irishthump

Thanks Enniscorthyman, I new I had seen it mentioned somewhere on the forum!

Do you find much of a difference with the new speaker? I was contemplating the bass reflex myself but I assumed it would be too big....

It's just a matter of setting up the CV's on the decoder properly and using the same decoder in the two locos, I run a pair of 141's together and when they are uncoupled they run in perfect unison.

I realise that, and I have 3 141's all fitted with the same decoder and they run flawlessly. But as was said you can get differences in performance after a while even with 2 identical locos. True this can be sorted with the basic cv's in most cases but the more drastic ones you have to resort to setting up separate speed tables and I've read of some US modellers (very experiences DCC users) who would rather turn one of them into a dummy unit than faff around with speed tables. Granted they're running consists of up to 4 locos so the loss of power is negated.

If you are using DCC you don't need to strip out a loco, just double head them and have twice the pulling power

Yeah but I've read about US modellers turning one loco of a pair into a dummy because they couldn't get them to speed match.

Gutted sounds drastic! How much would need to be done to enable a MM 141 to free wheel, yet leaving as much of the running gear as possible untouched, in case the loco was to be returned to working order?

I suppose the weight of the 'dead' loco in a train would be the issue then.....

Simple enough. Just replace the wheelsets with ones without gears on the axles. If you're using DCC then you can still operate the lights. But you're right, the weight may be an issue.

Guys,

Gareth from the ModelShop recommended replacing the fitted speaker in the 201's with a bass enhanced one. Has anybody here done that?

I'm just curious if there is any "major surgery" required to make it fit!

Guys, thanks for all the positive comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

Hi irishthump,

 

Video was just great,really starting to like dcc sound.

Impressed with your mk3 super train rake,can I ask

Did you do those yourself or are they shop painted.

Love the layout and thanks in advance John-r

John-r, the MK3's are my own repaints. I used a rake of older Hornby Mk3's which I believe are a little short to be prototypical but I think they turned out well. If you look on my workbench thread you can see how I went about it - http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/77-Graham-s-Workbench/page2

As for the DCC sound I'm sold on it myself! I know it's not everybody's cup of tea but I really enjoy the "driving experience" with sound equipped locos.

Lads,

Just got my 201 Decoder from Model Shop Belfast, here's a little video of her in action...

210 gets delivered to the engine shed by 086 before first startup. She takes on diesel at the new refuelling point then she's tested hauling a rake of Mk3's. Enjoy!

I used a 4mm thick foam sheeting used for floating wood floors. I picked up a pack of 12 3x2 sheets for €20 in Homebase in Nutgrove about a year ago. Easily cut and as Dave said it's useful if there is any irregularity in your baseboards.

But as said, once ballasted it does nothing for sound!

 

Exquisite - love the wet, drizzely, irishness of it all!! Stunning work!

Yes it certainly looks the part.....

Guys,

Most other model railway forums seem to have one and we are getting a few DCC queries.

Anyone agree?

Brilliant! Thanks a lot, both locos separate now!

Glad to help!

You'll have to take one of them off the track like I said because they both have the same address now.

Make sure you select loco 3 then press "PROG" until you see "PROG MAIN TRACK" on the display. Then the first option will be to program the address.

No you haven't set them up for doubleheading as such, you have just given them both the same address. The best thing to do is take 220 of the track then reprogramme the 141 to whatever address you want it to have. Personally I use the loco number itself as it's easy to remember.

Ha! If it's any consolation to you I did the same thing when I tried to put a decoder in my 071. Flipped it over and went for the first screws I saw!

Guys, I tried to program my 141, which has a bachmann 21 pin plugged in. I've numbered it 1 in the address system, and pressed enter for all of the settings after that, like the voltages, without typing anything in like yous said. But it isn't running. Any ideas of why this is?

Give us some more info....

Did it run under a different address before you tried to reprogram it? How did you reprogram it? Did you use the main track or a separate programming track?

Also, what should I set the starting voltage as when programming a loco?

Sorry I forgot to answer the second question! Most decoders wont need you to adjust the start voltage but the idea is to have the loco moving smoothly at it's slowest possible speed. This will vary from loco to loco as some have better motors and mechanisms that others, the MM stuff is top notch so you don't really have to do anything with them.

When you're programming with the Prodigy it cycles through the most commonly used CV's like start voltage, top voltage, acceleration, etc. just for convenience but you don't have to enter a value for them.

Guys, does anyone have a prodigy express and could tell me how to adjust the volume? Also, what should I set the starting voltage as when programming a loco?

The volume is controlled by the loco's decoder so you can adjust each one individually. This is done by programming the relevant CV for the decoder, can't think offhand which CV it is on Modelsshopbelfast decoders. You should have a sheet with the decoder that will tell you which CV to adjust.

Then you need to refer to your DCC controller manual for how to reprogramme decoder CV's. Don't worry, it's very simple with Prodigy controllers!

As for myself, the Missus got me a voucher for Marks Models which will be spent at the first available opportunity!

I got the model shop belfast's one!

You won't be disappointed with it! I looked at your Youtube vid, it sounds great.

I got a 201 sound decoder, a prodigy express and a mk2 genny van!

Very nice! You'll like the Prodigy, so simple to use.

What 201 chip did you get?

Compliments of the season to all!

You need to remove the middle section of the body. There are 4 screws on the bottom, 2 at each end underneath the bogies. You'll see the screw holes when you turn the bogies to the side. Just unscrew them and the body will slide upwards.

You'll see the blanking plate for the DCC socket around the centre of the circuit board. Carefully remove it and fit your chip in it's place.

Give it a quick test before refitting the body.

Those ones are set up for DC running out of the box. When I get a chance I'll try them on DC and let you know how they are.

Well I gave the loco a go on a length of DC track using a normal Bachmann control. The sound started up after turning the power up about half way but I couldn't get the loco to move even at full power. Maybe the controller didn't provide enough juice?

I'll double check later to see if DC running is activated.

They use the same basic emd 567 prime mover as the baby GMs, albeit with more cylinders I think, hence why they sound similar.

Yeah the Baby GMs use an 8 cylinder while the F7s had a 12 cylinder engine. But I don't think there is much difference sound wise. Digitrains in the UK sell a Tsunami with the 567 sound on it but since it's US outline the other sounds won't be prototypical. But you can choose from 16 different horn sounds so you may well find one that is close to an Irish sound.

ESU have downloadable sound files on their website, they have several generic US files including a couple of 567 prime movers as well as the 071 and 201. You can listen to samples on the website and they sound pretty close to a Baby GM. These can be loaded onto any Loksound decoder if you have a Lokprogrammer which can be got for around €150.

I was also onto Olivia's Trains in the UK and they can load any of those sound files to a decoder for you. Furthermore, they can mix and match sounds from other files. I was asking them could they take the 071 or 201 sound file and replace the prime mover with the 567 and they said it was no problem.

But as I said, if you buy a Lokprogrammer you can do all this yourself!

They use the same basic emd 567 prime mover as the baby GMs, albeit with more cylinders I think, hence why they sound similar. Do sound locos work on DC?

Those ones are set up for DC running out of the box. When I get a chance I'll try them on DC and let you know how they are.