NoggintheNog

Software Version 3.6 was introduced at least 15 years ago.

It introduced F0 to F28 not just to lenz, but to everyone, it is the standard for functions all others followed. 

19 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Surely the relevant question is why did it slow down?  Were the rails dirty, was the track joined correctly (that would have shown up with other models so not wholly relevant), was therea power supply issur e= dur=e to dirt in rail joiners, or was there some particular problem on the loco wheels or the stock?

He had an old airfix or mainline 2mt running on the same track with no problems.

It was the model.

Surely the important part about sams train review is not the silly finger in front of the engine, but that it visibly slowed down on 2nd radius curves when pullling a load.

Most here probably have layouts that avoid that tight a curve where possible, but I think dismissing what was very clearly shown, because of who showed it, isn't helpful.

Fenwicks is long gone, but Banerjee Studios next door is still there today, its a portrait and photography place.

44 minutes ago, BachelorBoy said:

 

I think you are assuming that locos with problems would be evenly spread out among the the production run. 

 

But if 90% per cent of 42 locos had a problem, then that could be because that box of locos was dropped somewhere between China and the shop. Or that batch  could have travelled hundreds of miles in van with a dodgy axle over rough roads. Or that one of the workers on a particular shift was lazy or incompetent or malicious. Or that the machines had a problem for that part of the run, and no-one noticed, or workers/managers kept quiet about it. 

 

So it's easily possible that what your shop experienced with its supplies and another shop experienced are very different. 

 

EDIT: This is why, when I am buying two or more disk drives to backup data, I try to buy them from different shops to reduce the chances of getting all of them from a dodgy batch.

No, that is not possible either.

Because it is claimed it was 90% failures across multiple model lines, 37s, 55s and 92s. So they cant, by definition, be from 'one batch'.

As I thought earlier.

I do think its physical design leaves a lot to be desired, but that is a system that has everything you may need in one. Add in railcontroller for routing and automated running, use an app for visitors to control trains on your layout, and have a controller and base station for everything else.

In that context, its decent value too. 

As I understand it, this system comes with the handset, but also has an app too and the USB.

So you can use the handset, use a phone/tablet with the app, or use a PC and its software, or any combination of the three, without needing to buy anything extra.

WHich seems like a sensible design choice to me. 

Its nice that now DCC has matured to a place where rather than more gimmicks, designers are now trying to make things more user-friendly. The Guagemaster one follows a similar path.

For most people's layouts, 2 amps, one wireless controller is plenty enough for everything they do. 

I'm glad I ordered one.

I know I could never get as good a result from the DJH kit as that, and that was the only other option really.

Others may have different expectations of course.

I've not been in the hobby anywhere near as long as some around here, but my dad was a train driver, and he bought me my first train set in 1972.

I haven't always been an avid modeller, and most of that time, had no layout, but I have bought at least engine or other every year since then, when something caught my eye.

My 7800 is, by far, the best steam engine I have ever purchased, and I include my fully diecast Broadway Limited Big Boy in that.

I'm no class 40 expert, and its only renders, but they look the part to me.

I'll be ordering a green one I think.

32 minutes ago, atom3624 said:

 

Stanier Jubilees, in their various guises - (nearly) guaranteed to be a very popular choice!

My Dad started on the Railways in 1958, and I remember him telling me that before it shut, Burton on Trent shed had multiples of these as general use power from 61/62 onwards, so they could be justified on layouts of almost any size.

I have no idea what is next, as I wait for Hattons to send out my Manor, but I am surprised there is no modern version of a Royal Scot from anyone yet.

70 engines, original and rebuild possible from a well-designed chassis, running on high profile trains for much of their lives.

Waited 2 years for my first Accurascale loco, and with a 37 arriving today from Rails, looks like two in a fortnight or so for me.

Especially looking forward to the sound on this one, I have some great sound files, Locoman King and a few others, but the speaker setup on this is where I think it will shine.

I just had a dispatch note for 043 from Rails, so probably worth checking if they have any extras.

Hornby Magazine have just posted a notification for a new Black Label announcement video at 11 am tomorrow on their youtube channel

The biggest bugbear with TTS, at least for me, was always that there was no real way to change volume, at least enough to make any kind of discernable difference. They were at exhibition level, which is screamingly loud for a small room.

This does at least on the surface appear to address that, as well as up sound quality. 

Fantastic!

I missed out on 66789 when hattons released them, now I'll wait patiently for whoever releases it as a special or exclusive.

I missed out on these first time around, but have just ordered Ballymoss with sound.

For about £100 less than the best-priced non-sound green one on ebay. 

They explicitly say the sound files are free in the Hornby Magazine write up.

So, looking at the video, for those running lenz, Hornby or ECoS systems, that £30 dongle is -by far- the cheapest way of getting wireless control for an existing layout.

Depends on the app in its final form of course, but that is pretty impressive.

12 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

So either way it isnt just the decoder that i need to buy. I'll probably need the dongle also which is another £30 odd quid. 

 

 

The only thing the dongle is for, is if you want to control your existing DCC locos with the app.

You can use the app to download sounds to your new Hornby decoder then control it with your current DCC system without any dongle at all. 

2 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

Yes £65 at the retailler, but its not clear if i will need to use the legacy dongle to write the files to the decoder which adds extra costs. 

 

 

Looking at the site, and from the writeup in Hornby Magazine, it seems that it is the app that takes care of sound downloads. The dongle allows bluetooth control of your existing dcc equipped locos. 

37 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

 

 

At £70 RRP for the decoder its not much more for a loksound or zimo decoder. The beauty of TTS when it first came out was the cost - it was a lot cheaper than the relevant zimo or loksound chip.

 

 

Its £65.

A Zimo MS is over £120, and Loksound 5 is around £115, so the Hornby is half the price.

The biggest issues with TTS has always been volume adjustment and the limited range of sound due to dual channel restriction. This appears to be designed to solve both problems.

You need to remember, this is not competing with Legoman and Youchoose, it is offering sounds at affordable prices for the mass market. 

I always used to say Lenz, you get a massive warranty and faultless performance, but these days, the majority of the systems have that same reliable performance too. 

Even with the new system, Lenz are a little behind in terms of ergonomics, but it all works and the system has a lot of flexibility. Control wise you can add in feedback for computer control or go the other way with the LW150 basically turning a toggle switch or push button into a DCC command,  so you can use simple panels like you would in the DC days, it still stands up as a great overall system.

If I were starting again, not sure I'd pick Lenz this time. It also depends on how you want to operate a layout, the ESU Ecis is a great system, but like the Hornby elite is a sit at the desk type, not ideal for a larger layout on its own, you need additional cotnrollers to walk around, and they aren't cheap.

If you want railcom, then any of the US systems is out, they show no signs of interest in adding it in at all. 

The Z21 is probably the most user friendly system out there once it is set up, and you can do more or less anything with it.

And then there is the Zimo system, which is DCC like the rest, but they take a very different approach to controlling the rest of the layout. If you want the ultimate in computer control and integrated tech, that is it, but at £1500 for a set plus £500 or so for every 16 point control module, it gets very expensive, very quickly. 

As others have said, if you can get somewhere you can try them, for most of us, most systems can do everything we want, its finding the one that feels right really.