the flying hodor Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 good evening my fellow model train fansi have been enjoying this hobby for 6 months now and i am now thinking of going dcc how good is the e-link systemalso have a few other questionscan u run say a hornby model with another companys decoder in itand can i fit a hornby decoder in a non hornby train and can i run another companys train with any decoderi have two dcc ready trains can i just plug a decoder straight into them the other trains are not dcc what do i need to do them to make them dcc any help would be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teedoubleudee Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 good evening my fellow model train fansi have been enjoying this hobby for 6 months now and i am now thinking of going dcc how good is the e-link systemalso have a few other questionscan u run say a hornby model with another companys decoder in itand can i fit a hornby decoder in a non hornby train and can i run another companys train with any decoderi have two dcc ready trains can i just plug a decoder straight into them the other trains are not dcc what do i need to do them to make them dcc any help would be good Hi Flying Hodur,Many people like myself have the e-link and like it. But you can only use it in conjunction with the Railmaster software and a windows PC. May I suggest you read thouroughly the top 2 sticky thtreads on the Railmaster section. to familiarise yourself with the set up procedure before you spend your pennies. To answer your specific questions, as the e-link/railmaster is fully NMRA compliant: Yes you can run Hornby locos with non-Hornby decoders (I do!).Yes you can run non-Hornby locos with Hornby decoders.Any DCC ready loco should run with any DCC decoder (NMRA). (Note there are different size plugs: 6 pin, 8 pin and 21 pin) though you can get adapters.Most non DCC locos can be converted to DCC, some easily, some not so. To do so yourself you should be handy with a soldering iron. If not most model shops will do the job for you for typically around £15 plus cost of decoder. Decoders start about £10 for a basic 4 function one but can be much more expensive if you want sound. Hope that gives you enough to be going on with for now.Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the flying hodor Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Hi Flying Hodur,Many people like myself have the e-link and like it. But you can only use it in conjunction with the Railmaster software and a windows PC. May I suggest you read thouroughly the top 2 sticky thtreads on the Railmaster section. to familiarise yourself with the set up procedure before you spend your pennies. To answer your specific questions, as the e-link/railmaster is fully NMRA compliant: Yes you can run Hornby locos with non-Hornby decoders (I do!).Yes you can run non-Hornby locos with Hornby decoders.Any DCC ready loco should run with any DCC decoder (NMRA). (Note there are different size plugs: 6 pin, 8 pin and 21 pin) though you can get adapters.Most non DCC locos can be converted to DCC, some easily, some not so. To do so yourself you should be handy with a soldering iron. If not most model shops will do the job for you for typically around £15 plus cost of decoder. Decoders start about £10 for a basic 4 function one but can be much more expensive if you want sound. Hope that gives you enough to be going on with for now.Terry thanks terry was looking into getting the western master set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teedoubleudee Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 That's the one I started with too. Represents good value considering you get the e-link and the software. Look around the net for best price. You can download an evaluation copy of Railmaster from the Hornby site (link at top of Railmaster section) and have a play before you finally decide. It will work up to a point without an e-link connected so for instance you can create your own layout plans. There are some plans already loaded including one for The Western Master. Don't rush into it, there is loads of stuff to read (including this and other forums) and videos (youtube) to watch that will quickly improve your knowledge and prepare you beforehand. Beware, it's VERY addictive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanQ4 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 While decoders are interchangeable between brands you also have to look at the size of the decoder and have confirmation of size if possible.I have just this week been caught out with a Hattons direct decoder which according to the web site specs. is supposed to be 10.5mm wide, however it is actually 13.1mm wide which wont fit into the 11.8mm space in the body of the Bachmann loco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Norman, hi, is that the £10 decoder, that hattons are advertising. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37lover Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 John,At the risk of going off topic I don't think the Hatton £10 decoder is a direct fit; their web site also quotes a size of 19mm x 12mm. Be interesting to get confirmation from Norman. I'm saving up my pennies to buy a batch of 5 to install in my remaining DC locos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 37 lOVER, hi, the reason i mentioned them was that on another forum, they were raving about these £10 decoders. I know nothing, nothing, about decoders, nothing new there, but wondered if they were a plug and play, or not. Keeping on topic, FLYING HODDER i also, have had elink, for nearly 2 yrs, with Majestic set, which i think, is much better value, as people are knocking £100 off, and apart from the Anti Virus conflict, which is well documented, was happy with the system. It is a very economic way of entry to DCC. my only other comment is that to fit chips to other than dcc ready locos, is NOT a job for faint hearted, although, many on here, take it , in their stride. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanQ4 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 It's the DCR-8PIN-Direct at £13.No soldering required.Simply press it into position then place the loco on your programming track.Actual size 19mm long 13.1mm wide 3.5mm thick.While the pins are set fairly central on the width they are positioned approx 3mm from one end, which leaves an overhang of around 7mm at the other end.I have ordered a Gaugemaster DCC29 direct which is slightly smaller at 15x12x4 from AJM at £14.37. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Norman, thanks, just trying to save a few quid, as my wife thinks eating, is more important than, those stupid trains. Cant understand the logic. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teedoubleudee Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 John, Norman. I have only ever bought and fitted the £10 Hattons with harness decoders, in fact I have another 4 on order at the moment as I've been busy on eBay last weekend! Reason being is they can be just plugged into an 8 pin socket or, as I do, cut of the plug and wire in to motor and pickups directly. They are extreemly good value, small, fully NMRA compliant and have a host of CVs to play with. They also have an OEM plug/socket at the decoder end, handy for when installing and also for swapping over when tracing a fault. IMHO you won't find a better quality 1.1A decoder for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Thank you Teedee, john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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