irishthump

Putting a loco in and out of consist wont affect any other settings on the decoder. The only thing to remember is that the loco will not respond to it's original address while the consist is set up. Setting up a consist sets CV19 to the consist number. CV19 overrides the regular loco address so it will only respond to the consist address so as Noel said this needs to be cleared for the loco to run normally under it's address. You can also clear a consist by setting CV19 to 0 in each loco. This is a handy thing to know in case you forget the address of the consist! On a side note when locos are in consist any function buttons you press will activate the functions on all locos in the consist. So if you press the horn it will sound in all locos. This can be annoying for some people! Decoders can be set up to change this but it gets complicated.

Yeah I feel dirty just for posting it!

Jesus! Hasn’t he heard that DCC will do the same thing more easily and a lot more safely? I’m not a fan of this guy‘s channel at the best of times but he’s hit a new low with this crap....

OK,I really think the loco will need to be opened up to locate the short. Can you do that yourself or is there a dealer near you that can offer that kind of service?

To work in a consist the two or more locos must have very similar running characteristics. Basically this means that the need to pretty much ensure that each loco accelerates and decelerates at the same rate and that they all drive at the same speed for a giving setting of your controller. Otherwise you can have the locos fighting against each other when running. Generally the Murphy Models locos are very consistent and run very well together so it's not too much of a worry. Decoders can get complicated. It's usually best to run the same brand of decoder when possible as they have similar running characteristics. The reason for this is that motor settings and acceleration and deceleration can be handled differently in different brands. I usually run sound in all my locos and I have standardized on Loksound decoders for all of my models. For the 121's it would be best to pair the sound decoder with the ESU Lokpilot which is the non sound version that MM is supplying. Hope that helps!

The red light on the controller and the heat from the loco would suggest there is a short circuit of some kind. Do all of your locos run ok?

Yeah I used Insulfrog points exclusively on my layout. I just don't want the hassle of wiring up live frogs and having and having to have a means to change the frog polarity. IAs I run mainly 4 or 6 axle diesels the dead frogs don't cause me any issue whatsoever once the track and loco wheels are kept clean. As I mentioned before I connect the stock rail and switch rail so I don't have to rely on electrical contact at the point.

No offence intended but that's really not a reliable way to do things. I would imagine the existent DCC wiring on your layout is helping conductivity to different sections. I know you say you don't have any problems but you're asking for trouble. Fishplates will conduct, that's what they're designed for, but over time they can oxidise or loosen and that will affect them. Painting and weathering track can also cause a loss of conductivity (I notice your own track isn't painted), I have experienced this first hand. The best practice is to install a DCC bus and to use droppers every few feet or to all seperate pieces of track. I've also heard people suggesting that the track itself acts as it's own bus which is nonsense. Track is actually a poor conductor which is why a bus is the best option.

Points... Yes, if you use dead frogs you'll need to provide power feeds to isolated sections. I also solder small jumper wires across the switch rails of the point so that they are always conducting power. I can post a picture of what I did to better explain it if needs be. Reverse loops require a special module for DCC which automatically switches the polarity when a train enters and exits the revers loop. The loop also needs to be isolated from the rest of the layout.

The Kadee magnet is designed to pull the pins on the couplers to the side rather than down.

Upload to Youtube and post the link here, that's what most people do.

I'd use 32/0 for the main bus from the capacitor and then 16/0 from the bus to the motors themselves. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10m-DCC-Layout-wire-Droppers-Track-Bus-Track-Power-16-0-2-24-0-2-32-0-2/321069274650?hash=item4ac138561a:g:zywAAOxy4t1SkIHy

Sounds fantastic Fran! The fact it sounds clear as a bell through the IPhone mic indicates the quality of the recording. Obviously the higher definition of the V5 helps but you need a good recording to begin with. Can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear! Good to hear the Deltic is going well too...

If possible it's best to leave DC operation disabled if you plan to only run DCC.

Save yourselves a lot of hassle with this.... https://tcsdcc.com/CV29Calc

No complaints here. I have a small collection of BR locos myself (looking forward to the Accurascale Deltic!) and I often mothball the Irish stuff to give them a run.

That's good to know! Having a driver in the cab is not a deal breaker for me so if it's too much hassle I probably won't bother.

Thanks again, Eoin. Can the cab be removed without removing the entire body from the chassis?

@Eoin Very informative, thanks for this! can you indicate the position of the speaker on the chassis by any chance?

Yeah, sorry about that! I really don't have much of a mic setup, I just recorded this on my phone. If you've any questions resulting from not being able to hear me talking just ask away.

Yes that's the blanking plate in the 071. At least that's your problem sorted!

Folks, I threw together a quick video of how I set up and use the new settings on the 121 Sound decoders. Apologies for the quality, trying to take a video and use a throttle at the same time is not easy!

Yes that looks like a blanking plate alright. Was this installed in a loco?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264766583456 That was just the first one I found with a Google search. They're readily available, Loksound even supply them with new V5 decoders. As for motors, it should'nt be too hard to find a motor that will fit a 071. Or at least one that will fit with a minimum of modification. US modellers re-motor locos all the time, there are countless videos about the subject on Youtube.

I believe the 121 comes with a sugarcube speaker as standard. There's nothing special about these speakers, they are readily available and can be replaced easily enough. Although I would'nt fancy having to do surgery like that on a brand new loco!