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New HM7000 Decoder Features


rpjallan

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The exact chuff matching will come later in loco development with fitting of a spoke sensor, but this support is already in the decoder to be enabled as and when the locos catch up by an OTA tweak.

 

 

A spoke sensor. Gee, that sounds a bit over complicated!

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The exact chuff matching will come later in loco development with fitting of a spoke sensor, but this support is already in the decoder to be enabled as and when the locos catch up by an OTA tweak.

A spoke sensor. Gee, that sounds a bit over complicated!

 

 

OK - how else can you count spokes to trigger chuffs. It may even be an optic or hall effect chopper disk or it could be as simple as reflecting from a gear wheel rim. Until Hornby has finished developing it we won’t know.

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@BM
As of just now these are the sound profiles I can see in the app. Note the same loco (FS) in different scales (TT and 00) due to different set up characteristics being required by each scale.
Obviously they are working hard towards having as many sound profiles as possible available before launching the app.

Thanks, Rob. Obviously a way to go but it looks very promising.

 

 

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OK - how else can you count spokes to trigger chuffs. It may even be an optic or hall effect chopper disk or it could be as simple as reflecting from a gear wheel rim. Until Hornby has finished developing it we won’t know.

 

 

Other sound decoders such as those from Zimo & Loksound don't need to count the spokes to synchronise the chuffs...

Thanks for your earlier post with the features list by the way, That's very useful.

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Loksound decoders have support for 'Hall' detectors and also 'Reed Relay' detectors using spoke mounted micro magnets. See Page 24 from the Loksound manual - extract pasted below. So using wheel rotation detection is nothing new, just Hornby catching up with the competition.

forum_image_63c51011a7c45.png.2cdc8f776f606234bdb08841459563ff.png

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I posted an image extract from a Loksound manual this morning. So far, after many hours waiting, it has not appeared. So this repost takes a different tact.

Loksound decoders support both Hall effect & Reed Relay wheel rotation sensors using micro wheel spoke magnets.

Download this Loksound manual from Hornby's support pages and have a look at Pages 20 & 21.

https://support.hornby.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360016117220-Main-LokSound-v4-User-Manual

The image I posted (which has not yet appeared), was page 24 of a different Loksound manual version, but is less detailed than this page 20 & 21 version.

So it seems that Hornby's new decoder with planned wheel detection support is nothing new, just catching up with the competition.

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@P-Henny

Sorry, it was my fault that your image had not been approved because it did not feel right to me to be publishing a Lok Sound extract on a Hornby Forum. I did not realise other Lok Sound documents were already on the Hornby site in full.

We learn something new everyday! It is now approved.

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Zimo decoders support a similar thing. I've never heard of anyone using something like that though. And why would you when you can get a great result using CV's. Anyway, once your loco picks up a bit of speed it's impossible to tell, even with a TTS decoder where the chuff is way too slow.

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.......it did not feel right to me to be publishing a Lok Sound extract on a Hornby Forum. I did not realise other Lok Sound documents were already on the Hornby site in full.

 

 

Hornby's earlier sound locos with the XS suffix used Loksound decoders, hence why their manuals are on the Hornby support pages. But even so, the forum rules say other brands can be discussed as long as it is not active promotion. So on that basis, I see no reason why extracts taken from any non Hornby brand manual can not be posted if it is just being used as an aid to technical discussion. But I thank you for your honesty in owning up to the action taken.

@rpjallan - I too, have not come across this feature being used by any UK based manufacturer, but I am led to believe that some models in USA (or could that be Europe - memory lapse issue) come so equipped RTR with wheel detection from the factory. I would also agree that fitting 'after market' magnets to the wheels would be nigh on impossible [or at least impracticable]. A factory manufactured wheel with embedded magnets is more plausible.

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dont know it this has been asked but how does the sound of the new decoders compare to the likes of zimo and loksound.
thanks

 

 

Don’t know, as although I have test samples of the new decoders I don’t have any of the others for direct comparison, but I can say they are higher fidelity than TTS and three channels but not fully polyphonic like the others.

One useful feature is auto-functions which play sounds at random in either static or mobile scenarios. The sounds allocated are selected by a bit of CV jiggery-pokery, anything from the default of lights and sound on with brakes off and horn/whistle toot at startup and then brakes on at stop, all the way up to every sound in the profile but obviously this would be a bit silly.

The speaker provided has various enclosure parts for the installer to make up to best suit their loco.

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Everyone is pushing uphill the very same laws of physics which say you can’t get low frequency sound out of a very small speaker, even with an enclosure.

One thing that could be tried if anyone has the time or inclination is - mount your HM7000TXS in a decoder tester and download the loco your are operating to it, same ID as the loco. Now connect the speaker output to your HiFi system and away you go.

For those who say but the sound will be coming from the speakers not the loco - I can assure you there is no directionality for low frequencies in any domestic setting. What happens is your brain fills in where it’s coming from because it knows in the first place the speakers are producing it. Tell your brain it’s coming from the loco and see how you go.

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In case anyone is tempted to try Fishy’s big HiFi experiment, you will have to feed the decoder speaker output into a pre-amp of suitable input rating else your decoder will be toast. It can only drive a max of 1.68 watts into 8 ohms. It will not drive a mega watt speaker system direct.

I have to say that to listen to the TXS master files on HiFi really shows how good they are.

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Simple question - do all the sound decoders come with a speaker and the sprue to make up a suitable enclosure?

 

 

Yes - as seen on several Hornby presentation videos since the launch.

Hornby has also been asked to clarify the decoder product pages as necessary.

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dont know it this has been asked but how dose the sound of the new decoders compare to the likes of zimo and loksound.
thanks

 

 

I don't know about Loksound but the new Zimo decoders have very high fidelity sound.

Other than that, I think we'll have to wait until we have the new Hornby decoders in our hot little hands.

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  1. Looking at the HM7000 Full Reference Manual page 81 it refers to 18 pre-set chuff rates, is it possible to manually match any of them to the actual loco wheel rotations?
  2. On page 19 it refers to support for an Atomising Steam Unit. I have developed one of my own which works well with the logic level output of a Zimo decoder and is synchronised with the chuffs of the sound project. However, I cannot find any details about how to connect/enable it in the manual. Will the facility also be available on the 8 pin decoder bearing in mind that it only has wiring for high level HFOs 1-4?

 

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  1. No
  2. No, not unless your device can accept the output of the associated ASU CVs ref steam on, steam duration, etc. It is likely the loco will have on-board circuitry to run from the logic level outputs of a 21-pin TXS decoder. That info will be derivable from the manual unless it has been expunged for now. The manual is a living thing that will reflect available kit at the time.

 

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