irishthump

I opted not to control my points from my DCC controller after some research on other forums, mine are run from a control panel with toggle switches. For one thing it's a lot cheaper and if the layout shuts down due to a short I still have control of the points. I think Anto also has the same approach on his layout.

I was there on Sunday and I enjoyed it a lot. My kids will be chuffed the Lego won best layout, as they hijacked my voting slips! Had a good look at the 071s and have to say they look savage. I really only want one in Supertrain livery, so there's my Christmas ruined! Wrenn was the only face I know there. And since he was relaxing at the front desk having being made MC I took it upon meself to torment him for a few minutes....

Are you planning to operate the points via DCC as well?

Sorry lads, I assume that's the MRSI show over the Oct bank holiday?

Well Hattons said that they rarely get Gaugemaster stuff being returned faulty. I know the Prodigy is a MRC product which Gaugemaster buy in and then re-badge, but it's obviously good enough for them to stand over it. Like you say their DC controllers are incredibly hard wearing.

That's the reason I'm willing to take another replacement. It was at a great price and I found the system a real joy to use. Have you tried the free software for the Prodigy Advance? I have it on my laptop but hav'ent gotten round to buying the PC interface for it yet.

I get where you're coming from, Anto. I was onto Hattons this morning and since they have them in stock I've decided to give the PA one more go. If it goes wrong you can all tell me "I told you so"!

Sounds like a plan! I sent the Advance back to Hattons this morning. Not 100% sure what I'll do just yet, if they have another one in stock I might take a chance on it. I mean what are ther chances of getting 3 dodgy ones in a row?! But thanks for the info, Anto.

Just a question on the SB3A, Anto. Am I right in thinking you have to buy a seperate power supply for the booster?

Anto, I payed £200 for the Prodigy Advance, so I can spend that again on a new system. Fro what I can see I could get the Powercab and the SB3A for around that price.

I think so, Anto. The only thing I'm worried about is the fact that the Powercab is 1.5A and the Advance was 3.5A. I could be running up to 4 sound equipped locos at once. I would also have a few coaches/wagons euipped with lights. Would you say the Powercab would cope with that?

Sorry! 199 not 299!

Sorry if I sounded harsh, man. Not my intent! Just pointing out that it does'nt make sense.

The first one. And at 299 it's a lot cheaper than buying from Gaugemaster directly.

A fob off?! What planet are you on? Why would Bachmann want to "fob off" potential buyers of a product that they are producing?

No chance it's an error? I mean you have Bachmann issueing a statement to say they're not involved

Just because MM is using the company that makes Bachmann's models does'nt make the 071 a Bachmann product. Kader actually owns Bachmann, they bought the company in the 80's. It could well have been Kader's decision not to include Bachmann.

That's the part that's killing me, I loved the Advance 2. It's very simple to use and worked like a dream up until the power supply died. It also had more than enough power at 3.5A. I'm actually in 2 minds as to what to do. If they have a replacement in stock I may well give it another go.

I tell you man, I was pretty close to throwing me hat at it this afternoon! If I had'nt bought my sound decoders I would be sorely tempted to go back..... And to think it was DCC that got me back into the hobby in the first place!

As I mentioned on the layout forum, my Advance 2 died on me a couple of weeks back (the culprit was a faulty power supply). Hattons agreed to replace the whole system no problem but I had to wait as they were out of stock. I'm on a weeks holidays from work so you can imagine my excitement when the postman turned up this morning with a parcel for me! Wired it up, plugged it in and.... NOTHING! No power to the base unit at all. Little green light is on the power supply is on, so checked the power connection to the unit - seems ok. Move the wire a little and power comes on, then goes again! Hold the base unit at 90 degrees to the horizontal and the power stays on enough to run a loco. Return it to it's original position on the table and it goes again. Needless to say something is not right. A frantic call to Hattons, who in all fairness are great to deal with and they tell me to send it back to them for a replacement or refund. Now I like the Prodigy a lot, but I'm not sure I'll be able to trust one after all this. I may well go for the Powercab when all is said and done. END OF RANT!

Same here, all my Irish stuff is Supertrain or Black and Tan so 088 will fit in nicely!

That's just the info I was looking for, thanks. I just wanted to how prototypical it would be the the black and tan 141/181s running next to the 071.

Another silly question... After the Supertrain livery was introduced how long did the Black and Tan livery last for? Would it have taken a long time to repaint all the locos? I would assume there were none by the time the 071s were introduced.

Excellent point.