irishthump

Are these PM’s sound decoders?

Here’s another one of those “on a whim” projects that every modeller is guilty of... I have an old Hornby HST which I re-motored a few years ago. It ran well but I was never completely happy with it. I wanted to find a replacement chassis that I could perhaps shoehorn into the body. I had a Bachmann class 25 chassis which happened to have the correct wheel spacing on the bogies but was too short. I ended up cutting and lengthening the metal frame and fitting it to the original plastic under frame on the HST. I then fixed the side plates from the original bogies to the Bachmann ones. I also had to lengthen the front drive shaft with styrene tube. It runs smoothly but is a little noisy, but since I’ll eventually install a sound decoder I don’t think it matters too much! First pic is the original chassis and motor bogies. Second pic shows the Bachmann chassis and bogies fitted into the original body with the bogie side frames also fitted. Last pic is the finished loco next to the dummy car from the same set.

Wow, that's great info! Thanks for the detailed response.

Thanks for that JHB!

Guys, Anybody have a timeline for when the 121's were fitted with the EMD 645 engines taken from the withdrawn class 201's? Trying to decide which engine would be most appropriate for my Supertrain 121's!

The full width cab body really does look the part! Reminds me of another one of my favourite European locomotives, the mighty M62.

Terrible news. Didn't know him personally but I know his face from the exhibitions. RIP.

Couple of interesting videos of the Serbian Class 666 trundling about it's business. The loco is an EMD JT22CW, mechanically identical to the 071.

I know you might not have the answers to these questions but I'll ask anyway! 1) Are the decoders definitely being produced by ESU? 2) Any idea who is producing the actual soundfile for the sound decoders? 3) Did PM actual obtain new sound recordings of the engine types in question?

Yeah these locos use the same EMD 567 engine as the 141/121's. Except it's the larger 16 cylinder version as opposed to the 8 cylinder one in the 141/121's. But the sound is almost indistinguishable!

Thanks for the replies, lads. Not in a rush for the order, I was just worried in case Des had shut down for the duration of the lockdown!

Lads, Do you know if Des at SSM is taking orders at the moment? I emailed him the other day but no reply as of yet...

The pickups are a simple set up. Phosphor bronze strips glued to a styrene block fixed under the chassis.

Scratch built (ish) CIE break van.... A combination of a Dapol kit, some styrene, And an old Hornby break van. I also added leds for the long side lights and added a keep alive circuit to prevent flickering. Power is provided by bronze strip pickups on all 4 wheels. The old Hornby chassis makes it sit a tad high but I can live with that. Overall it’s not particularly accurate but it’ll certainly pass the 3 foot rule! Just need some decals are weathering to help disguise the flaws....

Thanks Eoin. Yeah I normally use the yellow insulation board but it can't be cut with a hot wire cutter and the surface can be quiet pitted.

@Eoin Where do you source the blue insulation foam? I've been looking for it for ages and couldn't find it!

The Brush traction motors were proven to be reliable so they were left on the A and C classes. The prime movers were replaced and some electrical equipment was updated such as the generators which I think received new windings.

Ive just started programming my own locos with the various ESU files that are now available. There's a great variety, I hope to post a video or two soon but be warned my layout is nowhere near as pretty as NIRCLASS80's!!!

I guarantee you wont look back after getting the Lokprogrammer! I fully agree about the prices from UK suppliers. Even the blank decoders have a crazy mark up compared to buying from Modelbahnne Lippe and the like. BTW building your own sound templates is something that has a learning curve but simply loading downloadable files and tweaking the sounds can be learned in an afternoon, it really is that simple.

That's exactly what I do with my own locos. I just use the 071 or 201 file as a template and drop in the different engine sound, simple. ESU recently added the 8cyl versions of the EMD 567 and 645 engines to their library. Both perfect for 141/181/121's. They even have different versions so you can vary them across your locos.

The only thing I'd be worried about is who PM gets to create the soundfile. A lot of Loksound files created for European locos don't take advantage of the new features on the decoders. Functions like the Drive Hold and Coast features are not used at all in the files produced for the likes of Roco and Piko. Only the US manufacturers make use of them, understandable as they were developed because Soundtraxx were way ahead of them in that regard. To be honest I'll hold off buying the decoders until we get a demo of them.....

I haven't tried the V5 yet but I had heard that they addressed the problem with acc/dec on their decoders which was long overdue. They also introduced a feature where you can simulate a heavy train or running light engine. This can be assigned to a function key of your choice. To be honest a lot of those bespoke sounds are very gimmicky and are only of use in some specific circumstances. Its not hard to create them yourself with the Lokprogrammer but I haven't had the time to jump down that rabbit hole! All credit to the likes of wheeltappers but they're not exactly reinventing the wheel with their sound projects as the vast majority of the sound files needed are free to download.

Yeah I do the same. This is the reason I think the Lokprogrammer is just essential, it allows you to map the functions to your own specs without having to rely on another supplier to do it for you.

Yeah but I think the Loksounds drive better than any other brand of decoder. The throttle to motor sound response is terrific and the drive hold and coast features are so much fun.

Great videos! What decoders are you using in the 201's?