Flashbang

While the answer is Yes it is possible to hard wire them you really need to be cautious as the TTS decoder has very low motor current handling which could be exceeded or run close too causing the decoder to shut down or worse burn out! Red and Black to wheel pick ups, Orange and Grey to the motor. If lights are fitted the Blue wire is common Positive to all other function wires which are switched negatives. Generally White wire to front white lights and rear reds and the Yellow wire to front reds and rear white lights then these lights automatically swap around with direction of travel. Green wire is to any auxiliary lighting such as cab lights. Speaker is wired on its own. Which I believe are two purple or pinkish coloured wires.

Hmm... Let hope the final production decoders are better than the wiring shown on the image Hornby are using to announce its release! 😮 /media/tinymce_upload/456e9dde7d484bdbccbd07fd2b77f12d.jpg

Hi With a DCC layout you only need two wires for the DCC (usually called a Bus pair). At the removable or hinged section use a reasonably sized flexible wire to link from the main layout to the removable/hinged section. I would use something like 32/0.2mm or 1.0mm2 flexible cable or wire which should easily withstand the flexing over a very long time of use. One end of this wire or cable (The main layout end) has the flexible wire pair permanently attached to the existing DCC bus pair, if a bus is used, or to the DCC fed rails, then the other end terminates in a suitable plug. On the removable or hinged section a mating socket to the plug is fixed. Then a pair of wires connect from the rear of the socket to the rails of the removable section . A suitable plug and socket can be any readily available and are often really designed for audio use. However do avoid using Mains (240 Volt) types of plugs and sockets. Some examples and not limited to are such plugs and sockets as.... 2 pin DIN, 2 or 3 pin Aircraft, XLR, Speakon, or even 2 x Phono or 2 x 4mm Banana types, both of these ideally of two differing colours.

Bit of an echo there BB 😮 Pity the servers are so slow at the moment! BTW Where are these 2020 Anouncements on the Hornby web site? Only "New for 2019" shows currenly!

This topic was posted elsewhere and I have unashamedly copied and pasted the text (why waste time in re writing something? :-) So is this correct? If so, anyone have further details? Hornby have announced an analogue control system for all major iOS and Android phones and tablets. It will use Bluetooth Low Energy and talk to new Hornby modules which can be added to allow up to eight independent tracks to be controlled. It will include layout design features for integration with the control. Limited point and accessory control can be added. No mention of DCC control compatibility or Hornby Loco Detection (a much delayed system). No mention of if it will deal with a train passing from one track to another. Couldn't see a mention of back-emf compensation or power supplies or current limits per DC output.

Hi 8 pin DCC socket and plug wiring is shown here www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC_Page_1.html#Bookmark11 Socket pin one should normally be marked as '1' or with a dot or triangle etc. Socket pin one connects to the motor and should if wired correctly be on the right hand side of the motor. The decoder wire on Pin 1 should be Orange.

As a general rule and for guidance, a standard loco not pulling any load will draw around 150 to 250 milliamp (approx 1/8 to 1/4 Amp), add lights and sounds and this may well increase to some 350ma. There are of course exceptions, such as older locos with Ringfield motors and even new Heljan locos which are known to be higher current consumer locos anyway. Your power supply is correct with 13.8volts and 1.8Amps output. What did you use to measure the DCC rail volts as per my previous unanswered question? Is the same voltage being read everywhere too?

Not so unusual today, especially with many laptops! You can of course buy a CD/DVD drive that plugs into a USB port for around £10. Search for example on eBay for USB2/3 CD/DVD Extrenal drive

Hi Assuming all your rails are spotlessly clean and the wires feeding the rails are of a reasonable wire size then look at the PowerCabs power supply unit which is normally a Wallwart style plug in unit. Look at the rating plate information. What is the rated DC output voltage stated? The PowerCab can work with up to 15 volts regulated DC being supplied to it. If your power unit is rated at 12 volts DC this may be the cause. Ideal input voltage for a powercab input is 13.5 volts DC. You say you have measured the rail volts, but what did you use to do this? Was it a domestic multimeter? Was the meters voltage range set to read AC volts? Not DC. Please remember a domestic multimeter will not read accurate DCC voltages due to the high frequency being used. However, on the meters AC volts range it will give an indication of rail volts and that reading should be the same at all places around the layout. To note: To accurately read DCC voltage you would need a multimeter capable of reading on its AC voltage range at 10KHz or use a RRamp meter or an Oscilloscope.

Hi Personally, I would use a DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) switch to feed the totally isolated programming track. Note: The "Totally isolated" wording, this can be via two insulated rail joiners separating the end section of say a siding or better is to have the Programming track as a completely separate track away from the main tracks. In Option 1 the DPDT switch provides total power disconnection from the main tracks See Option 1 below Alternatively, it can be wired so as the programming track rails are switched between Programming and Main by moving the two Programming rail dropper wires to the vacant two switch tabs. As shown in option 2 below. The use of a DPDT Centre Off switch may be a further advantage with Option 2. Option 1 /media/tinymce_upload/fc944a1fef5e8f29b96cf44cfed1d5aa.jpg Option 2 /media/tinymce_upload/d4f15185d9a782fc2b54fead0e2cfa71.jpg

Hi The Peco SL-190 slip is an Insulated frog point and has no live frog to feed. Therefore the Smart switch is not required. If the slip (or any other Peco Streamline point) had a 'E' in its part number like for example SL-E190 then that would indicate the point is an Electrofrog. "Finescale" means it has Code 75 rail profile that will not match directly with Hornby or any Peco Code 100 rail and will require an adaptor track section or stepped rail joiners to join the two together. Additionally, Code 75 rail profile is not recommended for use with older - pre 1990ish stock due to the deeper flanges on these items which will hit or rub on the rail fixing chairs. St1ngr4y has summed it all up correctly. :-)

Hi If the loco(s) run correctly on a totally isolated piece of track which is feed directly from the Select's "Track" terminals then the fault has to be somewhere on the main layout. If this isolated section of track check shows a problem and all the main layout wiring is removed from the Select when testing on the isolated section of track, then the fault is either with the Selects power supply or the Select itself. Assuming the locos all run correctly as per para 1 above, then look at the layout and its wiring. Question.... Is a DCC Bus pair used with droppers from the Bus pair to the rails? If so, double check you haven't cross connected one or more sets of droppers to the rails i.e. red dropper wire is on a black dropper wire fed rail somewhere. If you're using more than one set of power rail sections or plug in power clips ensure the wires in the terminals of the connector are the correct way around. That is a red feed wire always feeds the same rail regardless of which way around the connector or section is installed. Note: I'm referencing red and black feed wire insulation colours, but the actual insulation colour will be your choice. Edit to correct typos!

Typical example of a reverse loop made and how its corrected... /media/tinymce_upload/1ff3bf02a5fd5e2431206ba26808463b.jpg

If the tracks out of picture at the bottom or top of the picture go around in a loop then you have what is called a Reverse Loop via the s shaped connecting track.. Here a positive rail meets a negative one and the lot stops due to the introduced short circuit. This is got over by installing a minimum of four Insulated Rail Joiners (IRJs) Hornby part R920 two at each end of the loop. They should be apart a greater distance than the longest complete train to travel over that loop, so as the whole train (Loco and all Carriages or Wagons) fits in between the entrance and exit IRJs If the whole train won't fit then often its necessary to move the IRJs out onto the main lines and add additional IRJs too to make the isolated section. The rails of the now isolated section are fed via various methods. A DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) ideally centre Off switch. Point motor operated or manual switch Or use a bridge rectifier (one direction moves only) or on a DCC layout an Auto reverse module. Edit to add R number and correct spelling error

Which actually doesn't say a great lot for TTS decoders! If a motor short causes it to blow (two decoders in fact!). Any decent decoder whether sound or non sound should be able to withstand a motor or capacitor short and cut off the power via its own built in protection saving the electronics. What if the motor / loco stalled? = Instant decoder death then! It's not very often (in fact I don't know of any other occurrence!) where a motor suppression capacitor has gone on short.

Hi It reads that your power feed(s) are not in the correct position.. You should whenever possible always feed power into the single end of a point and take it out via which way the point is set towards. For two loop operation the best on DC power is to use two DC controllers - one per loop. This allows each loop to be separately controlled. Using one controller restricts operation, as only one loco can move under the control of that one controller. If two controllers are used it is best to fit two Insulated Rail Joiners (IRJs) R920 in place of the two metal joiners in the cross-over direction between the two points. Then when crossing over both controllers are set to roughly the same speed and to the same direction of travel. Once the train has fully passed over the cross-over points are returned to their straight ahead running direction and the first controller is turned Off.

A quality decoder whether sound or non sound will have built in overload/short circuit protection. The TTS decoders are of course budget devices and you say they do not have such! I have no definitive knowledge of what is on a TTS board so I'm unable to confirm. Thermal devices would be far too slow to protect the electronics, which is exactly what morairmike has said.

Hi LC&DR has covered most and has offered some very sound advice especially where mains powered controllers are used. But it would be helpful if you could supply the Rxxx number of the controller. Many of the Hornby Train set controllers struggle with older locos, as these 'old timers' draw more current (power) than modern loco motors do. The controllers overload cut out frequently tripping is a sure sign of this. Older controllers will normally work modern locos and all those currently produced by Hornby should be fine. Some other makes of loco use motors that do not like resistance controllers such as the original H& M Duette / Clipper etc. Note the name H & M was taken over by Hornby some years ago and the current HM 2000 is not a resistance controller.

Save getting into all sorts of possible problems, get a totally separate power supply to feed the CDU. One such is the Gaugemaster WM1 or use the 16v AC output from an old train controller. Let the DCC run the locos. 😆

As Chris says... If it works for you then fine.. Now for some electrical theory... The switch(es) you have are not SPST they are SPDT = Single Pole (one electrical pole only) and are Double Throw - DT. That means they can make a connection to two places (Double Throw) depending on the switches lever position, so when held over in one position the top connection tab makes to the middle tab. When held over in the opposite position the bottom connection tab makes to the middle tab. When the lever is released the switch returns under its own spring to the central Off position. i.e. Single Pole Double Throw or SPDT with centre off The (On)-Off-(On) reference is a typical example of this. 12 volts DC is as previously stated considered to be a little on the low voltage side to operate solenoid motors 100%. If DC is to be used then I would use a higher voltage of say around 18 to 19 volts and with a current output of at least 3.0Amp or more without a CDU. For many years DC train controllers have offered additional power out connections over that of the controlled output for driving the trains. Normally this additional supply is rated at 16 volts AC and is frequently used to operate solenoid motors and as its AC ideally via a CDU. Boring bit warning.... . Note; when 16v AC is fed into a CDU the capacitors charge to 1.41 times the AC RMS voltage, so 16v AC becomes around 22 volts which is fed to the solenoid coil when the switch contacts close. A CDU also converts the AC into DC so the coil receives a "Beefy" pulse of DC power momentarily. Next, If you feed a CDU with DC the capacitors will only charge to the same value as the DC input voltage, less a little bit due to the CDUs components. So 12v DC into a CDU will equal roughly 12v out (actually a little bit less). Hence why AC is recommended for a CDU due to the input RMS voltage being increased by a factor of 1.41. Are you asleep yet?? No.. Then.... The original question was about using the Elite's auxiliary 15v DC output to power solenoids. Yes, it can be used, but if used direct its at risk to the DCC voltage to track being robbed momentarily as the voltage is sent to the solenoid motors coil. 15v DC isn't too bad a voltage for solenoids, but is still a little on the low side! If that 15v DC power is fed initially into a CDU then the CDU would take up the strain and the operation of a point motor shouldn't effect the DCC rail volts. So to recap.. Use the 15v DC from the Elite directly and be at risk of causing a blip on the DCC rail feed. Use a CDU with either the Elite aux output or better still from a totally separate power source. The CDU then prevents accidental motor coil burn out and provides that momentary pulse that's really 'Beefy' in power. If a separate power source is used then consider 16v AC as ideal or 18 to 19 v DC with or without a CDU, but ideally always with one.

If you ballasted first the track wouldn't have a level surface and none would appear around the sleeper sides! Ballasting is done ONLY AFTER the track is laid, wired and fully tested with various stock to ensure all is correct. Then and only then is the loose ballast laid, teased into correct position with the aid of a artist paint brush, surplus removed and a dilute PVA/Water/drop of washing up liquid used to set the ballast. After 24 hours hoover the set ballast to remove any unstuck particles then touch in any areas that didn't bond correctly first time and again wait for all to dry then hoover etc. At points ensure no ballast is able to get between moving point blades or into any holes drilled in the baseboard for point motors below the baseboard etc. In fact I go back to the ballasted/glued area about every hour and by hand move each ballasted point over and back a couple of time doing this for about four or so hours. This ensures no glue or ballast is able to set the point solid!

Just to congratulate Hornby for the excellent service that I've just received from them. My R3376 Class 71 loco lost all its lighting. On investigation I found that there was a defect with the PCB as the motor operated but no lights were available. Having contacted Hornby Customer Care I received an email on Monday 4th saying a new PCB would be sent to me. It arrived this morning (Wednesday) and has been fitted and everything works correctly again. The replacement PCB was sent free of charge and very securely wrapped. So a huge "Well Done" and "Thank you" to Hornby Customer Care and in particular John Humphrys. Brian.

That is fine, but I feel they are SPDT. The bracketed (On) means the switch cannot remain in that position when the operating toggle lever is released, as it returns to the middle Off position under internal spring operation. DT or Double Throw means the switch makes connection to one of two places depending on its levers position. Normally a toggle switches operating lever is opposite to the contacts. i.e. if the lever is at the top then the middle and lower contacts make a connection. They are also a lot cheaper than momentary levers too 😉 Wire CDU Positive output to the switches middle tab, linking switch to switch middle to middle where more than one switch is needed. The outer two tabs on each switch run out to the appropriate point motors operation connections left and right. Ideally use 16/0.2mm wire throughout and where two or more motors move together then consider increasing the return wire size to 24/0.2mm even 32./0.2mm (or double up using 2 x 16/0.2mm wires) as more current flows in this one wire where several motors all move at once.

A few things... The Gaugemaster GMC-WM1 offers a 16 volts AC output which is ideal for feeding a CDU input. It can be obtained at most GM stockists and in some cases cheaper than the GM listed price. Secondly, try to avoid the Hornby R044 Black point lever when using a CDU. Its very old design and not an ideal operating method means it fires the CDU into the point motor already in the move from direction coil BEFORE it moves over to the other side and provides power to the opposite motors coil to move the point over. Problem is the CDU doesn't have time to recharge before its needed again. Here the R044 lever needs to be held top centre of its travel for a second or two to allow the CDU to fully recharge then continue on with its travel to the other end of the lever frame. If you really must use the 15v DC output of the Elite then ideally use it with a CDU. The CDU providing the 'Beefy' stored pulse of power to move one or more solenoids at once. A CDU is wired immediately after the power source. Its Output + (Positive) goes to the common connection of the operating switch(s) or lever(s). The two other connections on each switch or lever go to the motor operation left and right connections. The motors common connection joins to all other motors common wires and one wire runs back to the CDU output terminal - (Negative). Only one CDU is normally required for the whole layout and they also protect the solenoid coils from possible continual energising which will quickly burn out the coil if left powered On, as once the CDU has discharged in a few milliseconds it cannot recharge again until all levers or switches are in their Off positions. Edit to correct error in typing

The very simple answer (as some point out that actual length of the loop is unknown) is to just move the lower pair of IRJs back (to the right) and into the loop more, thereby reducing the reverse loops overall track rail length! However, the rule of ensuring a complete train still fits inside between any entrance and exit IRJ remains, so the loops actual rail length IRJ to any other IRJ needs to be slightly longer than the longest trains length,