pd91223 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Has anyone put a DCC decoder in the Hornby 4VEP (R3143, 8-pin)? The Sapphire decoder (R8245, 21-pin but with 8-pin converter supplied) seems somewhat overkill. It will need to work with E-Link & RailMaster. Has anyone tried a DCC27 or Zen-218 or even a "Widnes supplier"-own? It would seem like treason to try the other manufacturer's own! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 What do you want, directional lights, headboards, cab, interior lights, etc this will determine how many functions to look for on anym8-pin decoder.Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pd91223 Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 The R3143 has directional & interior lighting. I'm not sure if the headcodes can also be lit. I don't solder so I suspect I'm going to be limited, at least initially, to having just directional lighting (F0). At a later stage I may have someone fit sound to it. I'd like to be as certain as I can that whatever decoder I fit will run with E-Link & RailMaster. The Widnes supplier has indicated that they've had some problems with that combination with some, but not all, of their own decoders. I have successfully installed one of their 21-pin decoders in a 2EPB. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 The service sheet for this model is HSS-367B but it does not show any DCC socket only a PCB for the lighting circuits and associated wired plugs for connecting the carriages together......HB However, if your model has already got a 8-pin DCC socket there should be no problem fitting the standard Hornby R8249 decoder as this has 3 functions so should work both front and rear lights plus the interior........HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 The function buttons are usually F0 = directional & headcode. F1 = interior lighting.......HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pd91223 Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 I haven't opened it up yet. However, the box says DCC Ready and www.modelraildatabase.com says its 8-pin. I've now downloaded the service sheet (thanks) which seems to show item 12 as "8 pin Plug Main Board". So I'm hopeful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 That 8 pin plug main board is the connector for the lighting circuits, it is not an 8 pin DCC socket but the DCC socket must be elsewhere........the R3143X number would indicate DCC Ready........HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pd91223 Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 It's not R3143X, just plain R3143. Although the service sheet suggests there was an R3143X I can find no mention of it anywhere on the web. The R2947X & R2946X appear to have been DCC Fitted as opposed to the R2947 & R2946 which were DCC Ready.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Confusion reigns.....the X suffix always indicates DCC ready.......all will be revealed when you take the top off...... 😀..........HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Confusion reigns.....the X suffix always indicates DCC ready.......all will be revealed when you take the top off...... 😀..........HBFalse news....X = DCC Fitted (various pin arrangements 4, 6, 7 or 8).XS = Sound Fitted (21 pin).TTS = TTS fitted....some service sheets list model numbers as R1234/X indicating it may be DCC Ready or Fitted but some of these are wrong and never were supplied in both options. The only sure way is to look on the box, where it tells if Ready or Fitted or Sound. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 @RAF...........precisely.......... 😆........HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Xed again HB? I‘m reminded of a sign painted on the road many years ago. It said, with words in order as you approached them - PED X AHEAD. Someone suggested by the time you figured out what that meant, you may have Xed a Ped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I think Hornby missed an opportunity with their suffix naming conventions. As well as the X for DCC Fitted, they should have had a letter (perhaps D for digital) to denote DCC Ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Bachmann designate their sound models as DS. Plain D would work for digital. The X reminds of when 29 Squadron was formed and the boss wanted the number painted on his aircraft in roman numerals. The painter and doper (in the days of doped fabric covered airframes) was a bit dim and asked what 29 was in roman and the answer was two Xs and one X, hence 29 squadron was imortalised with the designation XXX. Back on topic more or less...the 4VEP service sheet shows a large pcb in each car which may or may not hav e asocket for a decoder. We need someone to lift the lid to confirm this, but my guess is the pcb is just for the lighting maybe including table lamps by the looks of those seat/table inserts. ...maybe the following would have been better - working with 20/20 hindsight.R1234 pre DCC no socketR1234D wired for digital but no decoder installedR1234DF digital decoder fitted ready to runR1234DS digital sound ready to runR1234TTS tts sound fitted or R8-seriesTTS diy install tts module...any other suggestions as I am tempted to add this type of suffix to my motor vs service sheet vs R-number database as an aid to sorting. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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