irishthump

18 hours ago, Noel said:

 

1. Magnetic decoder access hatch
2. Built-in bass reflex speaker
3. Independent headlights from running lights
4. (Optional) see through ventilation grills (Hmmm not sure the space sacfifice would be worth it)
5. Keep alive capacitor assuming no 5 omitted.
6. Loco drivers

 

Personally I don't think we will see more 141/181's anytime soon, new or old. But in regards to features...

1) Yes, that would be good, but the access hatch on the 121 works fine too.

2) Not a hope! Where would it go? Remember, there's pretty much the same amount of space inside the 121 as there is in the 141/181.

3) Pretty much expected, and easy to accomplish.

4) To me the see through grills in the 121 were unnecessary. It gave up precious space inside the loco that could have been used for a better speaker setup.

5) Again. No room.

6) Seriously?

3 hours ago, Sean said:

I really like them when they are there but don't at all miss them we when they aren't. It's not like it's a big enough detail that I can see them spinning as the train drives around my room

 

I actually see the moving bearing thing as a bit of a premium that Irish modellers are spoiled with. Every time you see an English review of a bit of Irish stock that has them It seems to take a while for the reviewer to actually notice they are there and then they think it's a brilliant innovation.

Were they done first on irish rolling stock or do other brands of models also feature these?

A lot of the more recent  American HO models have come with rotating axel caps, it's where I saw them first anyway. The Hattons Class 66 also had them, and their problems are well documented on the web but I'm not sure how many other OO gauge manufacturers (other than IRM/Accurascale) are using them much. I'm sure one of the IRM guys could tell us if they're more common.

7 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

The rotating axle caps were first done in American HO around 10-12 years ago I believe, but we were the first to have it in OO on our taras.

Cheers!

Fran 

Beat me to the punch!

8 hours ago, Blaine said:

It was, its called the 071.....

Don't know what you're getting at the there. The 201 is a very different beast from the 071.

On 26/2/2022 at 12:12 AM, Alan564017 said:

irishthump, thanks for that. I think I understand the F1 button, on the Elite its the controller 1 (a dial that is pressed to select). 

the locos have definitely been run in on both DC and DCC. From out of the box, B131 ran faster than B125, I put them on a simple loop on the 12 and 6 o'clock positions and one eventually caught up with the other.

I then put in the decoders, same thing, I swapped the decoders, same thing. I think this suggests this is either a mechanism issue or power delivery issue. 

Im playing with the CV's at the moment, I've read CV's 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 on both decoders and they had identical values. I think I have CV5 max speed almost there by reducing the speed of the faster loco. CV 3 acceleration is proving difficult, im down to altering values by units of one, put its still not perfect. 

When you say altering CV 54 to 0 may have to be done two or three times, will it have to be reset to its original value and then set it to 0 again?

Again, all the help is much appreciated, not a road i've been down before 

Alan,

You simply set CV64 to 0 then press F1. After the loco finished moving the process is finished. It is recommend you repeat this process a couple of times to get the best result. This process adjusts automatically CV's 51-56 which control motor BEMF and are quite fiddly to adjust individually.

BTW F1 on the Elite is this button;

1 minute ago, Adrian said:

Unfortunately no, I knew it would never fit was just curious to hear it, it’s about 2/3 the size of the loco chassis and half again as wide so it just ain’t gonna happen

Yeah I didn't think so! Personally I've found the sugar cube speakers give the best sound on the 141's.

On 19/2/2022 at 2:16 AM, Adrian said:

Slightly different opinion to some of the replies on this thread but I absolutely love having DCC sound and lighting and am a total convert. You do have to get a decent DCC chip and speaker but it’s well worth it - check out the vids below, you’ll know if it is for you

Avoid the Hornby select like the plague, it’s very basic, for a little extra spend you’ll get a more reliable controller with more functionality. And if you buy a Hornby DCC sound loco, the basic speaker they add is not a good reflection of proper DCC sound, so just be aware

Personally I use a Lenz LZV100 unit with a LH100 handset and find them powerful yet easy to use.

You can go digital with points or leave them as physical switches which I have done and it’s cheaper, up to you

If you want cheap but good decoders just for running without sound, grab a Zimo MXR600, there about £20-25 Sterling. If you want sound go for an ESU LokSound V4 or 5 they’re about €100-125.

I buy from Roads and rails in the UK as they include speakers for free and have good service. They also do sound chips for the MM121s (both engine types) and MM141/181. Marks Models currently have sound chips for the MM071. I get the IRM A class sound chips direct from IRM.

In my opinion it’s worth the investment. 

Here’s a few examples to give you a good idea (throw the headphones in and turn it up, especially for the last one!) So you can see if it’s for you  Bear in mind that they sound even better in real life as well!

IRM A class & MM071

 

MM071

MM121 old and newer engine

MM141 with double iPhone speaker

 

MM141 with EM2 bass speaker (this speaker is way too big to fit but I just had to try it out for a laugh cos I have one spare - it’s a pity they don’t fit in the 141)

There’s lots to learn with DCC and it can be confusing to start, so if you have more questions keep em coming. I wish I’d had someone to ask when I started with it two years ago!

The EM2 bass speaker sounds incredible! Have you managed the minor miracle of fitting it inside the loco?

16 hours ago, Adrian said:

Yeahh...I also bought a LokProgrammer but haven't used it yet - got it mainly because it was available when I was ordering something else and they can be hard to get  I plan on a lot of sound locos as well so it makes sense. Apart from that I'm a software developer in my day to day so also just curious on how it works

The good thing about the Lokprogrammer is that it does'nt take long to get to grips with it if you just want to do basic things like loading files , remapping functions or tweaking decoder settings.

Swapping out sounds on files is also easy to get to grips with.

23 hours ago, Sean said:

Is the sharing of esu files/flashing to multiple decoders to be frowned upon?

 

Or is it upto the manufacturer to protect them? I see they can be locked to only work on a certain decoder.

The files on the ESU website are free for anybody to use and there’s no restriction on how many decoders you load them on to.

Third party files are different, they are almost ALWAYS locked to a single decoder.

6 hours ago, Alan564017 said:

irishthump, im only getting to look at this now. just a quick recap, I have a Hornby Eilte, two 121's, same decoders, running at different speeds. Im currently trying to adjust the relevant CV's with limited success. 

Your comment above on CV 54, I dont have an F1 button!! (Hornby Eilte), I presume this should be done on the programme track (as per Eilte instructions). Adjusting other CV's on the programme track (which is currently a single length of R601) never moves the loco. If i adjust CV 54 while on the programme track will it move?

Will the CV 54 auto-tune feature aid speed matching (double header) and will it undo any adjustment thus far?

Many thanks in advance, 

Hi Alan,

You can set CV54 to 0 on the programming track but you must then press F1 while the loco is on the main track. It won't move on the programming track at all, that track uses a much lower voltage setting.

I'm a little confused when you say the Elite does'nt have a F1 button. I simply mean the no.1 button on the controller. 

Also if you use this feature make sure the loco has been ran for around 15-30 minutes before you do it. Also, do it 2 or 3 times to get the best result.

The auto-tune MAY help. If the motors have similar properties it may help them to match up more when running together. It also won't alter any adjustments you've already made, it changes CV's that you would'nt normally touch.

I'm in the same camp as Adrian. I love the DCC sound aspect of the hobby and now almost all of my locos are sound equipped. 

I'd also recommend the ESU Loksound decoders but I went a little further down the rabbit hole and purchased a Lokprogrammer which allows me to buy blank decoders and upload files to them myself and/or tweak factory installed decoders to function how I like them to. 

Have to say these look great. I'm fond of BR blue and one of these would look good next to the Deltic.

On 23/2/2022 at 12:32 PM, Georgeconna said:

 

Also how many functions are we looking at here, the Poor ol Dynamis is maxed at 20 Functions.

George you should think about investing in a Lokprogrammer. You can remap the functions to whatever function keys you want. I find I never really use more than 10-12 functions regularly.

52 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Can that be done through a CV edit by a "normal" end user without a Lokprogrammer? Might be a good "how to" if it can as there must be a lot of people with the MM decoders who would benefit from FT but don't know how to enable it. I've remapped these things to my preferred function keys on edited sound projects but only with a Lokprogrammer which I guess ultimately just modifies a bunch of CVs but it does it for you and makes it a matter of just clicking stuff.

To be honest it's not a practical option to do it without the Lokprogrammer. You could map Drive Hold to a particular function key by changing a couple of CV's, but then you have to rearrange other CV's to accommodate it and it will get out of hand pretty fast!

I remap all my decoders as well as most decoders come with a preset mapping that really is'nt very intuitive to use. There is a handy feature on the Lokprogrammer software which will show you the CV's that have changed after remapping the functions in the relevant panel.

22 hours ago, murphaph said:

That's a good point. As someone who buys blank ESU decoders and programs them with ESU files that include drive hold, I keep forgetting that the MM ones don't have that feature enabled and it's definitely something I would miss if I lost it. If the wheeltappers ones have it then it's a solid recommendation to go with them if possible.

The Drive Hold feature is part of the firmware on the V5 decoders so it is always available. In the case of the MM121 decoders it just needs to be assigned to a function key.

22 hours ago, Noel said:

. . . And even better than drive hold, they have coasting and train braking for long gradually controlled decelerations to halt. It’s fun coming off throttle to notch zero, trains coaching on a mile or two before station and gradually applying brakes in attempt to stop the train at the correct position on the platform without over running or stopping too soon. Very prototypical. Departing with a heavy train load notching up to not notch 8 gradually as loco is thrashing as train slowly starts to move off and very gradually accelerates taking a scale mile before attaining cruise speed. 

Again these are all intrinsic features of the decoder, they just need to be activated.

21 hours ago, murphaph said:

 Almost all the 181s had the 645 engine for their entire lives but wikipedia says 186 got a "downgrade" to a 567 engine at some stage. The 141s would originally have had the 567 engine but some received an upgrade to a 645 engine later in life. Not sure how accurate the wiki is. 

Yes 186 did receive a 567 "downgrade". As for the 141's I'm not sure how many of them were actually fitted with a 645 or merely had the 567 engine fitted with a 645 power assembly for parts standardisation.

On 10/2/2022 at 6:34 PM, Joe Keegan said:

 

It should be interesting to a 141/181 as it is 12 cylinder instead of the 8 cylinder sound . 
 

 

Have to point out that the engine sound of the A class is NOTHING like the 181 or 141. a better bet would be to purchase a decoder for the 121 loco. They work great in the 141/181's.

53 minutes ago, Noel said:

Hard to believe the 071s are still going strong such has been the superb maintenance and overhauls of the class at Inchicore over the decades that kept them going.

Also a testament to the quality of the La Grange produced GM product. Many other locos of the same vintage as the 071’s (and some much older) are still running and in revenue earning service in the US and around the world.

19 hours ago, amdaley said:

I only buy stuff from UK retailers where I know I won't have trouble with them.

 

What retailers would you recommend? I've pretty much stopped buying for the UK completely since brexit.

4 hours ago, amdaley said:

My wife got a Customs card from An Post last week for an item that was delivered about three weeks ago 
If not paid we'll send the package back.

Good luck with that one.

It was a help to light the fire 

Same here. Our eldest son who lives in the UK sent us a package of gifts for Christmas, he filled out all the necessary forms and the package still did'nt arrive until mid-January. We then received  a customs notice a week later; pay or else. Yeah, good luck with that.

2 hours ago, Noel said:

It looks like most of us may end up driving battery electric cars within the next 5-7 years if the SIMI stats are anything to go by.

I won't be one of them. I cant afford one at current prices, I have no driveway to safely charge it and the current battery life would be inadequate for my needs.

That's some lovely work there John.

The proper wheel gauge really makes a difference to the look of these models.

7 hours ago, Old Blarney said:

murphaph

I spoke with Charlie Petty this morning.  He asked me to inform anybody experiencing a problem with their order to contact him.

UK Telephone number - 0113 256 3415

E-Mail - charlie@dckits.co.uk

Please note his times for BUSINESS.

My comment - Sometimes we should - LOOK before we Leap.

• 0113 256 3415

Contacting Us
 If you need to reach us, please email us on charlie@dckits.co.uk

alternatively, you can call on 01132 563415  (International +44 

or write to us at 111 Norwood Crescent, Stanningley, Leeds LS28 6NG Yorkshire.

 

 

Monday:8.00 to 13.30& 18.00 to 22.00.

 

Tuesday:8.00 to 13.30&18.00 to 20.00.

Wednesday:8.00 to 13.30& 18.00 to 20.00.

Thursday: 8.00 to 13.30& 18.00 to 20.00.

Friday:Closed

Saturday:Closed

Sunday:Closed

I'm sorry but that's a lame attempt at a defence.

The page says "If you need to reach us, please email us". It's a webpage on an online store with a facility for electronic payments. The absolute first point of contact should be by email which should be answered promptly (within 48 hours, not including weekends). I mean his listed opening hours lead us to believe that he's working 4 days out of the 5 day working week. If it's a case that he can't devote the time to answering emails then he should at least have an automated reply directing people to an alternative form of contact. Customers will accept delays as long as there is adequate communication. As people have pointed out this all happens AFTER their payments have been accepted, to get the silent treatment and to be treated like you're an inconvenience for asking about the products THAT YOU'VE ALREADY PAYED FOR is dreadful form in anybody's book.

56 minutes ago, mmie353 said:

All,

Happy to report, Charlie has emailed me a couple of times and we maybe getting this issue resolved. It seems that there are issues with shipping costs that I was not aware of, I did pay the shipping cost from the website when I was making my purchase, hopefully we get this resolved ASAP and hoping my loco gets shipped before end of the week.

I do appreciate all replies to this thread, once again I am sorry for bringing up bad memories for members on this, I know everyone is trying to help. 

Absolutely no need to apologize. I dare say someone may have lit fire under his arse and that's the main reason you're getting a response all of a sudden!

33 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Was reading up about him - apparently he had a fire in his premises.......

Was that not several years ago?

I've only bought from them a couple of times. Stuff arrived ok, but the customer service is non existent. I had purchased some DCC soundfiles from the website and had some queries about them, my emails were basically ignored until I managed to get to get in touch with the creator of the files himself. As said, truly dreadful form for a retailer!

Great layout. Lovely weathering on those containers too!