Ron Ron Ron

Knight Area - Under a new sign (Album)

This appears to be a question ! Wrong section perhaps?

That's it then; all six are in the UK now. The next delivery (six more) won't be until the end of next year. The rest of the order seems to have been deferred for the time being, due to the economic downturn. .

So only a total of 6 out 30 being delivered now. Six more at the end of 2010; then due to the recession, no date has been planned for delivery of the remaining 18 ! Looks like they could be a rare sight in some parts? .

Big Ugly Friendly So and So ?? ...soon to be available in 00 and N gauge, from our friends in Barwell. See - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/4228-Bachmann-cl-70/ .

As new locos have to conform to regulations concerning their environmental impact, which includes noise emissions, are some people going to end up a little disappointed by the sound these make? Apart from their advertised operational capabilities, I thought Freightliner bought these on the basis that they are supposed to be quieter, as well as using less fuel and producing fewer nasties out of their exhausts. .

Is that Cockney rhyming slang for something.....? .

Should that be... "everything BUT New Freightliner"...in which case I have to agree. It could be worst.... http://www.thameslin...blackfriars.jpg http://www.thameslin...9-in-livery.gif http://wayne-radford.fotopic.net/p57026375.html .

Freightliner were having a revised branding exercise anyway, the new Cl 70's are just the first to be seen in it. The new font is now right across their web site. I agree, it is a bit rubbish. .

We've known that you can do this from the early days after the Dynamis was released and I'm aware that some people have used multiple Dynamis handsets this way, but I don't recall seeing much discussion about it on here or elsewhere? Are there any issues regarding conflicts e.g. the Command station getting confused by multiple responses to it's transmissions ? If it works without giving any problems then that may be a solution for those who have an issue with the roster size. Of course you won't benefit from the other facilities that the Pro Box provides, such as the ability to have multi-IR Tx/Rx units. .

I quite agree. Plenty of other managers have made strong comments or critised referees and it's a storm in a teacup, even when it's a high profile manager like Benitez or Wenger; but when the manager with highest profile of all does it, then it's a lovely juicy story for the tabloids to feed on. Of course I think SAF should show a little more dignity on occasion, but he clearly is a passionate manager and he does have a right to an opinion like anyone else. However, I have to say 8 times out of 10 his comments are often taken out of context and twisted for best journalistic effect. You can see this quite frequently when a seemingly inocuous comment at his weekly press conference is picked up and made into something it never was. He was wrong to make the comments about Wiley (...and I also thought he meant not fit to do the job ), but it's hardly the crime of the century. Mind you, the Ref was half way back up the field when he should have awarded a clear penalty to Utd in that match and he did seem to be struggling. Still, he didn't half make up for it on his next Premiership outing though. My father in law is a referee and quite active in the association. He's always muttering about how something has to be done about Ferguson. About what for goodness sake, I ask him? I never get a straight answer. IMHO, there's clearly an attitude towards this particular manager in the FA RA, justified or not. There have been rumblings that certain high ranking individuals have been stirring this one for a while. .

Just a point of order there. I think it's fair to say that Bachmann always said from the off, that the Dynamis would be able to memorise 40 loco's. They also said that it would be able to accept the full range of addresses up to 9999 loco's - and it does just that ! I still have the original leaflet/flyer, that they handed out at Warley when it was first announced they were introducing this system. Nothing has changed as far as I can see. They may have failed to deliver on some promises, in print (Pro Box PC interface) and verbally (cost of the Pro Box), but as far as I can see, everything else has been delivered as originally advertised. The only suprise when the Dynamis finally came out, was in the way the 40 loco memory/roster works and the fact that you can't just input the address of any loco to run it. It has to be stored first. I'm guessing that's a result of the system being related to the ECoS, where it's not an issue because there is no practical limit on the number of locos you can store in it's memory (the actual limit in the ECoS is 16,384 locos). Unfortunately, by setting a limit of 40 loco's on the Dynamis, this has become a problem for some users. Personally I wish the memory/roster had been higher, e.g. 100, but it isn't, so if that's not enough for some, then it might be an idea to look at alternatives. In addition, dare I say that maybe we need a reality check here; this is an ??80 DCC system; ??210 - 230 with the Pro Box. If wireless operation is the attraction, look at the cost of some of the alternatives. Digitrax offer IR based wireless at minimal extra cost (for the receiver modules), but almost every other wireless system is based on radio and will cost at least ??400 for the basic set-up. Add extra handsets and see how the cost soars then. As an example of how much some alternatives will cost, one UK Digitrax dealer is advertising the forthcoming EU version of the Duplex wireless Super Chief at ??428. I'm not sure, but I think you still have to add the cost of a power supply to that. Extra wireless handsets are listed at ??160 each. Therefore a system with two handsets will cost at least ??588; or with 4 handsets ??908. I'll leave others to do the maths on other alternatives. Was that a rant? .

Oops ! How did I forget Brush ? Still British owned too. I wonder if they still have the capacity to manufacture fleet sizes? Their last big order was for the Class 9's and the last ones were completed over 7 years ago. Their last diesel loco (class 60) was designed over 20 years ago and production was completed in the early nineties (16 years ago?). I suppose the overhauling and repair work is a much scaled down operation compared to what they were like 10 to 20 years ago. Also, ramping up a production facilty for a small'ish run of UK gauge diesels may not be the most worthwhile investment, especially so if there's no guarantee of further orders to come later. .

Sorry Keith, but I think this is completely wrong! As far as I'm aware, there is no such database of up to 9999 loco's. At least I haven't seen or heard any reference to this at all. In fact this is the first time I've heard anyone suggest such a thing. Dynamis has a memory/roster/stack that allows it to store 40 loco's. A loco must be on the roster if you wish to run it. If your loco isn't on the roster, you can't run it until you put it onto the roster. If the roster is full, then you'll have to delete another loco to make room for it. The roster is the only "database" in the Dynamis, that I'm aware of. Dynamis will accept and recognise all addresses from 0001 to 9999 (or short addresses from 1 to 127)... ...You can use any address you like, but you can still only store 40 loco's on the roster. Once you delete a loco from the roster, it is no longer stored on the system. You can always return a deleted loco to the roster later on, but you will have to add it like any other new loco. On a general note; personally I think that a limit of 40 loco's is too low, but let's get this into perspective. Many users, possibly the majority, will never have 40 DCC fitted loco's in their possession, let alone on the layout at once. For those that do have more than 40 DCC fitted locos, how often will they all be used? ...and if so, shouldn't they be looking at systems better suited to their needs? The 40 loco limit is a limitation for some, but not for others. On it's own it doesn't make the Dynamis a "bad system". As mentioned above, having 40 plus locos on a live DCC layout, just sitting quietly sucking on the juice, maybe a power limitation issue anyway, especially if there are a few others running at the same time. It's also worth remembering that some other systems only have a roster/stack of 2 or 6 !!! .

Hi Keith, Bachmann have had the Pro Box manual on their website for some time now. Here it is.... http://www.Bachmann....robox_guide.pdf Caution! It's in printable form so the pages are in the wrong sequence to read off the PC screen. It may be easier to print it off and fold it accordingly into booklet form. The bit regarding the roster is on page 3 (no photos of sexy girls unfortunately); Chapter 3, section 3.2 "Synchronisation of the locomotive roster". You are right about using multiple handsets without a Pro Box. That will require individual control over each handsets roster. Ron .

As I understand it, this is not necessary with the Pro Box. The Pro Box copies/synchronizes them to the other handsets for you. If I've got it right, when adding another handset, the Pro Box loads the library/roster to it. If there are different rosters on each of the handsets, the Pro Box will ask you which one you wish to synchronize to all others. Merging rosters is not possible. (This is worth noting, because if a mate brings his Dynamis handset to your Dynamis Pro controlled layout, then he will have to lose all his stored loco's to use it with your system. However, if he has his own Pro Box at home, he can then reload his own loco roster on his return, just by re-synchronizing his handset.) With a Pro Box, any subsequent adjustments made to the stored loco settings on one handset will be synchronized to all others. I think the total number of locos is still 40 across the system. On the ECoS it's quite different. Up to 16,384 locos can be stored on the ECoS. The ECoSControl Radio handset can hold up to 100 from that roster and you can exchange any of them for others stored on the main ECoS unit. I think this will allow individual ECR handsets to each hold up to a 100 different locos, so for e.g. 4 ECR handsets can hold 400 different locos (....but hey! I think that's getting into the realms of fantasy and the numbers start to become meaningless). Again, adjustments made to any loco setting will be synchronized from ECR handset to ECoS and vice versa and sent to any other handsets holding the affected loco in it's own handset roster. The Dynamis and Navigator systems use a much simplified version of this, limited to the shared 40 loco maximum. .

I'm no expert, but I'll have a go at answering your questions. Expands the capabilities of the system, giving you more functionality. I believe it's a max of 40 locos in total, regardless whether or not you use a Pro Box and extra handsets. The Pro Box will store the 40 locos and their settings and will copy them to all the handsets connected to the system. (i.e. build your library of locos on one handset and the Pro Box will copy them onto other Dynamis handsets without you having to input them all again). There is a programming track output on the Pro Box. Very useful. Yes, you can read back addresses and other CV settings with the Pro Box. This allows you to see how the decoder is set up (programmed) and means you can visually confirm any changes you make to those settings. Again, very useful. When the Dynamis was first revealed/demo??™ed to the public, Bachmann representatives gave verbal indications that the Pro Box would cost in the region of ??50 to ??60. After a long and irritating delay, they finally announced the r.r.p. and caused a fair bit of disappointment and anger by listing it at ??175. Of course you can get it for much less (e.g. Hattons ??139, Signal Box ??131 etc,). If you already have a Dynamis and are fairly happy/comfortable with it, then the Pro Box will give some worthwhile improvements to your system. Apart from the programming track output, it will allow you to??¦. read back CV's; use up to 4 wireless handsets (plus more tethered ones if and when they are available); add more IR receiver/transmitter units (up to a max of 5 ); connect to other ESU devices, through the ECoSlink port; ??¦however, the promised computer interface has not been included (.....yet?). Only you can decide if it??™s worth it. In theory the Dynamis system can be linked to an ESU ECoS via the Pro Box??™s ECoSLink port. However the ECoS needs a software update to allow this and they haven??™t released it yet (note: the ECoS is updated on a regular basis). Other ESU kit that can be used, includes SwitchPilot accessory decoders (also sold under the Bachmann label) ??¦.and (in theory, but I??™m not sure if it??™s possible yet? ) the ECosBoost additional boosters (via the Pro Box). The ECosBoost boosters are the same shape as the Dynamis command station and Pro Box and are designed to stack with them, although I understand that connection is via a short cable at the back, rather than built-in pins. I hope that covers everything. Sorry if I've missed anything. .

Realistically, there aren't any British loco manufacturers left, so any orders for new loco's will go abroad. It's been like that for years. The only manufacturer left in the UK, is the Canadian company Bombardier, who are kept busy building large numbers of Electro and Turbo Stars. .

If you ignore the twisted quotes being reported in the tabloids; this is what he said: "It was a bad decision, but there's nothing we can do about it. You lose faith in refereeing sometimes, that's the way the players are talking in there - it was a bad one." "The referee's position to make the decision was absolutely ridiculous - he can't see anything. He's got a Chelsea player (Joe Cole) standing right in front of him - and he doesn't even move." Hardly controversial stuff and not worthy of any censure. I doubt any charge will be brought against him for that. I think that's the same view as in most of the reports I've heard and read (Sky's Andy Gray and BBC's Alan Green amongst them) and I'd agree with them. Whatever the injustice, that's how it goes and Utd have had a fair slice of luck themselves on occasion (not as much as some idiots claim though). Summary... for Utd; Second best performance of this season so far, but lacking any cutting edge up front. They out hussled Chelsea for large parts of the game and nullified most of their usual midfield strength, limiting them to few serious chances. Going forward, Utd attacked well, but ran out of ideas and had no cutting edge in the Chelsea penalty area. Giggs was their weakest player, throwing away lots of possession with terrible passing and useless as a chocolate teapot in the midfield defensive role. He should have been subb'ed at half time, or early in the second half. Rooney was electric and only denied MOTM because he was on the loosing side. All that was missing were goals. for Chelsea; Not their best effort this season. Out hussled for most of the game. Deco was appalling and rightly subb'ed. Lampard was very quiet, poor even. Somehow Anelka got man of the match???? How was that possible? Apart from a couple of first half long range efforts, he was shackled for most of the game and was pretty anonimous for a large part of it. Drogba was at his cheating drama queen best; don't you just hate him. I know some Chelsea fans who do (and don't at the same time, if you know what I mean). A lucky day at the office. They have to be favourites now. .

Great link. Loads of photos. Thanks! .

The last couple of hours I've been listening to...... http://www.radioio.com/genres/Rock Classic Rock channel. Zappa to Zeppelin, Deep Purple to the Doobies. .

Thanks for that Chris. I hadn't noticed those new clips were available.. For those interested there's a few more clips on You Tube from earlier this year. GG are one of my favourite bands from the early and mid 70's. Strange to think of a reformed band without a single Shulman on-board; but great all the same. Band website (with videos) - http://www.threefriends.info/ .

Where am I ? OooH errr ????? Is this the right place? .

Hail SAGonia. Hail ! The SAG group page has indeed been very quiet for many months now. .