Simon G

1 hour ago, Bernard Lamb said:

What would you consider to be a fair margin?

Bearing in mind they are doing it as a full time job?

With all the overheads and legal requirements that are involved in doing that.

Bernard

 

I fully accept that they need a fair margin as they are doing it as a business. My earlier comment was based on a couple of instances where dealers offered approximately 10% of the RRP, not the much more reasonable one-third as suggested elsewhere in this thread.  The purpose of my post was to let the OP know that there is another way of disposing of items other than by dealers or auction sites etc.

I have sold quite a few items via Facebook selling sites, without any problems or hassle.  The main advantage over ebay is that you dont pay 10% or whatever in charges.  I have used two sites, Model Railway Trading Group being the most suitable for your means.

In my opinion, most dealers will only offer rip-off values!

I dont imagine that the problem would lie with the brushes and springs, as I have never had issue with them.
 

The first thing that I would look at is how freely the driving wheels spin with the Ringfield drive cogs disconnected.  In servicing a number of Ringfields, I have found that a common issue is that the axles spin inside a brass sleeve and they can get a little stiff.  The solution is dead easy - remove a wheel from the axle and then pull the axle out of the sleeve.  I then rub the axle with a very fine emery to clean it, oil it lightly and reassemble.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions - issue now sorted!  I first tried connecting one of the units to my Powercab, but couldnt read any CVs, so I then connected the required DC voltage as well and found that I could read the CVs.  CV1 read as 2, but didnt work on accessory address 2, so I tried 5 as per Nigel’s suggestion that it might be a block system.  That worked perfectly with a Peco solenoid point, and accessory address 6 worked with the next output etc.

Sadly, the second unit hasn’t responded to being powered up, as the power LED doesnt light and I cant read the CVs, so something in the unit has failed.  At least one of out of two is better than none!

Thanks again for all the help.

My MRC has been left a couple of Tawcrafts DCC Point Controllers by a deceased member.  They come with a single page of instructions, which are helpful in themselves, but do not address the issue of the base address and how to change it.  I am familiar with loco decoders, but not with accessory decoders, so it is all rather new to me.  I am trying to find out what is the base address (presumably in CV1) and how to change it.  I have read that some accessory decoders have an on-board switch to put them into programming mode, but these dont seem to have one.

The units seem well made and with 2 4700 microfarad capacitors, will presumably throw multiple points with ease.

Picture of the decoder and one of the instruction file attached.  I have tried the email address and mobile number shown, but both now do seem to exist!  Any help gratefully received!

Thanks, Simon

In my opinion, the main thing to work out is exactly how you want to operate your DCC layout.  I have a Powercab system with the USB adapter and it gives me the choice of using either JMRI on the computer or the NCE throttle.  They work very differently.  The advantage of JMRI is that you will have a roster on the computer with all your DCC locos, making it very easy to select and then operate them.  If you have DCC Sound locos, using JMRI can be easier to select all the function “buttons” than on the NCE.

I would avoid having a Sprog and NCE connected to the same system.  Without having tried it, it sounds like a recipe for disaster!

I dont know about resetting the decoders, but I guess that it cant do any harm, unless of course they are sound locos, where I believe that it is possible to lose the sound files on some non-factory fitted locos.  If you give it a go, please let me know how it goes!

I have encountered a similar issue with my Powercab.  It successfully reads the information off nearly all my locos, with the exception of a Bachmann Class 37 with factory fitted sound.  It gives a different value for the same CVs as Lukas every time I try to read them.  In order to try to get to the bottom of the issue, I read the Class 37 CVs on both a Lenz LH100 system and a Hornby Elite, and they were read correctly and consistently.  I then tried a different Powercab to my own, and the misreading continued.  From this, I can only conclude that it is some sort of glitch with Powercabs.

Despite this, it runs perfectly OK with the Powercab, so just seems to be an issue with reading back some CVs.

I have used an E-Link with more than one computer loaded with Railmaster (not at the same time obviously!)

You can also use the E-Link with JMRI, if you are not a fan of Railmaster.

I have finally got JMRI operating on the model club Windows 10 laptop.  It hadnt been updated for ages, so took hours for all the updates, then finally loaded the drivers for the NCE USB adapter.  After that, I discovered that I needed to install a newer version of Java to run JMRI, only to find that JMRI doesnt work with the latest Java, so I uninstalled Java version 20 and installed version 11 - eventually!!

Having done all that, it agreed with everyone on this thread that the 37s are V3.5 and V4.  It recognised the 47 as an ESU, but came up with a list of about 12 potential matches, including the V3.5.

It has all been an interesting learning curve for me, and thanks to everyone for the help and advice.

Thanks for all the help on this.

I hadnt noticed the LS4 on the class 37 21 pin chip!

Looks like the first 37 and the 47 are V3.5.  The speaker is a 4 ohm 1.5W one, so the second 37 is a V4 or later.

The class 47 was run on a club layout yesterday with the club NCE Powercab, and it was also returning different values for CV8 every time!  I am not too worried as the main thing is that it works OK, so I wont be messing about with it too much!

My efforts to read them using JMRI arent proving too successful yet.  The club laptop had JMRI loaded, but the laptop didnt appear to have the NCE drivers loaded, so I have followed NCE advice and uninstalled JMRI, and it is now doing countless updates.  When they are done, I will see if the laptop can load the drivers and then I can reinstall JMRI.

5 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

If you post photos I will recognise ESU chips …

Phil, thanks for the offer, and here are the photos:

8 pin Class 37:

21 pin Class 37:

21 pin factory fitted Class 47:

I was quite surprised to see a load of blutack around the speaker in the Class 47.  Is that normal practice for Bachmann?

Thanks, Simon

Thanks Nigel for the reply.  I have tried using JMRI via my NCE Powercab to see what the two class 37 chips are, but it gives a long list of possible ESU chips.  It could be because my version of JMRI is ancient as my old laptop is only running Windows Xp, and so wont run recent versions of JMRI.  I will get hold of the MRC laptop tomorrow as that runs on Windows 10 and will take the latest JMRI.

The factory fitted class 47 is rather puzzling!  I am sure that you are right about the ESU sound chip being misread, as every time I use the Powercab to get the CV8 value, it comes back with a different figure.  We have both a Lenz and Powercab system at the MRC, so will try them tomorrow and see what values they can see.

I have recently bought a job lot of 3 locos at an auction, knowing that one was DCC Sound fitted.  To my surprise, all three locos were equipped with Sound, but I am not sure exactly what the Sound chips are.

The first loco is an 8 pin Bachmann Class 37, D6826, and CV8 is 151, ie ESU.  CV7 is 059.  I suspect that it is a Loksound V3 or V3.5, but am not sure which.

The second loco is a 21 pin Bachmann class 37, D6984, and again CV8 is 151.  This time, CV7 is 255, so is probably a Loksound V4 or V5, but again I cant tell which.

According to online sources, both these Class 37s were not factory fitted sound locos, so they were added by a previous owner.

The third loco is a Bachmann Class 47 with factory fitted sound.  CV8 is 035, which according to the NMRA list is Elektronik and Model Production, about which I know nothing, and cant seem to find anything online.  CV7 is 059, which is the same value as the first loco, so I am wondering if it might be a rebadged Loksound V3 or V3.5.

Can anyone please help in identifying these decoders, or at least advising on what make and type of decoders Bachmann use on their Sound equipped Class 47s?  Many thanks!

That is an impressive layout!  I wish that I had the space (and funds!) for something like that.  
 

As you say, by using chocolate block connectors instead of vero board, it does away with the need for soldering and makes replacing any bits much simpler.  As the MRC has a load of used chocolate block taken from a dismantled layout, I might use that instead.

My MRC has a very similar problem to the OP.  We have a layout where a single line runs into 5 roads in the yard (see pic).  The turnouts are operated with Peco point motors, and are switched with simple non-latching momentary toggle switches.  The power to the motors is via a Gaugemaster CDU.  We have 5 switches, one for each road.  It was originally wired up with push button switches, which werent reliable, and in a major rewiring, we are struggling now to use a single switch to set each road.

My current plan is that to go into the top road, we just need a switch without diodes to operate turnout P1.

For the second road, we operate P2 without a diode, but P1 will require a diode.

Likewise for the third road, P3 doesnt need a diode, but P1 and P2 do.

Again for the fourth road, P4 doesnt need a diode, but P1, P2 and P3 do.

For the fifth road, I think that all P1 to P4 will need diodes.  This means that we would need 10 diodes for the arrangement shown.

The existing wiring is current a real muddle, so my plan is to put all these diodes onto a piece of vero board.  I assume that the copper on vero board will be able to handle the current involved in operating the Peco motors?

I have looked at the pages referenced earlier in this thread, and although the use of additional switches reduces the number of diodes needed, I think that the wiring will be eaiser using diodes than the use of SPDT switches.

Does this seem a sensible way to go, or is there a simpler or more elegant way of using the diodes?

Well a little while later, I have looked into this again, and this time with success.  Windows XP and 7 both failed to recognise the Elite without the necessary drivers, so I downloaded Railmaster and used the drivers with that.  As RAF96 said, both XP and & see the Elite as an RS-232 emulation device, but using the drivers in Railmaster, it then sees the Elite as a "USB Serial Port".  This then allows JMRI to communicate with the Elite.  I have used both the XP and 7 laptops to set up and run a train on my test track.

The MRC Windows 10 laptop was easier, as it already seemed to have the necessary drivers, and also managed to access the Elite and run the test train.  The next task is to see if the MRC eLink will also run, as it is supposedly a cut down Elite.  

Evening all,

More gardening done today - the front hedges have now had their first cut of the year.  Some weeding and strimming also done.  No doubt more will get done tomorrow.  The weather was an improvement on yesterday and it actually got warm when the sun came out!  
 

Best wishes to Brian for a speedy recovery 

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

Other posters have remarked on the difficulties of people pronouncing certain British names (I had actually written post on this, but it disappeared from my iPad before I could post it. Thank you, Mr Jobs).

But there is another thing that popped into my mind about British English is that there are a lot of slang terms that allows someone from Great Britain to talk English in front of “a foreigner“ without them being able to understand a word or at least not grasp the entire meaning)

Such as: <Had a frustrating morning: came in, had a shufti at the inbox but couldn’t get anything sorted. At this rate it’s going to go pear shaped in no time. Was desperate for a slash, but the bog was out of order, so I nipped across to the boozer and as I was there decided to grab a sarni and a jar. Charlie came in and asked, jokingly, if I wanted to get legless, “not at these prices” I replied “I bought the old trout lunch here once and said goodbye to the best part of a pony. And at the rate you drink, mate, I’d be skint in no time” I went back to the office, had another shufti at the inbox and them decided to skive off home>

Any other thoughts/suggestions for using British English to confuse foreigners?

 

Not British English, but there was a true tale in WW2 when two Gaelic speakers were POWs in Germany.  They escaped and eventually managed to make their way home.  On the way, they were recaptured by the Germans, but confused them by their use of the Gaelic.  They were asked where they came from by the Germans getting a map of Europe.  They pointed on the map to somewhere in northern Russia (this was before Germany tried to invade Russia), so the Germans let them go free!

12 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Talking of 'homework' in the firms' time British Airways aircraft maintainers at LHR used to call such jobs 'homers'.    'Homer' was the name of a rather nice 5"gauge 0-6-0T that was built by a member of the Reading Society of Model engineers - you don't need me to tell you what his day job happened to be.

I dont recall seeing any British Airways aircraft maintainers at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway!!

Interestingly, in places where I worked those “Homers” were known as “foreigners”.

It is a blustery morning here today with occasional showers.  I have been outside digging and weeding in preparation for planting of mangetout peas and dwarf french beans.  When the showers came on, I retreated inside and completed the application of mastic to the shower, so hopefully it will now pass muster.  

18 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

Another I heard (not sure which company) but the guy was pinching mercury(?) in the frame tubes of his bike.  Worked well until he fell off his bike going thru' the main gate and the security guard saw the guy struggling to pick his bike up so went over to help.....

 

I believe that this story was actually attributed to Sellafield back in the 1970/80s.  I am pretty certain that it was a widespread urban myth, but a good one nonetheless!

A fellow member of the local Cancer Support Group has today completed an amazing fund raising feat.  Gary Mckee has run 110 marathons in 110 days in support of Macmillan Cancer Support and  West Cumbria Hospice at Home.  It has had quite a bit of radio and Tv coverage locally, and fully deserved.  This isnt his first effort.  A few years ago, he ran 100 marathons in 100 days, culminating in the London Marathon on the 100th day.  For anyone interested in his achievements, just google Gary McKee marathon man!  For information, he has raised over £114000 in these 110 days!