BritInVanCA Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Just an interesting observation I was actually reading the HM7000 manual (not all 166 pages yet) and noticed there were pictures of the 6 pin decoder. I thought this was still so early in its development that there wouldn’t be a picture. It seems to have a 2022 revision date. Was this an abandoned design? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 I don’t believe abandoned is correct… Hornby stated that they were struggling to source components (particularly ICs) - so they are being forced to either wait for availability, or else redesign to use alternative components that are available. I’m unsure which option they have chosen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritInVanCA Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 @LTSR_NSE abandoned was probably a bit dramatic. I thought they said they had been having trouble sourcing suitable components PCB? Last I heard they said they had one now but it was a case of reworking certain pieces of the design to work with these new components. I wonder if the size will have changed? all conjecture I know but hey it’s the summer and there isn’t much going on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritInVanCA Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 In April George said it was finding the right chip that was the issue. That might have been the last update. Mind you he also said q4 2024 which we now know was optimistic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 For the benefit of those who don’t speak acronym (not directed at anyone specific)… IC, Integrated Circuit, Microchip, Chip, Microprocessor, Processor, Microcontroller, etc. are all words for the electronic component that is the ‘brains’ of a circuit. There is currently an international shortage of most varieties of these components due to a number of supply/demand/political reasons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritInVanCA Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 Opinion on the semi conductor shortage still being an issue is mixed. Auto industry has recovered. AI chips are a big issue but I’m sure we aren’t putting those in model locomotives (if we are we have other things to worry about!). It seems it’s all dependent on the particular semi conductor you need so if Hornby says it’s affecting them I’d tend to believe them. Apparently not everyone does! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 10 minutes ago, BritInVanCA said: Opinion on the semi conductor shortage still being an issue is mixed. Auto industry has recovered. AI chips are a big issue but I’m sure we aren’t putting those in model locomotives (if we are we have other things to worry about!). It seems it’s all dependent on the particular semi conductor you need so if Hornby says it’s affecting them I’d tend to believe them. Apparently not everyone does! They are generally PIC processors I suspect they are still around but not at the right price. I have to admit the Auto Industry is at the top of the chain for buying processors so they will always get them first because they use so many, but there again not usually PICs (they don't always meet the temperature range). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 As always shortages impact unit price as well as availability, large companies capable of ordering massive quantities of each component, will be able to negotiate a price that doesn’t have a massive impact on the end product. Whereas small model railway companies producing comparatively tiny quantities, the higher component prices could easily affect the viability of the end product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 7 minutes ago, LTSR_NSE said: As always shortages impact unit price as well as availability, large companies capable of ordering massive quantities of each component, will be able to negotiate a price that doesn’t have a massive impact on the end product. Whereas small model railway companies producing comparatively tiny quantities, the higher component prices could easily affect the viability of the end product. I know that all too well. There again eventually you get down to point where the company cannot go any lower. In automotive savings were in cents or percentage of a Euro. On radio program we knew that if we used the micro with the bigger memory it was one Euro more. As we were very near the maximum memory size we had someone go through it to thrift the compiled code. Again that Euro was the difference between profit and loss. Zimo seem to do quite well with their decoders. I suspect there are other issues like with Bluetooth it won't fit into the available space on many models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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