WIMorrison

1 hour ago, melmerby said:

Doesn't the Macbook also run iOS?

No, a MacBook runs MacOS 😉

It is extremely robust and suites automation perfectly as Andreas has worked extensively with the program authors, especially iTrain, to ensure it meets the requirements and needs.

at the recent Dortmund Fair, iTrain and Lodi shared a stand with each other - I think that says it all.

Automation doesn’t need to have any knowledge of electronics, and it doesn’t detract in anyway from modelling - it is actually to the contrary because it introduces an aspect of operation that can make the layout much more authentic. 

If you want intensive and constant train movement then automation is the answer to that challenge.

I think it is the app that is the attractive concept 😉

Some electronic items will have current limiting devices included within the design to protect them which means it doesn’t matter how much you throw at them you will never get more out.

Others, generally at the cheaper end will take whatever you throw at them and pass it through to the output, however in the process of passing the excess current through the items are wrecked because they were not designed for said, excess input. The extra heat generated can also cause fires.

Whether the Hornby item is in the former or latter category I don’t know, however I would assume it is in the latter and only use the recommended power input.

The Multimaus is an extra, costing around £100 and well worth the money IMHO.

Programming via the App is simple, but not as a simple as programming via a computer and as you are buying a Z22 I would look at installing JMRI and using decoder pro, by far the easies way to program locos that does involve using paid for programs.

I also don’t think you can do it from the app in the way you describe, but as @jpendle states you can do it easily from the Multimaus.

You can use categories to reduce the number of locos that appear on screen. You select the category and then get a reduced list to see what locos are listed.

I have fitted goodness know how many Zimo decoders over many years and any running issues have always been found to be with the 'extras', e.g. lights, wiring, pickups, etc never with the decoder (probably true of all the other decoders also.)

I would start fault finding by removing the 'extra' items you added, such as the LAIS unit. and see if that removal resolves the issue you see.

Hasn’t caused me any issues with the temperature varying from below freezing to the recent extremely warm summers.

1 hour ago, Derekl said:

Except that, unless i am missing something, this isn't your layout, so the fact that you solder all the joiners doesn't really help the OP with his question. (Unless you are the OP under a changed identity).

On the contrary, it is very relevant.

If the OP (or anyone else) doesn't have enough power connections from the bus to the track and is relying on rail joiners then that is a route to problems, and those problems can be overcome by soldering the rail joiners to the rail. I use this technique regularly and it is very effective.

Many manufacturers do provide the detailed specifications for the decoders, certainly the OEM do, though I agree that most rebadged seller don’t - probably because you could then find out the OEM of the rebadged decoder.

NMRA also provide size guidelines for many decoders.

A major factor in whether you will feel anything is the skin on your hands and the condition of said skin at the time. If you are a manual worker then you are liable to have thicker skin on your hands than an office worker and this will affect the resistance of the skin. It is also true that some people have something we used to call 'rusty hands' because they had a natural tendency to be damp from sweat and the effect of them touching any clean, untreated metal surface was a rusty fingerprint on the workpiece after a period where they had touched the item. These people had to wear gloves to stop this effect.

if it was warm and/or your hands were just slightly damp (perhaps you had washed them just before the shock) then you will almost certainly feel something, but if it was DC then you would not feel it constantly, only when the initial contact was made.  If you felt it constantly, which is what you seem to suggest)  then it was not a DC supply from a battery that you were feeling, but an AC supply which would suggest that something was connected that you thought was switched off.

All systems require you to specify the address to undertake PoM and if you are able to read the CVs then you have decoders that have Railcom.

By default Railcom operating is enabled on the z/Z21 and it also also enabled by default on decoders which have Railcom as part of the instruction set.

Change CV29 by reading the value and if it is even add one to the value, if it is odd then subtract one.

My shed regularly falls to zero (and below) over the winter and I have to leave the stock in the car overnight prior to exhibitions yet nothing has ever suffered from the temperature.

Does the dummy car have any load on the motor pins of the dummy car decoder? 

Some excellent decoders at very affordable prices from Tramfabreik. You will get what you want for ⅔ the price of the one that you quote.

Decoders (tramfabriek.co.uk)

I have used these for a while now, absolutely no complaints about them. They are widely used in Europe, just not known in the UK.

1 hour ago, CFL said:

The only bugbear is programming decoders, the Z21 can operate a separate programming track  but the z21 cannot so the only option is POM

This isn't a totally correct statement.

All you need to do to get a programming track for a z21 (and other systems that don't have a separate programming output) is to place a DPDT switch inline with the command station output connected to the common terminals. The main track is then one position of the switch and the programming track is the other position.

Roco z/Z21 app and other systems - DCC Discussion Topics (not questions) - RMweb

The charge only applies to ‘foreign systems’. If you are using the app with a z/Z21 command station then it will have no effect and it will continue to operate fully and without restriction.

Roco have decided to start monetising the z/Z21 app which you have previously downloaded for free from the Apple App or Google Play store.

The latest version will now allow you control ONE loco with the free version or your entire current and future fleet if you pay a one off fee for the app which varies by country but would appear to be £17.99 in the UK. I also understand that feedbacks will not work when you are using a foreign system, however they will continue to operate as normal with a Roco Z/Z21.

What surprises me is not that Roco has done this, it is how long it has taken them to do the same as all the other app developers who charge for their products.

The HM7000 is cost effective for 3 or less locos, above that it is more expensive than using the Lenz digital starter set mentioned above and cheap decoders, though it will provide you with a form of sound that the alternate solution - and this is assuming that the scale being operated can be fitted with the HM7000 decoders.

Ron

do you have a link to this set? I can only find a Lenz starter set at around £350 but would have a use for this simple set - if I could find it 😀