davinator Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Just wondering which decoder's people are going for the sapphire one or the cheaper one? is there really really any difference between them both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 There's a very big difference between the two. The Sapphire has loads more functions and can cope with locos that draw a lot of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace10086 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 poliss said:There's a very big difference between the two. The Sapphire has loads more functions and can cope with locos that draw a lot of power.but most people opt for the basic one. If you want excellent motor control or many features then people tend to look beyond Hornby decoders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregd99 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 if you search the forum there is some discussion on the pros and cons of the 8245. see also the downloadable leaflet.it is much more configurable than the 8249 and has a higher current capacity.some of the extra features are:-1. programmable speed curve2. "fuel" consumable3. lighting effects4. automated running (4 "events" definable)In total there are about 100CVs (yes 100!). The 8249 has more like 10.If you use decoder pro then I have written a decoder definition to allow gui-based programming and storage of the CV settings. NB it takes approx 15-30 minutes to read all CVs!The 8249 is fine for all basic ops. the 8245 seems very powerful (in both senses). It is also physically bigger.as to your question.... I use a mix of 8245 and 8249. the 8249 is probably more than I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 "but most people opt for the basic one." How do you know this ace? Do you have access to Hornby's sales figures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregd99 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Pollis,have you used the 8245? any thoughts on pros/cons...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_Ian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I have tried the TSV01a on a few of my locos which performed poorly with the 8249 (in perticular a Hornby Thompson L1 which jerked and stuttered) and they perform perfectly. This decocer has just about all the features of the 8245 at half the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregd99 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Ian,something worth trying if you get jerks and stutters is to set the back emf cutout to 1.I had problems with a Class20 running jerkily with and 8249. When I put an 8245 in it the jerking was worse. I thought that I must have fouled the mechanism (jammed not the other one:-)).after a bit of research I changed the back-emf cutout and it runs beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_Ian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Gregd99 said:Ian,something worth trying if you get jerks and stutters is to set the back emf cutout to 1.I had problems with a Class20 running jerkily with and 8249. When I put an 8245 in it the jerking was worse. I thought that I must have fouled the mechanism (jammed not the other one:-)).after a bit of research I changed the back-emf cutout and it runs beautifully.Hi GregThanks for the reply, the 8249 can't change cv2 that is why I tried the tsv decoder and I must say the L1 now runs extreemly smoothly, I never tried the 8245 as it is quite big and was concerned it would not fit.Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 The R8245 is too big for my N scale locos and the R8249 doesn't support CV2, CV5 and CV6. If you model American outline, which use consists routinely, then those three CVs are vital. I wonder what happened to the Sapphire Mini? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace10086 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 poliss said:"but most people opt for the basic one." How do you know this ace? Do you have access to Hornby's sales figures?no but I've spoken to people who sell both etc. The cheaper one sells around 10:1 which makes sense given it is half the cost.The Sapphire is quite expensive given it's lack of fine motor control. I moved to another brand to achieve smooth running on an old loco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregd99 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I have found no issues with fine control with the sapphire.it is larger and more expensive and these are factors when buying.as far as performance though - no problems experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scribbler99 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Anyone able to tell me what I'd need to do to add sound to my Pendolino set that the kids just bought me. It states DCC Ready but being a complete novice I haven't really got my head around the DCC stuff apart from it operates great and sounds good too. I have only been bitten by the bug since xmas and already buying track from ebay in the hope of building something good.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Scribbler99....welcome to the forum with your 1st post. . Your question is completely unrelated to the original thread. The last post prior to yours was in 2011, so it is well out of date by now anyway. . You would be much better served if you started your OWN thread in the Hornby DCC forum section with a 'Topic Title' something like "How do I add sound to a Pendolino". . Click the great big blue button at the top of the page entiltled "Add New Topic". Then make sure you put a proper title in the title box similar to the one I suggested, and also make sure that the 'Hornby DCC' forum is selected in the pull down menu box. . You might want to consider modifying your question as it contradicts itself. There are two lines in it, that seem to be at odds with each other. Either it has got sound or it hasn't. . "tell me what I'd need to do to add sound to my Pendolino set" "apart from it operates great and sounds good too" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Chris is of course perfectly correct about its being best to add a new topic in the DCC forum, but to start answering your question: For a start, DCC Ready means the loco is ready to have a DCC decoder fitted to run on DCC, but currently there is no decoder fitted and it runs on DC only. So until you fit a decoder, any decoder sound or otherwise, and get a DCC controller, you won't be able to have any sound. To find out more about DCC, start by reading the DCC section on this website, and once you have your head around that, then Google Brian Lambert and go to his excellent website and its DCC sections in particular. Once you've done both of those, come back and start new threads for any particular questions you still have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 The thing to remember here is that Scribbler has a Pendolino, any sound unit will need a fairly specific 'soundscape' if it is to be realistic. The cheaper motion detection sound units tend to come in two basic flavours 'Steam Chuff' and 'Diesel Rumble'. To get a Pendolino 'soundscape' one would probably need to resort to a full blown Loksound type decoder from a specialist sound decoder supplier, this of course would not be a cheap upgrade. . More than happy to be proven wrong, as at the time of writing I haven't actually researched what Pendolino 'soundscapes' may be available from the various sound unit suppliers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Agreed Chris. My approach was to at least getting him to understand a little more about DCC before he goes anywhere near buying £100 sound decoders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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