irishthump

Don't use metallic paint on a plastic frog, the whole point is that it is insulated. Some metallic paints are conductive.

Thanks, Fran. I'll be honest, I have an F7 A&B fitted with Tsunamis and while they sound great the Loksound is just as good and has much better control. It's an 8 pin decoder and I hardwired an 8 pin socket into the A unit as well as a bass enhanced speaker. I made the B unit into a dummy and installed a second speaker in the shell. Both are wired in series to the decoder, you can see the speaker wires going between the units. I also used a drawbar between the units rather than couplers.

Just finished installing sound in this loco. Proto 1000 A&B units fitted with a Loksound decoder. [video=youtube;7YEf3-L_khA]

Would love to see a video if you get the chance, Rich! How many different engine sounds are on the decoder?

I used 10mm MDF for my the baseboards on my new layout. It's bog-standard grade from my local building suppliers but I find it fine so far. I used 18mm ply for the last layout but it was normal "B&Q" grade so it was less than satisfactory for many of the reasons already mentioned. I looked into birch ply but, as was said, it was too expensive. I also had a few issues with the ply warping because of the temperature changes in my attic. It wasn't too severe but it caused some problems where baseboards butted against each other. Another thing is that you will seldom get any plywood sheets from a supplier that don't have some distortion, usually from poor storage. The likes of Woodies and B&Q are even worse! The new baseboards are supported on a frame of 2X1 softwood. Sounds a bit lightweight, but this frame is itself supported by the rafters in my attic so it is more than rigid enough. Track pins aren't an issue for my as I glue my track. I use clear "No More Nails" for fixing the track to the foam underlay which is itself fixed to the MDF board with the same adhesive. One more issue which hasn't been mentioned; if you are planning to use point motors you need to give some thought to the thickness of the board. Using a "sandwich" of foam and other materials will make it very difficult to install point motors under the baseboards.

That book is nearly 30 years old. I hope it has been revised to take into account the advances in building materials....

Yes there are several names for it, decoder chip, sound card. They're all valid!

No problem! The MM sound decoders are regular ESU Loksound V4's. As Dhu Varren said the files are freely available on the ESU website for the 071's and 201's. These can be programmed to the decoders if you have the ESU lokprogrammer. All of my 201, 071 and 141/181 decoders have been programmed this way.

What do you want to know? I don't think they would sound right in a Jinty....

I stand corrected! I had recently read an interview with Matt Herman from ESU and he was describing how fitting stay-alive to the V4 was "problematic". I guess they've solved the problem, good news!

Bloody hell! That's about €165 at the current exchange rate. Another option if you plane to install sound in more then one loco might be to buy blank decoders (they can be got for €99 each with free delivery from Modellbahn Lippe) and get them "re-blown" with the required sound.

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think Loksounds can be fitted with a keep-alive module. Have to be honest, I'd be very reluctant to fit a sound chip to a 0-6-0 loco without either keep-alive or extra pickups. I would install pickups on a coach or brakevan and have it permanently coupled to the loco. Either way, as Dhu Varren says, space is tight in those Jintys.

+1

Recommended practice is to place insulated joiners in the loop of track at roughly the same point as the gap in the bus. The problems a looped bus can cause mainly effect large layouts, but they can cause issues in small layouts that might seem intermittent. On my old layout which had a main loop of roughly 20ft x 4ft I had an issue where some locos wouldn't respond to commands straight away. It dawned on me that it would happen at roughly the point that was furthest from where the bus connected to the command station. I cut the bus loop and gapped the track and the problems disappeared.

It's best not to have a loop. I believe the simple explanation is that the signal from the controller goes out along the bus and in a loop the signal will effectively "double back" on itself whish can" confuse" decoders.

I find spirits can be a little harsh on the paint, if you put on too much and don't take it off quickly it will eat into the paint very quickly. I find T-Cut is better and will also leave a shiny surface for the new decal. Again, only use a tiny amount on a cotton bud and rub very gently. Don't leave it sitting on the model for any amount of time! Once the old number is removed take a clean cotton bud and lightly polish the surface.

I think poor Frasier got the worst of it.... [video=youtube;Eu-BqOsvj00]

I had a look at a few different couplers before settling on Kadees, and the Dingham ones seemed the best of them to be honest. Certainly a bit cheaper than Kadees but I dod'nt fancy the assembly involved and they can't be painted. Also, the "handedness" was an issue for me. But like you say, anything is better than a tension lock coupler!

Have to mention Kadees, even though they are not prototypical but then they're no less prototypical than the Dingham couplers! Delayed uncoupling is easily accomplished with magnets and on layouts with generous curves they can be set close enough so as to give the impression of the stock being pushed by the buffers. Smaller, scale-sized Kadees are also available which are less noticeable.

I favour the Loksound myself. I prefer the way it drives to the Zimo, but like Noel said that's a matter of taste. I splashed out last year and bought a Lokprogrammer so I can programme and alter my own sounds. The sounds for Irish locos are freely available on ESU's website. Blank Loksounds can be got for €99 each including shipping from Modelbahnne Lippe in Germany. I can then programme as I like and change the result if I'm not happy with it.

I'm here a good while and never saw this thread... Glad you shared it to be honest!

Can you share the video? Don't think I've seen that one, it sounds interesting!

If it only has one eye then I'm going to be very upset!

I thought the 201's didn't have an auxiliary generator for HEP....