Porfuera

So what could happen? What is the risk? I don't deny that what I have done works by good luck - my home network hub's IP address was correct for the Z21 - I said as much above. If it hadn't been then the IP address of the tp_link router would presumably not have changed itself and I would've had a working Z21 with internet connectivity on that network. But it didn't work due to the IP address clash between the hub and the tp_link router, which is what makes it work the way I've configured it.

I think you've missed the point of my post, which was that I have not changed anything, anywhere, (so zero risk of making a dog's breakfast of either the home network or the Z21) yet I have ended up with a Z21 that is accessible from my home wifi network (rather than having to use the Z21_xxxx network of the supplied tp_link router) and therefore I can control trains via the Z21 app and still access the internet without even having to change my devices to a different network. In fact, simply trying to connect an internet link to Roco's supplied configuration of the Z21 and tp_link router left me with a Z21 that didn't even work, so presumably if I wanted to get that configuration working I would have had to make some changes somewhere. That's something I might investigate later but just out of curiosity because I'm more than happy with what I have now. IP addresses are as much a mystery to me as the next person, despite having worked in the IT industry for about 35 years (I did software - i.e. programming, fault-finding and analysis - other people handled the networking) and I was simply hoping that if others were able to follow my post then they might also be able to end up with a Z21 connected to their home network with internet connectivity and without the risk of irrevocably changing something that would result in the Z21 not working. Achieving that does depend on their home hub/router having the same IP address (range?) as the tp_link router's 192.168.0.1 but if they're trying to have internet connectivity while using the Z21 and they haven't achieved that any other way then it might be worth a try. Surely it is just a question of plugging their internet connection directly into the back of the Z21 and if it works, it works? And if it doesn't work then nothing is lost - isn't that correct?

Just to resurrect this topic... Apologies if many people already know this, but I'm hoping it might be useful to someone and save them a bit of time. I was recently trying to connect my Z21's tp-link router to my home wifi hub so that I could have internet access while using the Z21. Initially I used an Ethernet cable end-to-end for simplicity and for testing. I noticed that whenever I plugged the Ethernet cable from the hub into the tp-link router's WAN port (blue on my router), the Z21 stopped working. A bit of investigation showed that the LAN IP address on the tp-link router was changing from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.1.1 and consequently the tp-link router was no longer able to communicate with the Z21, which is expecting 192.168.0.1 A bit more investigation showed that my home wifi hub's IP address was also 192.168.0.1 - presumably this was causing a clash of IP addresses and the tp-link router was obligingly changing from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.1.1 in order to avoid the clash, but resulting in it no longer being able to communicate with the Z21. Given that my home wifi was already using the IP that was expected by the Z21, I decided to remove the tp-link router entirely and simply plug the Ethernet cable from the home wifi hub directly into the Z21 - and everything worked! The advantage of this is that I no longer need to connect my devices to the tp-link router's network (Z21_4245) - I can just leave the devices connected to my home wifi network and I can control the Z21 with the app and still have internet access on my devices. Possibly this won't work for everyone - it guess depends on the IP address of your home wifi being 192.168.0.1 to begin with, but that should be easy to check. Back to @PaulM381's original post about how to get the wifi connection to the Z21. I removed my Ethernet cable and instead of using powerline adaptors I had a wifi extender that had been given to me (the actual model is a tp-link RE330 but I assume that other - and better - ones are available) - see pictures below to give an idea. This is configured with the same network name and password as my home wifi, it is plugged in next to the Z21 and as you can see it has an an Ethernet port which is then connected directly into the Z21's Ethernet port. It may not work for everyone (possibly it will depend on home wifi signal strength at the place where your layout is located) but for me it works in place of my original 10 metre Ethernet cable strung across the lounge and into the dining room(!) and as I mentioned above I can now control my Z21 without changing networks and still have access to the internet on my devices. I hope that all makes sense and that I have the terminology, IP addresses and everything else correct - and that I'm not teaching everyone how to suck eggs.

I've been looking through the guides and I think I've found the answer, at least to the first part: "Please note that you are advised to Unlink and Delete any HM7000 decoders from HM | DCC prior to deleting the app from your phone or tablet. If it is not possible to do this, you may be required to Reset your HM7000 decoder prior to linking it to the new install of the HM | DCC app. - It is advised to use the Export Device Reset Codes from the Settings ‘ ‘ screen prior to uninstalling the HM | DCC app. - If this is not possible, 1-use Reset Codes can be requested from HM.customercare@Hornby.com if required."

I'm having a bit of a problem with one of my HM7000 locos - I think I need to uninstall and reinstall the app on my tablet. Is there anything I need to do first? For example do I need to Unassign my existing locos or even Unlink & Delete them? I don't want to reinstall the app and find that the new install tells me that my locos are linked or assigned to some other app and then won't allow me connect to them. And is there any stored data that I should delete as well? Cheers, Neil.

Cross-post from the main Hornby TT:120 thread, but the BG and GWR Mk3 coaches are showing as in stock. Did anyone get any further in finding the reason for the dragging wheels on the Exec Mk3s? Was it tight axle points in the bogie frames or something else like the wheel flanges rubbing on the underside of the coach or somewhere, which has been seen before and which also seems to be happening with the some of the new BR 50-foot brakes? I haven't seen it reported anywhere else so I'm hoping it is an assembly issue rather than a design problem.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned but the BG and GWR Mk3s are showing as being in stock

Another couple of things that appear to have been dropped from the catalogue are the BG Mk2e coaches and the GBRf liveried Class 50, although all these are still in the shop but with dates of Spring next year. And they're going to bring out a 'Y' point - that's something I'd like to see from Peco.

A new Train Terminal is out, although from a quick scan it looks to be everything in the announcement. There are four pictures of the 37 to zoom in on. https://uk.Hornby.com/community/hornbytt120-club/members-area/blog-and-news/time-more-tt You may need to log in. No sign of the Club magazine yet - the publication date is April but no actual date given.

There is an auto-calibrate function available for use with different makes/motors to the current Hornby profiles - I don't know whether that would help?

I seem to remember someone saying that the Hornby TT:120 12T tanks might have some connection with Oxford - a quick google shows the Fisons, Mobil and Carless ones in 00 from Oxford with the same running numbers as the TT:120 ones, plus the two new ones announced this week. Also, wasn't there an announcement of a Class 66 from Gaugemaster at one point? IIRC there wasn't even CAD for that and it was withdrawn even quicker than Heljan's 31. I also don't subscribe to the theory that Heljan were 'forced out' of TT:120 - they simply took a business decision to pull out. Heljan couldn't be sure whether they would've got their 31 to market before Hornby given that Hornby has been developing their TT:120 range for years as had already been said. Heljan don't have any magic solutions when it comes to getting developments to market - I keep saying I've been waiting for their Class 02 since September 2020. OK the Class 02 is a new loco for them whereas a 31 would use existing research and maybe some of the existing CAD but they'd still need at least a couple of years if not more to do the rest of the work that comes after that.

But then which era should they have concentrated on? Everyone has their own idea - you seem to want to run BG or Exec HSTs, many on the TT:120 thread are keen on grouping-era steam while others here are talking about modern container wagons. Hornby can't do all that in a year, something would have to go - even alternate numbers must take up production slots that would be used for something different. Look how far away the green 08 still is - 18 months later than the original ones. Currently there is a bit of something for everybody (although in some cases only a very little) but with the promise of more to come later. Maybe that's not the best solution but then I don't think Hornby are concerned about 'modellers', they want train set sales to establish interest in the scale and the rest comes later. And I wouldn't say that Hornby chose to go it alone - Heljan and Gaugemaster could have continued but they chose not to. No-one knows how far advanced they were with their projects. I'm sure Hornby like having the field to themselves but there isn't anything stopping someone else from joining in. Hornby haven't announced a Type 2 yet so surely someone could start work on one of those? But other manufacturers are probably waiting to see how it goes before committing to anything at all - even something 'small' like a wagon never mind a loco.

Doesn't the 'ff' of the Arnold-now-Hornby Sffgmss container wagons at least indicate that those were capable of running in the UK?

Yet you continue to be negative about it without any evidence to back it up, The original TT:120 thread is full of posts from people predicting the imminent demise of Hornby's TT:120 venture at various stages and none of them have come to pass. At least those appear to be tailing off now. But you are no different, questioning the viability of it and whether anyone remains with the commitment to maintain momentum in the project. For something that has no personal relevance to you, you seem to spend a lot of energy talking about it. Maybe you will turn out to be right but in the meantime I prefer to be positive about it and enjoy it while it is there.

And I could say the same about my 6 Hornby locos (or 7 locos if you include the Piko BR 223 Eurorunner that arrived last week) - I have very little era-relevant stock to run with most of them. But I shuffle stock around and make the best of it until something better turns up. That's how it will be with TT:120 for the near-to-medium future. The only one I can't do that for is my HST, but even then there were examples of HSTs running on the network without any carriages, which is how my HST will remain until the BG Mk3s arrive in Summer.

So maybe now it wasn't as speculative "by any definition" as you made out earlier? I wasn't saying it was a direct comparison but it didn't stop people wailing and gnashing their teeth when Dapol proposed going into 0 Gauge - after all, O Gauge was finished, etc, etc. I believe TT3 is surviving in one form or another. And some people that know more about TT3 than I do are saying that the TT:120 range is progressing faster than TT3 did at the beginning. I imagine that TT:120 won't disappear entirely and new technologies such as 3D printing will provide support if Hornby don't continue. As I said I prefer to look on the positive side and enjoy it while it is there. I guess not everyone is able do that with new things. I can't see what it is about TT:120 that seems to upset some 00 modellers so much that it either brings out anger or doom-and-gloom.

Do you have any proof that it was speculative? I could equally posit that a sound business plan was put forward and the board and investors jumped at it. Can you prove that they didn't? The truth is that nobody knows and that all seems like pretty pointless glass-half-empty speculation. I'm sure people were saying the same when Dapol went into N and I'm pretty sure they said even worse when they went into 0. I'm aware it might fail but I think I prefer to enjoy it while it lasts, rather than sit back and doom-monger.

That seems an odd question. Just because well-known staff like SK was 'let go' and Montana left doesn't mean that the ship is rudderless. You could perhaps ask the same about 00 - didn't SK and Montanna deal with both? Projects aren't run by just one or two people. And 'forgotten' isn't the same as 'never knew about' - it just depends where you are looking - social media was awash with froth about the announcements (even RMweb had some noise) but if you're not particularly interested then it will probably pass you by.

But if you're launching a new UK outline scale, don't you want to start with the best sellers? Hornby are there to sell toy trains to the general public, not to please people on RMweb who want to build a layout set in a particular region and era. And even if they did start off with one region and era you'd still get people complaining that it wasn't of interest to them and why didn't Hornby do x, y or z instead. If you were to look through this thread I'm sure you could find a post advocating something from almost every region and era since railways were invented. Whatever Hornby do they won't manage to please all of the people all of the time. In any case, however chaotic the range may look, it seems that Hornby are doing well with their current choices - many items have sold out repeatedly over the last 15 months or so, mainly because they can't produce the stuff fast enough. And that isn't something that's restricted to Hornby - I'm still waiting for Heljan's Class 02 that was announced in September 2020.

I was talking about overall sales rather than one individual's purchases - if they had produced LNER coaches and/or a freight loco then they would have had to drop other things from the range and so those other things wouldn't have been there to be sold. It is swings and roundabouts. Obviously they can't reproduce their 00 range overnight - that is going to take a long, long time. Nor can they satisfy everyone's individual wishlist - and in any case what is one person's favourite loco/coach/wagon/region/era will be anathema to at least a couple of dozen other modellers so whatever they do they can't win. As for the HST artwork, I'd say that the power car with the deflector is a photoshop of the 00 R30239 HST train pack here while the box artwork is representative of what has already been released.

Could be, but the pages still seem to be there if you search for Sffgmss on the Arnold shop here and the new liveries show availability of Autumn (unless these are legacy pages that haven't been removed from Arnold's site yet). And Arnold will be selling the Class 66s alongside Hornby (although with different variants and liveries) so I don't see why the container wagons couldn't be sold in the same way, given that Arnold probably has more market penetration in Europe than Hornby has.

I'm not sure shareholders know much about the real railways - Mike Ashley doesn't strike me as being much of a train buff.

He was talking in a bit of a rush - I had to listen to it a couple more times! - but what I think he was saying is that the catalogue contains everything that is on the website but that the catalogue has "a bit more in it" (i.e. more than the website has) rather than the Hornby copy having more than the pdf.

Not quite - as I mentioned above he said that the pdf would be available after the magazine. His actual words were "at a later date... towards the end of the month"

Wow! Very little about Phase 3 - just the Class 37 I think. Phase 3 and 4 over the next 3 or 4 years as mentioned above. New stuff will get interspersed with that. There were unassembled initial test shots of the J50 from the actual moulds as well as a 3D print. Duchess and Class 50s next month - analogue versions will arrive slightly before the TXS-fitted ones. Class 66 "on track for November", which we knew already. A new catalogue will be available with the next Hornby magazine or available to download towards the end of the month(?). I think that was about it - did I miss anything...?