irishthump

Is the decoder the Murphy Models decoder specifically designed for the 121?

You're welcome! Glad you got it sorted. Didi you install a sound decoder?

You can wiggle it very slightly as you do it, but ONLY a little otherwise you risk bending the pins on the plug or damaging the PCB.

Grip it from above with a needle nose pliers. Then apply gentle pressure and lift it straight up.

I'd say there might be a few modellers who may want the 121 decoder set up for independently controlled lighting. When you make adjustments to the function mapping in the Lokprogrammer software if you click on the tools tab there is an option to show which CV's have been changed.

You can do it with CV's but it's a bit of a chore and easy to mess up.

Great video. Do you only use the Drive Hold and Coast functions to drive the loco? What values do you program to Acceleration and Deceleration? The way I set up my locos I put the Independent Brake function on F3 and set deceleration to maximum (255). I only use Drive Hold if simulating starting a heavy train. I never use Coast as with the high Dec value you simple turn the throttle down to 0, let the train coast and stop it with the brake on F3. I find this is very realistic way to drive the loco.

The DCC side of the 121 models is rapidly growing into its own thing. Could the relevant replies here and on other threads be merged into a separate thread?

DCC control, lighting and sound is a fascinating part of the hobby.

That sounds good. Which file did you use?

Not sure where the speaker is placed in the 121’s but contrary to popular belief it’s best to have a completely sealed body shell with one small speaker opening than to have large open sections in the shell.

Oh damn these are tempting!

Except in this case there is nothing proprietary about the decoder or the software used on it.

$482 for the throttle. Another $99 for the wireless adaptor for whatever DCC system you use.

Another thing to note about the MM121 decoder I bought yesterday.... The Loksound V5 is available in 2 versions - The V5 and the V5 DCC. There are some important differences between the two decoders... The V5 is designed for the European market. It addition to DCC it works with other control protocols such as Marklin and Motorola which are more popular with European modellers - not really relevant to us! It also uses a multiplier of .25 for momentum settings similar to the V4. The vast majority of other brands of decoders use a multiplier of .896 and no one knows why ESU deviated from this when developing the V4. What that means is that when you program acceleration or deceleration whatever value you enter into CV3 or CV4 if you multiply this value by .25 the result is the amount of seconds it takes for the loco to go from full speed to a dead stop. So a value of 100 in CV4 means the loco will take 25 seconds to come to a stop. The V5 DCC is made primarily for the US market. It uses a momentum multiplier of .896 which is preferable on large layouts common in the US. Now, when I looked at the decoder I bought in my Lokprogrammer software it identified it as a V5 DCC. If the rest of the decoders supplied are all DCC5 it will mean that if you try to double head them with Loksound V4's your momentum settings will not match up. It's a simple enough fix, simply take the value you have entered into your V4 and divide it by 3.6 and enter this value into the V5. This should result in the two different decoders being matched. Bloody stunning piece of engineering. Unfortunately, not available outside the US. (I looked into it, believe me!!!)

There's no reason the decoder would'nt work as normal in an 121 as opposed to a 141....

Yes, the sounds on the ESU website are very recent, high quality recordings and the engines in both those switchers are identical to what's in the 141/121/181's Sorry I corrected the typo! No, Full Throttle features are NOT activated in these decoders as delivered. But like I said, it's an easy task to turn them on with a Lokprogrammer. I just did it with my own decoder.

OK. I picked up one of the 567 decoders from Mark's Models yesterday and have spent the morning tinkering with it. Now let me say right off the bat, it sounds excellent! But the soundfile is not bespoke, apart from the horn it basically uses this file: http://projects.esu.eu/projectoverviews/search?q=8-567 A more prototypical horn has replaced the US one, but it's the same file. I suspect the EMD 645 is the file that Murphaph has linked to above. By the way I installed the MM decoder into one of my 141's to test it out. These work fine with the 141/181's without the need for any adjustments. F0 controls the lights as expected so these decoders are perfect if you also want sound in your other locos. One other thing, if you're used to running Loksound decoders using the Full Throttle features be warned that these decoders do not support those features out of the box. They also don't take full advantage of the new features unique to the V5. Reprogramming them is simple enough but you really need the Lokprogrammer to do it. Trying this process by just adjusting CV's is not easy! BTW this is not meant to bash MM in any way, the decoders work fine and sound great which is what is important. (I have 2 more on order anyway!) Just putting the info out for anyone who is interested!

Yes that’s it. The design may well have changed over time.

Yep it's clearly visible in this pic...

Ewww.... brake fluid? You use that on the wrong plastic and you'll get a mess!

This I don't get. You do realise the model is MOSTLY plastic? I really don't see how this particular part on the model looks any worse for being made out of plastic.

Just wait for the rest of the “snag list”....

Wow! Didn't take long did it?

A big thanks to Paddy for his immeasurable contribution to making the Irish RTR scene what it is today.