irishthump

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.

Is it something to do with the model being in its “as delivered” condition? Perhaps they were fitted after arrival by Inchicore Works....

I really don't understand that, there's almost no way that using another brand of decoder can cause damage to a loco. What's far more likely is faulty wiring in a loco causing damage to a decoder! A DCC ready loco should operate with ANY decoder without fear of invalidating a warranty.

You can't lose or delete a soundfile by messing around with the decoder settings either with the Lokprogrammer or by manual programming on the layout. You can alter CV's which may affect the way the sounds operate but these can be restored by a reset, this doesn't affect the loaded soundfile, contrary to what many people seem to think. That said I would also like to see IRM and Murphy Models at least consider trying to supply the files to customers if it's at all possible.

I haven't really listened to any of the V5 files, but if it sounds good enough for you then use it!

The turbo is what gives the 071 the distinctive whine, but the real answer gets a little more complicated! The A class has a very different exhaust system to any of the EMD locomotives that use the non turbo 645. If you listen to any of the EMD locos you'll find they all sound pretty similar regardless of the number of cylinders in the prime mover. There really is no prime mover in the ESU library that matches it. I made a soundfile for my kit-built A class which used an older non turbo 567 which had a very unusual low growl to it. I've actually forgotten which file I took it from! To be honest I'll probably end up purchasing the bespoke decoders from IRM for my A classes when they arrive.

Are all the 121's due to arrive by air or is it just the RPSI locos?

Yeah that guy's channel annoys the hell out of me! High quality camera, decent looking room setup, then he unboxes models worth a couple of hundred euros and runs them on the fuck@*g floor!

I read somewhere that CIE wanted GM from the beginning but a lack of available US currency resulted in them turning to the UK.

I haven't bought a V5 yet or even opened a V5 project in the Lokprogrammer software so I'm a little in the dark on the details. I didn't know that Drive Hold, Coast And Run 8 were now logical functions as opposed to sound slots in the file. Hopefully this means any V5 project can use these features. This is good news, as I was worried that the upcoming MM decoders for the 121 locos would not have these features. As you say, those features aren't really of interest to the European market. As regards V5 vs V4 compatibility; V4 projects will work in V5 decoders. Now whether you need to use the sound slots to implement Drive hold/Coast/Run 8 or logic functions I really don't know. V5 projects however will NOT work in V4 decoders.

That's nice, neat work. My version was a little more involved That's neat work. My own method was a but more invoved... Like you mentioned I was'nt confident the NEM couplers would pivot enough for tighter curves so I installed draft box Kadees instead.

Yes please! I've done the same with my locos but I'm always interested in any techniques I can steal!