Ouroborus

40 minutes ago, Pillar said:

I've been test running my T&W PTE version. In general it runs ok, but at low speeds and when starting off it has quite a severe 'cogging' effect. Has anyone else experienced this with theirs or am I looking at a faulty example?

 

I'm running it on a Loksound V5 from Legomanbiffo (which is excellent as always).

Same with mine

1 minute ago, adb968008 said:

Realtrack has 1 motor, centrally mounted under the body with two drive shafts, one to each axle.

below is an image of both..

 

upper image is the EFE one, you can see the two 2mm brass fly wheels  off the ends of the two motors mounted to the axles.

 

The lower one is the Realtrack mount, which is actually more reminiscent on the new class 158, and 121.. a central motor going directly at low level to the axles.

 

imo that Realtrack drive mechanism is better than the twin motor set up on the EFE one, which I fear may in the future be prone to problem or failure, given its small size and risk of fighting each other over time.

 

 

Apologies, yes, should have been clearer in what I posted.

I wasn't exactly thrilled with the running of my Realtrack version, it was much noisier and i seem to have lost directional lights at one end.  Still, it has stood a while.

The dcc on the EFE is bloody weird.

The more i watched the EFE trundle back and forth, the more i thought of the Hornby 142.  Aside from the lighting...

5 hours ago, adb968008 said:

I’m all good.

 

As Lyneux said on the other page, I care, so I tend to go deep into it. Sometimes maybe I come across too passionate.

(though i’m not admitting to counting rivets).

 

 

hope you get well !..

i thought at one point you were going REM though…

 

 

 

Ive bought plenty of Realtrack 143’s (its assembly is a pain in the butt). Ive bought one EFE… its assembly is a bit ho-hum too. I hope the 142 learns from both. ive a guess which factory I think made this EFE 143 now ive been through it end to end, but not one of the names so far. Its got the tinest fly wheels on those twin motors ive seen in oo… Why its got twin motors in one coach, and nothing in the other seems odd.. plus it means two different chassis… maybe it was a rush, shortcut ?.. i’m worried the twin motors longevity in the efe one, especially if one dies making the whole unit useless.

 

If it were me designing this i’d have done it the same way as BR.. treat the chassis as a wagon frame, inside the frame of the coach, so it drops out as a cradle. Both attempts here are a faff and messy to dissassemble. Hornbys for that matter wasnt much better but was easiest of the lot, even if its oversized for its day. Personally I think just give it one motor and traction tyres, or grooved wheels, end the pain…
 

 

.

Just to clarify, both the EFE and Realtrack have twin motors in one car and the other free running.  On the Realtrack version, the cogs are exposed.  The EFE will spin its wheels very 'happily' and slow running is poor.    Unless you really want the livery, I don't think it's worth the money

6 hours ago, HExpressD said:

Very much looks like from the Hornby statement that it *has* been stolen. I'd assume they know

Well, its like this.  You order a model train from Hattons.  It comes in the post but the packaging is open.  Everything looks in place, but can you be sure until you've gone through everything you're expecting?  And when you have, has it been pinched, lost or never packed in the first place?

The story i heard wasn't so much that stock *had* been stolen, but that it *may* have been stolen and was being investigated.

My solar and battery install was also around £11k.  Seems about the going rate.

My battery and inverter was fitted to an outside wall.  Over the weekend I fitted a Keter plastic shed (a tall one) over the install and bought some kingspan to make an insulated box for the battery.   Now it might just be coincidence, but it seems to have a noticeable positive effect on the ability of the battery to charge up.

Speaking of batteries, mine comes with the GivEnergy software.   Over the weekend i read that different providers configure their batteries to charge in different ways.  I had assumed that the panels charged the batteries until full and after that, exported back to the grid.  But not so, and GivEnergy export to the grid when its thinks its most beneficial for you to do this.  In other words, if it thinks you'd be better off exporting, it'll forgo charging the battery.  Being on a rotary meter, this doesn't make any difference to me, but if i was on a smart meter, i think I'd be a bit twitched on how this was set up.

Just to add on to the point from Darrel, later models replaced the plane plastic couplings with ones which had electrical connections.  You can still order these as a spare part and its a straight swap

7 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

What dates did valley lines livery run through ?

Valley Lines operated 96 to 2001, but you can find examples in the livery much later.

Make your own minds up.

Happy memories of riding on these units.  Couldn't resist.  Dummy couplings in the box

Hiya Fran.  are the decoders on their way out?

3 hours ago, Bob83a said:

Does anyone know if it will be possible to set-up the sound decoders as a matched pair. By that I mean the one decoder operates slightly differently, e.g on An HST the horn only works in the forward direction on the leading power car or the startup of the rear power car is delayed a couple of seconds. This has been done by several sound project developers on ESU decoders.

 

Despite Hornby selling the TTS HST decoders in pairs I don’t think it was possible to change the sounds in this way. I.e the TTS HST decoders were just packaged in pairs.

 

The TXS decoders are not being sold in pairs and anyway the sound project is downloaded separately. I would assume the TXS decoders are being sold with no sound project installed or some generic sound.

Its not the answer to the question you asked, but when i had the TTS decoders in my HST, the stereo effect was mighty odd.  To get around it, I put a paxman chip in one end and a valenta in the other.  Not ideal, but it broke up the effect of sync'd stereo.

Still waiting on the chips to test mine.  Busy times with the mk5s!

59 minutes ago, No Decorum said:

May I ask how you expected it to run? I have four of these models. I fitted three with decoders and they run well but I don’t use them much for fear of wrecking them. The fourth has no decoder. I ran it in the hope that running would improve it but it got worse and worse. Essentially, running in wrecked its performance and it will now only jerk.

Yes, you picked up on my careful use of words.  It ran last night for over 4 hours on DC.  A little jerky at first, but then settled down.  I'd call the running smooth, it didn't waddle or rock, but all those gears make it noisy.   I did have some trepidation because my other DJM models don't fill me with confidence that they won't pack up, but so far so go.   For the money (£50), I'm happy with it.

Yet to test, but turned up just now seemingly still sealed.

edit. - runs as expected 

49 minutes ago, Brian Indge said:

Never mind Rod Stewart, I’d have Montana on my layout anytime! As well as Simon of course.

sooooo tempted to follow this up with a quip.  Must resist.....

47 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Wasn't suggesting that they'd taken the huff, but clearly others had been taking the proverbial with Spinal Tap costing people in lost income that resulted in them taking back control and setting up their own company.  Maybe it that was that lax attitude that led Hornby to believe they could do what they were doing.

Spinal Tap rode on the coat tails of Bad News

One of these things is not like the others

12 hours ago, spamcan61 said:

I really can't agree with that, the lighting is very uneven, all 4 of my coaches are the same, so I assume this is normal.

 

Not sure.  This is mine.  And by contrast, the APT taken in the same light 

I found taking the body off was ok.  Putting it back was harder.   Had a bit of a struggle with the nose end.  Take your time.  There are a few bits that are easy to knock off

I started to remove the body at the nose end, but did have to do a double take to see where the chassis ends and the body begins.  Tip - its underneath, not at the side.  I took one fine shim either side and worked it away from the nose end.  Careful.  There are a number of parts its easy to get the wrong side of.  As i got the shims towards the middle, a couple more shims went back in at the nose.  It came apart ok.

While it was off, i fitted a driver.  The seat is narrow, so test fit for fatties first.  I also fitted the destination boards.  Check the destination is correct and you have it the right way up.  A little smear of static grass adhesive held it in.  Again, with the side destination boards check you have the correct destination and the correct coach letter

The dcc blanking plug was stiff.  I bent a pin on removing it, but seem to restraighten reasonably well and then the dcc chip did the rest 

I have to say, the coach lighting is the best I've seen.  You may find it dim, but turn your room lights off and they've nailed it.  You realise that most other coach lighting is way too bright.  The tables are lit absolutely beautifully 

Strange thing.  After breaking my J94, I browsed ebay to see if i could get spares for my Mech Navvies.  I didn't hold up hope.  But i found one, in fact the seller had ten, each at £59.  Plus another NCB J94, with ten available of this type too.  The seller is in Liverpool.

On 08/01/2023 at 13:30, The Stationmaster said:

They do?????  I read this and immediately looked at their website - where every Class 89 price they show includes VAT, and says so.  What exactly are you looking at and where are you looking from; somewhere outside the UK perhaps where no doubt they would exclude VAT because UK Vat doesn't apply?

 

And yes - we seem to be in agreement that KR's website is a mess.  It still strikes me as weird, and unprofessional, that somebody selling British outline models into the UK from a foreign country - or indeed selling to any other country - does not make clear on their headline ('come on') price that it does not include VAT. (or any other local sales tax).  And of course none of this explains where that extra 25%, on top of UK VAT, has come from.

 

They do.  And at the risk of repeating myself, here is another screenshot.  As pre previous, Accurascale website is advanced and uses cookies to determine your ip site.  Wait long enough and you'll get the price in your currency and including VAT where the cookie determines it.

But your post did make me notice something on their website regards the BNPL (buy now.pay later) option (Clearpay) and given a number here have piled onto KR Models about varying pricing, what do you see here?  Mistakes happen, even to the best of us.

26 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said:

 

Could somebody justify the idea that it is OK to post an early EOI on here and to then pick people's brains for information , rather than paying a researcher?

I await a response with interest.

Bernard

 

You perhaps need to be more careful in your wording.   I could only find two posts (Bulleid and Clayton) that were made "on here"  that sought an EOI.   Other EOIs postings were not made by KR Models and linked from elsewhere.

Regards your second point, do you have any evidence that that they haven't paid for a researcher?

Seeking opinions "on here" and elsewhere (they are more active elsewhere), seems fraught with faded photos and dimming memories.  There are plenty of threads where opinions were divided about whether the roof/lining/etc was dark grey/black/primrose yellow/etc.   The problems of recollection must only be worse when you're fishing from a barrel of increasing obscurity.

Finally, the tired argument of 'their doings have stopped someone else'.   If there is sufficient demand and people sufficiently prepared to stump up, then surely someone else will have a go?    I think some people really need to take their blinkers off - the runaway success of the lo-fi Hornby 66 showed that for many, 'good enough' will do if the price is right.  KR Models are a business out to make money, not to appease the high standards of a minority and i would have thought that keeping production costs low was sensible practice when the number of units sold will be a tiny fraction of, say, a class 37.  

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

It says it, quite clearly, next to the item price on Accurascale's  website - like this (an item I picked at random just now)

 

 

Compare that with this item taken at random off KR's website after I'd copied the A/S item.  It just  simply says 'price' which I could take quite reasonably as meaning what I will be paying for that model as the normal rule in the UK is that the quoted price should include VAT - and  note the price is given in sterling so it is obviously a UK price.  If I progress to the next stage it adds another sum - but doesn't say what it is so it could be anything (at that point) from postage to currency adjustment to the tea club fund for all I know.   In reality of course I don't know because it doesn't say what the amount applied to this particular model is and in any case it is actually 25% greater than the appropriate amount of VAT at the relevant rate .  Then at the stage after that it adds a postage cost and says that is what it is, and still leaves you guessing what the second amount is for.

 

 

 

 

Accurascale *does* quote ex-vat, at least initially.  Attached screenshot is class 89.    However, it then updates to an inclusive vat price.  I would guess this is a cookie issue and is detecting the country of your ip and amends the website accordingly.  Certainly the Accurascale website is very well polished and impressive 

KR models website is a complete mess and lists prices in both £ and $.  Shipping is calculated prior to knowing where its going to, so for Bellerophon i ended up with two different prices and two different shipping rates.   In my dim and distant memory i seem to recall being in a McDonald's in LA and finding that the price on the board wasn't what you pay - sales tax was added on separately and after you'd ordered.  Maybe thats how KR models operate, but i agree, its confusing.

Sorry for messy screenshots, editing these on Android isn't much fun.

Just on your last point, "its smart to use smart devices".

I have Hue led bulbs installed throughout my house.  They are "smart" in the sense i can remotely control them.  But they're on all the time regardless of illumination, a constant user of electricity.  The same 'dumb' led would use less energy.   

But i can switch my smart bulbs on and off from bed, i don't need to get up and press a switch to manually turn them on and off.  They also cost me a fortune to install.

Is this "smart"?  Or is it a bulb for lazy people?   Now when you think about smart meters ...

Like you, i like tech, but lets not pretend that all of this is saving money, much of it are expensive labour saving devices.