HLT 0109

Have you tried asking Hornby which ones are correct? Their contact details are as follws: customerservices.uk@Hornby.com or 01843 233525. I am sure they will be able to help and will ask if they need more information. Hornby sells them in packs of 10 if they are in stock. Harold.

Nick, I have matched a 9F with Paul Chetter sound on a Zimo with an L1 containing a Loksound V4 and a 2MT tank with a Loksound v3.5 and a Jinty with a Loksound v3.5. Matching the Zimo fitted 9F was the most difficult and I had (as 34C says) first to disable acceleration and deceleration. I do it with sound turned off and use the 28 step speed curve rather than the CVs 2, 5, & 6 following 34Cs procedure of matching spped step 1, then 28 then 14 . . .etc . . .. I have a double-track oval so can run two locos side by side - with two straights about 6' long a good approximation is possible. Then when they are quite close I run one behind the other until I get the best match I can. Unfortunately, even matching 28 speed steps is not the end - I find that when I then run on 128 speed steps, the intermediate steps differ - sufficient to cause problems when banking on curves - it takes ages to get right but that applies even when none is a Zimo!. Once that is done, one can match CVs 3 and 4 to what is required - but you will be unable to use the manual braking introduced by Paul Chetter in his later projects. When it comes to driving the consist with sound on, the technique is to start on speed step 1 and wait until both/all locos start to move before increasing the throttle - that is why you need a very slow speed on spped step 1 (ie probably value 1 in CV2). There is usually sufficient slack in the couplings to accommodate the small, independent movements. You may also want a very low number in speed step 2. Once both/all locos are moving, if you have the acceleration matched you can increase the throttle in your normal manner. I have copied below, a link to a video I made of my tripple speed-matching but realise that it was done before I had the Zimo fitted to the 9F - so it is perhaps not relevant. It may however be of interest - the consist sets of up the incline from about 6 minutes 45 seconds. Having blown the chip in the 9F (don't ask!) I had the Zimo fitted with a sugar cube speaker and it all fits in the loco so there is no wiring to the tender. I don't have a video of the quadruple-matched locos (yet) . Harold.

I had a brief look on the internet and there is quite a selection of sites offering fre downloads. I Googled free railway statioin sound effects, limiting the search to the UK and there were 10 pages of results. It is worth listening to some of them to see if there is anything to suit you. I liked this one but it may not be one for free download: http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/Sound-effects/027M-1CD0126081X2-1700V0

I would say "it depends . . .". What sort of polystyrene is it? Is it a firm sheet or soft pieces left over from packaging? How much use is the raised track going to get and how exposed will it be to pressure/damage? My layout is a permmanent one with a couple of inclined sidings using polystyrene for the short inclines with track laid straight on to it. It has survived for several years but the sidings are not in a vulnerable position. Putting ply on top of the polystyrene might help but, if you want to use track pins to secure the track, the polystyrene is likely to dent when driving the pins in. An alternative woould be to build a framework of ply, standing pieces on edge to give the trackbed height (like Hornby's inclined piers for example) and bridging them with plywood. The polystyrene can then be used to fill the gaps between the piers and to make the contours for the rest of the scenery. If your elevated track is extensive and you decide to use the polystyrene to support it, I think you will need firmer support at reasonable intervals. Harold.

I have Power Cab and I get short circuits (through carelessness). You are correct in saying that Power Cab continually tries to reset - about every four seconds. Usually that is sufficient time to remove the cause but, if not, as long as you can reach the power switch with reasonable ease, there is no problem. Power Cab warns about leaving it trying to reset for too long and I have not had a problem in the last five years. Some cheaper loco decoders reset when there is a short but if that is going to happen it will probably do so even if you have a proper sircuit breaker. Harold

I have searched in vain for information on how to adjust the brightness of interior lighting in 1st generation DMUs although I know I have seen it some time. I should therefore be grateful if someone could tell me which CVs to adjust. I have two Bachmann class 108s (3 car): one with a Loksound v3.5 decoder in the driving unit and Hornby R8249 decoders (I am told) in the trailers; the other with a Loksound v4 in the driving unit and a Lokpilot v3.0 in the trailers. They have different interior light intensities and I would like to even them up a bit. I realise that there are different views about how bright the lights should be but, even in the dark, it is almost impossible to tell that the lights are on in the newer version. On the other hand the lights in the earlier version are very bright but show up the passengers rather well. I have discovered that CV113 is correct for the Lokpilot decoders but I cannot decipher the Loksound v4 manual with regard to this matter - there is little point in changing the brightness of the trailer units without also doing the driving unit. For the older DMU, I think it is also CV113 for the driving unit but it looks as if the Hornby decoders cannot be adjusted. In summary therefore, If someone could tell me what to alter in Loksound v4, I can deal with the newer model - perhaps I should leave the older one alone unless I replace the decoders in the trailer units. Many thanks, Harold. Topic moved from Modelling Questions and help

I have Power Cab using v 1.28 and I do not have the problems you describe. I should refer it back to the seller as there is it looks as if there is something wrong with it. If you have the manual, you could try a reset (page 59) If you do not have the manual it can be downloaded from this site https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201565799-Powercab-Manuals - it is the fifth one from the bottom. Harold.

I have found DAS to be very user friendly. If you find it taking longer than expected to get a piece to the size and shape you want, and that it is drying out too quickly, it will respond to the addition of a little water. In fact, if you add too much water, it will turn into a paste - which also has its uses from time to time. It is possible to reconstitute old stock from a part-used pack if desperate! Harold.

Actually, if you prize out the pocket from its mount, you may find turning it over works. As I remember it, the top and bottom of the triangular bit are different and it may push further into its mount if turned upside down - or it may wedge into the mount more firmly.

Steve, I have no experience of the wagons you are having difficulty with but have had problems with drooping couplings. Is it the NEM pockets that droop or is it the couplings within the pocket? If it is the latter, you may find that a sliver of plastic card wedged between the bottom of the coupling and the inside face of the NEM pocket effects a remedy. Indeed, even a sliver of paper has worked on some of mine. I have no suggestion if it is the pocket that droops. AS far as Kadees are concerned, I use them satisfactorily on my layout with 2nd radius Hornby curves and crossovers using Hornby set track points - with care I can propel six Backmann Mk1 coaches through the crossovers. Shorter stock, like those you refer to, should should cope even better. I hope you manage to resolve it without abandoning the rolling stock in question. Harold.

Nigel, Thank you for your correction - must have had my eyes crossed as I was reading from the manual! Sorry to R J Gower for the mis-information. I look forward to reading how the problem was resolved. Thanks also Nigel for the explanation of why the end points of the manual speed curve may not be adjustable with CVs 67 & 94.. Harold.

If CV29 value is 14, then you have manual speed curve selected and (it would appear) Railcom enabled (bit 3) but 14 speed steps. You need to change CV29 to 16 in order to operate at 28 speed steps. That may achieve what you want.- try it on its own first. If not, adjust the setting of CV94 to 255 and set a smooth curve to it from CV67 (which should probably be set to 1) by equalising the values as near as you can between each CV and the next one. If CV94 is not adjustable, set CV 93 to 255 and see what happens! As an alternative to all these changes, set CV29 to 2 and then use CVs 5 & 6 to set maximum and medium speeds respectively eg 64 in CV5 and 35 in CV6. Be careful not to change too many CVs at once and make a note of each current value before you change it, in case you get an unwanted result - you can then change it back. I hope you can follow/understand this. Harold.

Very neat - but I fear I may be too old to get the requisite mortgage. Looks as if it may cost over £5 per light plus power supplies. Harold.

If you are unable to solder, what method are you going to use for attaching the droppers to the rails?

I bit the bullet this week! Having spent the last 18 months tweaking CVs and thinking I have improved things, only to be disappointed; endlessly re-cleaning wheels and track with the same result, I decided to follow Butler Henderson's example and replace the decoders with Lenz standard decoders. I didn't want to pay out for anything too expensive in case I made a pigs ear of it. Stuart was a doddle - everything came apart easily giving clear access to the motor and the pickups; it went back together easily and there was plenty of room in the cab for the decoder. It now runs very sweetly. It remains a mystery as to why these locos are fitted with an extra pcb in the roof and have a third wire to the motor housing (something to do with the interference suppression?) but they do not have them any more. Greg was more of a problem. I had to split the boiler casing along the top seam in order to access the motor and then it became more of a fiddle to put back together. Now I have discovered that I forgot to refit the whistle! Having got it back together, it still ran like a bit of a dog. The problem was that the pickup design is different from Stuart's and it is (a) very difficult to get them behind the wheel flanges when refitting the chassis and (b) almost impossible to see them when it is all back together. In the end, the problem was found to be that some of the pickups had distorted and were sitting on top the wheels, where they were making only intermittent contact. Now they are located properly, the little loco runs quite well. Having very small wheels and only four of them, Greg does stall at slower speeds on some of my insulfrog points but I am pleased I have made the modifications as I was keen to see how an 0-4-0 performed on my layout. I do however find CV table in the Lenz instruction booklet unintelligible. I hope this tale is of interest to someone. Harold.

There have been many exchanges on this topic on this website and many differing opinions expressed. The problem with most wagon-based systems is that they are too light to remove anything but the lightest of dirt. In my opinion the best system is the CMX machine which is a weighty, brass tank wagon but it is rather expensive. It is available in N, 00 and 0 gauge. If all your track is easily accessible, the best method is probably a rag soaked in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) but, I find the CMX machine very successful with IPA. The problem with a finger in an IPA soaked rag is that it will freeze your finger! Harold.

Thanks 10000. After much deliberation and searching on the internet, I have overcome my problem of the error message - it was failure of the driver to install properly. After uninstalling and reinstalling everything, the message has disappeared. It didn't help that, following a Youtube video I positioned the interface upside down relative to the instruction manual without realising it, so the jumpers appeared in reverse order - not very clever when you want to use numbers 2 & 4! Train now running - thanks. Harold.

I hope I am adding to (rather than hijacking) this thread. I also have a problem with the interface connection to my PC. The PC I intend to use for my layout has Windows XP installed but is no longer connected to the internet. I have therefore downloaded all the software including the driver onto my new PC using Windows 8.1 and copied them to the older machine using a memory stick as the transfer medium. The downloads were all obtained using the appropriate links from the JMRI.sourceforge.net website and appear to be in accordance with guidance on the Mark Gurries website. Installation went well but, when i tried to load the program and select the connection settings, I received the message "NCE using NCE USB on Com*" (where * is the number of the com port) selected in the JMRI settings menu. The message appears to be saying that my USB cable is plugged into the wrong port on the PC but, no matter which USB slot I use on the PC, the message is the same. I am using the USB cable from my new Epson printer. Does anyone know is wrong? Thanks, Harold.

David, You comment that your suggestion no 1 might be easier; I have a raised coal drop on my layout and found it difficult to get the incline right, bearing in mind that your train has to be capable climbing it. It is the transitions from level to incline and back to level that need to be carefully designed and take up a lot of space (relatively). Also, the wagons will only stay in place on the level so there is quite a lot of "wasted" track in the siding. Sometimes level track with a road going down looks better on a model than the other - and remember that road vehicles can climb steep gradients so the road can be quite short, but be careful here also about the transitions. I also have a low scenic area on my layout which I achieved by attaching one of my baseboards to the underside of the frame instead of the top. As the frame is "2 x 2" I have a scale 12'6" drop. Just food for thought. Harold.

Brilliant, Paul. Love 'em both. Harold.

Michael, I am sure you are right to use Peco flexitrack wherever you can. I have used Hornby set track and moved on to Peco flexi. What I would recommend is that you avoid Hornby flexitrack as it doesn't curve as easily as Peco's and the rail breaks from the plastic chairs very easily. You will need to buy rail joiners as flexi does not come with them, and you will need a means of cutting the rail to the required length - a good mini-drill is best in my opinion. If you want curves to be a constant radius you probably need a suitable template which Peco also supplies but, unless I am using sharp curves, I find it easy enough to make the curves by eye. In order to create a curve, you will need to secure one end of the flexi in the desired position (probably connected to a turnout) , then manipulate the rest of the length as necessary, securing it as you go. I would suggest light fixing initially to facilitate adjustment. Leading to/away from turnouts, (and making joins within curves) you need to ensure continuation of the curve without any kink at the join. Templates are helpful in that respect. Hope this helps. Harold.

Thank you gentlemen. At least there does not appear to be anything electrically wrong. I will consider changing the decoders - Greg in particular rather appeals to me. Harold.

I have just acquired second hand locos no 49 "Stuart" 0-6-0 and no 31 "Greg" 0-4-0. Both are marked DCC Fitted and are hard wired. I immediately placed each of them on my programming track (NCE Powercab) and keyed in "Use Programming Track" whereupon the message appeared "Short Circuit Detected". I immediately switched the power off and then switched it on for my layout - with the locos on the track, no short was detected. Next I reverted to the programming track and tried again - "Short Circuit Detected". This time I pressed OK and a message appeared asking if I still wanted to proceed. I did so in order to give each loco its new address. The system could not read the existing addresses but did accept the new ones, after which the locos ran normally on the layout. I tested the programming track with other locos and it worked properly. Can anyone tell me why this happens and whether I can overcome the problem? I should be grateful for any guidance. Harold.

Sure but, if you back of the speed setting, the train slows rather than getting a grip, and the sound is nothing like realistic.

That's great, Paul. Being a northern lad, I am not familiar with the characteristics of the West Countries but I love the different sounds and facilities you include in your projects. One day, perhaps, someone might work out how to make the model's wheels slip in time with the sound - and then regain grip! Harold.