Dave

Great choice of location Richie, it's going to be stunning! Looking forward to seeing this progress.

Nice job! I love those F7's, particularly in that livery.

Lovely job, that will look the biz painted and weathered. Well done

Hi Noel, bought it from this crowd in Australia http://secure.oatleyelectronics.com//product_info.php?products_id=915&osCsid=ndfbm6np7oonhvo1nqtaosv3g5

I use it on a regular basis and it works a treat, up to 10mm no problem. I power it with 12v DC mains power supply.

I'm a fan of gauge master medium grey. Afaics it's noch rebrand and to my eye is a good 'Irish' representation.

I'll have a look at that, cheers Bosko

I ballasted some track today with fine blend, one with medium and one mixed. The fine is too fine and the medium is a bit too big. Mixed is not bad, I plan to weather it with the airbrush.

Lads, I'm looking to get a ballast that is as close as possible to the ballast used on Irish railways. I have tried a few but no joy, Woodland scenics comes close with the grey blend but I'm still not happy with it.

It has to be readily available as it's going to be used on our modular system.

Any help would be much appreciated

Now that's my kind of layout, plenty of shunting ability. Looking forward to seeing this one develop.

Lovely loco David, stunning level of detail.

I was talking to the lads from the MRSI on Sunday in Portlaoise, they were using the Roco Z21 system that uses tablets and phones for cab control. It's come on in leaps and bounds over the last year and it's now only £280 in Hattons. It's compatible with a lot of other controllers too. I think this is the one I will go for.

Jasus Seamus, looks like I've been on the Guinness all day!

You can also get a JMRI throttle app on android, just found it on the play store. You can also get a sprog and connect it to your laptop then you don't need a DCC controller.

Looks great, except its an apple only product

I am also giving one away, just like and share my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/modelrailbaseboards

Glad you like it, I'll have them with me on Sunday in Portlaoise if anyone wants one.

Hi Dave.

Thanks for feedback, I very nearly did buy the Ecos but I didn't like the large size of the twin control console (i.e. not for hand held walk around use), but it did seem to tick nearly every box I could think of except for direct smartphone/tablet interfaces. Reading the technical specs and manuals it really did look the biz. In the end I went for the 5amp NCE Pro Cab as a compromise. There was a delay in shipping it, and I very nearly had a change of heart and changed the order to the Ecos, but glad I didn't for now. What put me off was the insane price of the additional touch screen cabs (android 'Mobile Control II'), which would be better off as wireless cabs via apps on a Samsung, HTC, etc or iPhone/iPad. The more I learn about DCC the more I realise that the heart of the system is the decoder used and really ergonomic cabs, the control unit being the least important component, as the decoders and cabs do the smart work. With the growth in sound it seems CABS, many of which have very similar button layouts need a fundamental redesign to accommodate direct one key access to 20 functions. As a software bod, I find some of the NCE cab screen interface rather bizarre (e.g: when displaying function status, no cab controls work until you exit that display). I'll continue the partial rewire, and installation of decoders over the next year or two, and then if a decent smartphone interfaced DCC system has appeared on the market I may put the NCE on ebay and update. It's a pity ESU didn't make the twin cab smaller leaving the touch screen interface as an app on popular tablets (i.e. for system setup, decoder programming, routes, accessory control, etc). In my line of work I just have a low tolerance for poor software that is neither smart nor intuitive. Ah, everything is a compromise.

Cheers

Noel

It certainly is, I still have to make the move to a decent controller as I'm using a Bachmann Dynamis. For the same reasons I held off on the Ecos. I guess I'll be waiting for a while too.

Jasus Dave, how bad were you to buy them? How was the head the next morning, and did you forget you bought them till they arrived?

Hi Noel, the American stuff has fallen way behind. It seems its a case of if it ain't broke don't fix it! The NCE powercab is a good example of this, the ESU system is one of the best out there in my opinion. The Roco Z21 system is very good and is still developing all the time. But if you by a decent 5 amp NCE or Gaugemaster for a little bit more you can buy the ESU Ecos.

I know Paul, it's the same on the October bank holiday weekend. MRSI and Wexford on the same time! I hope next year won't have so many clashes

Found a load of big power supplies for laptop docking stations due to be sent off for recycling in work - 19.5V / 11.8A, so I'll grab one of these to use on the layout

Excellent, at almost 12 amps it will be ample for point motors.

Here's a few pics of them, it makes a very neat job of cutting track, and for €12 you can't go wrong! I also post them for free!

Just seen your order, I'll have it out in the post in the morning. Thanks lads!

Yes, it's in the Killeshin Hotel, Dublin raod, Portlaoise.

They are available from my website, or at any of the shows.

I will be there, come over and say hello!