irishthump

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!

You can try reset of the decoders by programming CV8 with a value of 8. This should reset the decoder to factory setting. Do it a couple of times to be sure. The loco addresses will also be set to 3 when you do this. Let us know how you get on.

Replacing the decoder may be the best option at this stage. If you get the same issue with a new decoder then it may indicate an issue with the PCB but think that’s unlikely if the lights work under DC power.

Well it gets even better with the V5 decoders. They allow acceleration and deceleration times that are roughly 3.6 that of the V4. So if you set CV4 to maximum (255) it will take ages for the loco to coast to a stop. I have mine set up like this and also use the brake feature so I can turn the throttle to zero, let the loco coast then stop it with the brake. The deceleration value for the brake can be set independently. The V5’s also have a feature which allows you to set 3 different “load” settings for the loco. I have them set to mimic light engine, a light train and a heavy train. These are mapped to function keys. This basically does away with Drive Hold and Coast and makes the loco incredibly prototypical you drive.

You're supposed to activate the Manual Notching logic before notching up or down. If you leave F16 off when you notch up the loco will go to Run 8 mode which makes the engine spool up to top speed. Notching down with F16 off will make the engine drop right down to idle which is called Coast. If you activate F16 first then each press of F14 or F15 will make the engine go up or down one notch. If I remember correctly to go up or down one notch you need turn F14 or F15 on then off again, if you leave them on the engine will rev all the way up or down. Hope that helps, it sounds way more complex than it is!

201's came with dynamics as delivered, but they were never used. No other Irish locos had them.

There should be no problem with compatibility, ESU decoders will work with any DCC system. I suggest doing a hard reset, set CV8 to 8, then try again. This is best done on a separate programming track and 2 it a couple of times to be sure.

You should try Drive Hold instead of manual notching. It basically provides the same effect but you only need to use one function key.