simmo009

I will have to disagree with you on that one. If that were the case, it would not run with the blanking plug either. The variable is the chip, ergo, that is the item to investigate. QED. Back to the shop we go.

As you can see, even though the chip pins are a tad longer, there is sufficient space for them not to protrude any further than the blanking chip. Also there is 0% chance of chassis contact. Body contact is not an issue as the problem manifests itself with the body off. We tested on the club circuit tonight with exactly the same results as I had at home.

So, the guy at the club forgot to bring his chip tester. But the consensus is that it is a chip issue.

I haven't even put the body back on. There looks to be plenty of space provided, the chip is quite small.

The pins are slightly longer on the chip than the plug. I have tried pulling the chip back to replicate the depth of the blanking plug, it makes no difference. Putting the blank back in, it works just fine. The socket on this model stands vertical from the chassis, so no possibility of contact with the pins. I will put some pictures up this evening (hopefully).

One of the guys at the club is bringing a chip tester, but that's not till next Monday. Anything in the meantime will be much appreciated.

Hello all. I am in search of your insight. I have a new Bachmann 1f, DCC ready for a 6 pin chip. Sweet runner in both directions during running in on DC loop with the blanking plug in place. So, time for the chip, a Zimo MX617N, brand new. Onto the programming track, immediate shorting out. Back to the DC loop, same thing. Yes, I have checked and rechecked the orientation of the chip, exactly as the Bachmann & Zimo instructions tell me. Incidentally, the DCC system is Z21 Black, everything else running perfectly. Does anyone have any ideas?

Well, if you must, the plan can be made to work with Setrack, but you will need a wider board, probably 2' rather than 1'. The 6' 6" x 1' board is in blue. Second pic is with a 2' wide board. Thanks to SCARM.

Total rethink in progress.

Yes, some of the curves are tight, but all are larger than 2nd radius, so it should be ok. Noted about the proximity to the edge, bit of fiddling required. The passenger trains won't go into the fiddle yard, that is for the numerous short goods trains to move to and from. I will look at reversing the branch line, there is space on board C, it should give a better balance. Food for thought David, thanks, given me some ideas. Cassettes are under consideration in lieu of a fiddle yard. There is plenty of storage room beneath A & B. I will play some more tonight.

That is a fair point. The boards can be made into smaller sub units if necessary. I am trying to cut down the number of connections, both timber and electrical to be honest. My trump card in all of this, its my living room, and I can do what I like with it, there is no SWMBO to overrule any decision. The full room is nearly 6m sq, so this will only take up about half of it. I am thinking it will be more or less permanent, but i want to retain some flexibility.

And finally Boards C, D & E.

Ok, 1 at a time then. The last one was Board F, the fiddle yard. This is Boards A & B.

Here you go. I hope this worked. Yes, if the width is a little less I can lose it off the fiddle yard.

Greetings all. I am planning a new layout, and have been playing around in SCARM for quite a while. Got to say I find it very user friendly. After many iterations, I have come up with the following arrangement of the baseboards (see attachment). The black line is the wall. It is an interior wall, so no window access to worry about. There is a door at X, but there is an alternative access point to the room, so this can potentially be restricted access. I have written the sizes of the individual boards in rationalized metric, i.e 2400mm actually equals 8'. Boards A & B will be permanent. C & D will need to be detachable and be stored adjacent to A & B. E will need to incorporate a lifting section / access point. F will need to be removable also. So, what do I want to realize with this? 00 gauge. DCC control. 1960 - 1965 BR, Eastern region. (I have no particular area or route in mind, but the rolling stock I have lends itself to this area). I am looking to have 5 or 6 carriage passenger trains on a double track mainline. Plus a branch line, goods yard and various traffic generating industries to build a timetable around. My current plans will follow shortly once i get them into an acceptable format. Red is passenger, blue is branch, green is goods and yellow is fiddle yard. For the passenger lines, I plan on having two consists each way "living" in the loops, and there will also be a spare locomotive for each one housed in the shed for variety. The innermost passenger loop is for the factory traffic. The majority of the loop area will be behind a back scene. The goods loops will have two long trains to circulate, other drop off short goods trains will come on and off circuit from the fiddle yard. Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Firstly, how do I put an image in the body of the text?

34, thanks, will bear that in mind in future, but a new chip is going to go in anyway.

Gilbert, bang on sir, fitted a blanking plug, all sweet as a nut. Going to get a new chip anyway. Does anyone sell blanking plugs?

I was thinking that way. The chip was already fitted, no identification on it. Will try and dig out a blanking plug and give it a whizz.

Greetings. I have recently acquired The Talisman Train Pack at a bargain price. The loco is an A3, Sandwich. Hornby service sheet is 284B. First time on track, nothing. Inspection revealed a loose wire to the top drawbar plate. Problem solved I thought. But nothing. I have oiled etc. Just in case it needed it, and spun the motor up with direct power, all is excellent. Also, I checked the wiper contacts and made some small adjustments. Then checked continuity in every way I could think of. What I have noticed is that there is no continuity from the right side main wheel set (viewed from above) to any other part of the loco. I figure there should be something, or why fit pick ups on this side? Everything looks to be in order with respect to the service sheet, so what am I missing? Any thoughts and suggestions welcome. Incidentally, a DCC decoder is fitted, but I am testing on DC at the moment. I don't believe this should be part of the problem, but please correct me if I am wrong.

Hi all. I used to enjoy this great hobby in my younger years, but life has got in way, so it has been 30+ yrs since I have been involved. My nephew has got the bug, and my sister volunteered me as the family 'expert'! So, I immersed myself in YouTube. My, how things have moved on. With DCC, it seems what I dreamt of long ago is more possible. So, as well as helping my nephew, I will be building my own layout. I have joined my local club, and most useful it has been. Forgive any inane questions, but I am sure not everything is as blindingly obvious as it appears sometimes.