CFL

I knew about the headlight (29=2 at the shuttle unit) but it seems the tail light is not operated nor the interior lights. I looked for CV33 in the Uhlenbrock instructions but it is not mentioned, also Uhlenbrock completely ignore standard CVs so finding and programming values is difficult. Yesterday (Friday) I sent an e-mail to Uhlenbbrock asking for the correct entries needed or failing that some clear advice on how to work it all out myself. There could be some fun and games next week. Edit: The standard CV 33 is CV 38 for the Uhlenbrock. This noncomformity is very annoying as you can imagine.

I have two sets of the instructions as I killed the first decoder (and didn't do the expensive Tillig good pulling it to bits multiple times) and I noticed the advanced mapping. The problem is it is advanced as well as the guidance being rather presumptious as to what the modeller already knows. I could try Uhlenbrock again but they weren't of much help when the first decoder went bang and afterwards the info they supplied was often contradictory. I too believe it should be programmable but I don't know where to start at the moment. Back to some serious head scratching and midnight oil I suppose.

I have a Tillig tram with an Uhlenbrock 73236 decoder which I want to put on a shuttle line with a BLOCKsignalling SDCC1 unit, there will not be a DCC controller. On the programming track I can activate f0 (directional lights) and f4 (interior lights) but of course there is no function buttons on the shuttle unit. Does anyone know if there is a CV setting or similar to make the lights illuminate permanently? Thanks in anticipation.

I seem to be a bit late on this one, but on all my ESU light boards (I use the yellow version for old coaches) the first thing i do is hold the pickup wires (the two outer ones) against the board then snip through the tail light LED wires just where they join the soldering pads. I then put the board on my programming track and tweak the little screw to bring the lighting down to match the other carriages, after that assemble the light boards (I fix them with black tack) and assemble the carriage passing the pickup wires down through either the hole in the bogie or any other hole if present. I glue ESU wiper pickups into place on a bogie then when that has dried overnight I clip the wires to length, strip the ends and solder the wires to the pads on the power pickup - no need to worry about polarity as the lighting board has a rectifier. Now the sneaky bit, instead of putting a resistor on the board I simply put a loco on the programming track, IMPORTANT: note the values of the CVs you want to change of the loco. Then, put the carriage on the programming track (mine has an ESU Lok Programmer and ESU Lokprogrammer 5.2.5 on the computer). You can then set the CVs for the coach. Afterwards do not forget to remove the coach then reset the CVs for the locomotive. I have 4 CFL long coaches but the length of my railway means I can only run 2 on 1 train, if the other 2 are in a siding and have a different CV1 then their lights will not come on when you set the coach lights to come on for the train. Incidentally I used a Dymo labeller to mark the coaches as CV1 = 1 and CV1 = 2 for each pair and put the label underneath the relevant coaches. This method seems to work, never seen any smoke so I too suspect you may have removed the red LEDs but left the wires which touched the live rails.

Okay, I tried again on the rolling road, cab 1 forwards and it is okay, still too fast but a tweak of the CVs will fix that, but reverse it with cab 2 forwards and it is off like a scalded cat although oddly in this direction the speed varied slightly. You couldn't see it but could definitely hear it.

I didn't keep a note of the old settings as they were not only wildly incorrect but changed each time I 'read' the CV although they stayed as programmed once I had used the Z21 or ESU programmer. Although bought second hand it didn't seem to pose any obvious problems and I would assume a 3v motor on DCC track would probably buzz like a swarm of bees and emit some of the fabled Lucas smoke. As I said, lights, sounds etc (factory fitted and there are quite a few) work perfectly

I have a Piko Expert V 60 (52826) which when I put on the programming track showed some weird settings. I re-programmed the chip with my Z21 and tablet, it then kept to my settings but when I set it to run it took off like an ICE. Being a Plux 22 and me a fan of ESU I bought a new ESU decoder (the relevant Piko decoder was nowhere to be found), I then popped the loco on the programming track fitted with an ESU programmer, big surprise the chip in the loco was an ESU LokPilot 5 DCC. Anyway I fitted the new LokPilot 5 DCC decoder and set the decoder up with the computer after first checking for an update to the programmer or chip (none). Again all went correctly, both the CVs and Functions, but again when told to trundle gently down the track it did the ICE impersonation. Now I really don't think both the decoders could be faulty and more to the point only when told to move slowly, so what is going wrong? While awaiting your erstwhile replies I shall fold a dunces hat and stand in the corner, the one by the railway cupoard.

Has any one tried fitting DCC to a Rivarossi 1379 that is a BR18, ex 3/6. The seller claims it can be retrofitted but is this a plug in decoder or soldering a festoon of fine wires? There is no indication of either from the seller other than it can be retrofitted with DCC. Thanks, Ian

I just checked and the Roco R2 is 30° so it looks like I'm good to go. Thanks to you both for your information, Ian

I have a Roco Alpspitz Bahn set replete with a rack loco, obviously it would be a shame to waste this by running on the flat so I need a mountain. I was thinking of an oval with R4 at the bottom, R3 in the middle and R2 just before the train pops out at the top with straights slightly longer than the train between the semi-circles. How does that sound? For the elevation I was thinking of going for the Woodland Scenics Riser system. I've read some write ups and watched Youtube and by all accounts it is easier to work with and much lighter than wood, plus being a system there is little (guess)work to be carried out. Does anybody have any experience of this stuff because it isn't exactly cheap, but the good news is there is a supplier in Holland so no silly tax.

One problem with the dual gauge Tillig track is the price, although other people have mentioned where to get it in the UK it is readily available in the EU - but still at a price to make you wince.

So all was going swimmingly then I turned the boards over to attach with the double sided tape supplied and I am back to square one. I'm starting to get paranoid: the Austrians are out to get on my already ragged nerves.

Okay, I set the LEDs to their, apparently, lowest setting but being warm white they still didn't seem to fit in to my eyes. Then I remembered that, several years ago, I had a garden railway and on the forum was a member who was almost tearing his hair out adding electrical components to dim the LEDs in his buildings due to light bleed. After a while I suggested he might try my method of simply putting some yellow paint on the LEDs, let the paint dry and if still to bright try a second dab etc, it worked! So yesterday I put a little bit of paint on the LEDs (making sure not to cause a short) and now they look the business, not too bright and a warm yellow colour. A thank you to all who contributed although I still feel like a turnip!

D'oh, whilst staring into my my beer last night I had a thought 'polarity', could I have crossed the wires between the pickups and the light bar somewhere? Back home and out with the trusty multimeter and indeed the coach with chip was wired L/H rail to L/H power feed but the other was wired L/H rail to R/H power feed. Out with the soldering iron again this morning and hey presto, I feel like a turnip. The LEDs are still too bright though.

Me again. I bought a new Roco light bar and just fitted it to the coach that wouldn't light up, and guess what? Still the same. One carriage has to have a decoder to illuminate the LEDs and the other won't light up if a decoder is fitted, I swapped things around in pretty well every way imaginable. I have to say the LEDs are way too bright and the light bars get hot, not warm but ouch. I don't understand Roco, this is a train where the loco has tiny bulbs that flicker to give the impression of oil lamps, the carriages as said require Ray Bans for the Preiser passengers and the baggage wagon came as a big kit with enough to do two or three models but a miserly two bulbs (non flickering). I think I should have bought my preferred ESU decoders, although like I said it doesn't seem to be the decoders that are at fault.

Thanks indeed, I was just about to look for a brick wall to bash my head against. I did indeed find the CVs for dimming the lights, and as you suggest have a suspicion that one PCB is duff so a new one might be needed but at € 27 a go they are not quite cheap. So tomorrow my Visa gets a go but in future I think I will stick with my beloved and trusted ESU chips. Here goes nothing...

I did do the installation myself. Okay, after an hour with a soldering iron (in case I had crossed the feeds from the wheels to the lighting PCB on one carriage) and then back to the programming track and everything is exactly the same, I even did a reset to factory on both chips but no joy. The only thing I can think of is that one carriage i.e. one PCB is refusing to work with the chip, is that possible seeing as the LEDs light up without the chip but the other PCB will only light up with the chip? The Z21 maintains it cannot read the CVs, incidentally the lighting kits came with a list of CVs for the decoder 10880 but this is dicontinued, I thought the 40420 was the newer version? Or, as usual, am I wrong again. I would write to Roco but from experience I know they are more than a little tardy in replying.

I did indeed RTFM, then placed both carriages on the same programming track before setting the CVs. Interesting to note that Roco tell you which CVs to change but fail to point out that these are Zimo decoders (MX630P16) with a different coloured box. Perhaps even more interesting is that the Z21 claims to be able to read & write to Zimo but this is patently not true. Equally, why will one carriage work from track power (I understand that) but the other refuses? Put in the same or the other chip and the other coach goes dark. By the way, according to the Zimo booklet that comes with the chips CV 33 and CV 34 are for Swiss mapping. Wonderful. These are the ones Roco suggest you change.

Okay, I have the 2 Roco Alpspitzbahn coaches (74506 & 75407) both fitted with Roco light units 40420 as they suggest and each with a Roco 10895 decoder. Of the 2 carriages 1 will önly work with a chip fitted, the other will only not work with a chip fitted but does work when the chip is removed. It isn't the chips or CV settings as I swapped them from carriage to carriage in all the possible variations, but I keep getting the same result. Incidentally the LEDs are very bright (that is why I chipped the carriages, to dim the lights by changing the values in the relevant CVs) and they get surprisingly hot. Anybody got any ideas before I put the rooves back on and watch the plastic melt

Strange that you mention that, I recently fitted an Uhlenbrock decoder where there is a CV to finish setting the chip and the next CV re-opens it. The ESU chips I use do not have this option.

Maybe a truly daft idea but the Z21 will accept different protocols. To avoid confusion I disactivate the Märklin and Motorola protocols etc plus setting the the chip to DCC only (do not accept DC). Personally I have fitted ESU chips in all my locos except one* which I initially gave to a shop to chip - the turnip put it in upside down so of course it wouldn't run but there were no lights either. * Apart from aTillig tram where Tillig insisted on their buddies Uhlenbrock decoder, an utter pain and when I tried an ESU nothing, but nothing, worked. Back to the Uhlenbrock then RTFM for the chip and the tram (the secret code for the interior lights is in the tram instructions, not the chip!).

The e-mail idea, although strange, sounds good. I would, of course, have to send it my Acer p.c. I certainly wouldn't send it to my wife's Toshiba laptop which is achingly slow. Thanks for the help guys.

Good afternoon all. A (hopefully ) quick question: I'm running HO and HOe using a Roco Z21 and wifi I have done all the loco prgramming on an Acer tablet running Android without problem (except 1 Uhlenbrock decoder which was an utter pain) I have a Roco wlanMAUS So, like the title says, I want to export the information from the tablet to the maus but without losing it from the tablet - better to have backup. Can I do this with the send / receive option in the Roco Z21 software or should I store the settings on the SD card I put into the tablet before doing anything? Obviously I could just stick with the tablet but it is rather bulky compared to the maus and I want to wander around the tracks peering at my little empires. Note the plural, due to lockdown I started on 1 layout, buying buildings, vehicles, track and rolling stock etc until I ended up with 5 ongoing projects! Space - the final frontier...

Take the easy route set, up the z21 or Z21 as above then for the class 40 request from your setup device (smartphone, tablet etc) the identity of the loco and you should get the address and take it from there. It is advisable - especially on early sound chips - not to do a clean wipe (usually CV8=8) as this could possibly wipe the sound file leaving only the loco file. Ian

The superglue option won't work here, the short is between the plunger, track and wheels, so even if glued 'up' the shorting will stay. After all the pushing and shoving of the Fleischmann loco I already have a matchbox with parts to put back on. First I will change the chip, the Roco had space to run the wires and put the chip in the boiler, the Fleischmann does not and the cab is a birds nest for which I have a new straight plug-in chip, no spaghetti involved! Very many thanks to all involved, although as Iain said we start at the tricky end without considering something basic.