. If someone buys at £30, but someone else offers £100, would that change things? What if they offered £200, or £300, claiming it's "limited edition" or whatever. I can't see many people selling at £30 if they can see it's worth £300 really.

Not always. I've seen things sell and I wasn't concentrating but I missed putting in a bid. Within a few minutes I will have messaged the seller, explained and offered a different amount, with a suggestion I am happy to transfer direct through PayPal, so no ebay fee for them. 9/10 it's turned down. There was a fairly rare book I was interested in. Sold for 99p. I offered the seller £10, they still rejected it. Apart from being a little rubbish to the actual buyer, surely you'd accept a higher offer come what may? As you're selling to make money right? After ebay fees, PayPal fees, the person is likely to get, what 50p? Hardly worth the effort of listing it. So this is where I don't understand people (generally). It happens with houses...

It sort of surprises me there isn't a glut of Hornby MK3s on ebay. Perhaps it's because these are 3as but not exactly the heralding launch I thought it was going to be.

Reporting back: Took apart the train, serviced the motor, cogs - lots of black! A little oil and put it back together again. Put it back on the track, and although it seemed a little happer moving, it shorted again. After much investigation, discovered (sorry for my non-technical terms here), the little puts of metal that push out at the front as the wheels turn; one was catching on the buffer beam bar, which is in turn connected to the metal in the middle of the train, and shorted the circuit out. Removed the buffer beam (for now) and after about 20/30 years of not moving, it came to life. Still a little sparky where the brushes/commutator interface is but certainly on the right path! I'll edit to add photos later.

Ha ha - true. But then if I wanted to make a fair bit of money, I'd buy an ice-cream van.

Depends what version of Windows 7 or 8/8.1 you came from Also depends what your problem is. Asking Microsoft for Support is like asking the wall if it can help you.

I can only apologise my elocution isn't that great sometimes. It's not like the majority of voters didn't realise what I meant though :/

I've bought and sold with best offers before. My problem is that I'm not really into continuing the little game of back and forth, but I don't know if the other person is. If something is £50 with best offer, I may offer something like £40. I'd be happy to pay perhaps £45, but don't want to go in at that as the seller may go down to £49. Perhaps I'll try adding a note saying this is my best offer and go in with the actual best offer. But then I struggle with people who put prices at what they think it's worth, not particularly what it's actually worth. I deal a fair amount in certain Thomas the Tank Engine toys, so know the rare ones, know the ones that are fairly popular. But then I've seen some of the supposedly rare ones go for £120, even when they're not that rare.