Potrail2378

Hi, and thanks for your recent help. A couple of years ago I was gifted a Hornby class 50 045 loco - R 2350. I tried a couple of decoders, but it wouldn't work. After checking out this forum, I sent the circuit board away to be modified. I haven't seen it since! Is there a (modified/updated) replacement part, and if so, what is its part number? Thanks in advance 👍

Hi, I'm using the blue wire as +tive and there is no load. Just the red multimeter lead on the blue +tive and the black wire of the multimeter (separately) onto the purple, green, white, and yellow wires. I have just replaced the decoder and everything is working fine now, but the original decoder is still giving the strange readings.

Hi guys, hope you're all well. I have what I think is a faulty decoder, and am worried that it may be only fit for the bin. So my decoder voltages are as follows - OFF/ON Purple wire - 0v/16v Green wire - 18v/16v White wire - 31v/18v Yellow wire - 6v/30v All motor functions are OK and it runs well. Is the decoder salvageable? Thanks in advance 👍

Hi, I've been gifted a Hornby Sir Nigel Gresley, it's tender driven and I think it's an R 2149. Although I have converted lots of diesel locomotives to DCC (often with lights and sounds), is this an easy conversion? Also, I have a faulty eight pin decoder where the white and yellow outputs don't work - I'm guessing I can use it as the other functions work OK. Thanks in advance for your help 👍

Now that you've mentioned it, I have seen replacement axles on line. Maybe that's why? Thanks for the info though - keep me posted on any progress with the tyres. Thanks again.

Hi. I have four racing trucks, however, I can't find tyres for them. The trucks are - C 3609 C 3160 C 4089 C 4156 Also, I'm struggling to find a service sheet for the above. Any help or advice would be great.

Hi guys, I'm after a C number for a 'longer' guide blade please. I recently bought a C 8215 Lap Counter, but most of my cars won't register a lap count on it. I brought out my new DeLorean Mk2 and that works really well every time. I then compared the two guide blades from the DeLorean C 4249 and an older Mighty Metro C 214, and the difference between the two blades is over 2.5mm. Please let me know if there is a deeper/longer guide blade out there. Thanks in advance 👍

Hi, I have just been gifted the Duchess of Sutherland train pack, R 2370 - without the engine! The coaches haven't been out of the box. The previous owner only wanted the loco. To replace the engine, is the R number 066? Is it a straightforward enough to conversion to DCC? With a view to selling the train pack, is it better to leave it as DC? Thanks in advance.

"Early Class 50's had a factory faulty PCB where pin 7 and pin 3 of the 8 pin socket were crossed" So, just to let me get this straight - Pin 7 and Pin 3 are 'crossed', as in they need swapping over? Or is there a dead short ('crossed') on the circuit board? Either way, with a little info, it should be an easy fix. Thanks in advance.

Hi 96RAF, yes I understand that, thank you. I'm just trying to establish what pins need swapping over to stop the EO code (and of course, to stop blowing my decoders)

Hi, and thanks for the reply. So if, as you say, pins 3 and 7 are 'crossed' I can simply cut the green and blue wires at the pins, swap them over, and re-solder them? Thanks.

Hi, I have just been gifted a Hornby class 50 (50 045) weathered loco, R number 2350. It works really well on DC, and all the light are illuminated. As soon as I remove the blanking plate and put it on DCC track, (I have tried three different decoders) it shows 'EO' on my Hornby Select with a 1 amp PSU, and it shows 'Error' on the Hornby Elite with a 4 amp PSU. All other loco's are fine. Can you please suggest anything to help me? Thanks in advance. Mod note - title amended to aid future search and better reflect the problem.

Hi Andy, thanks for the info 👍

Hi, I have seen these dongle (C 8333) units for sale. I understand they are for analogue use only. Can the dongles (two, one for each lane) be used on the Scalextric Start system? Thanks in advance 👍

Thanks 👍 I made a couple up with some copper strip.

Thanks Andy 👍

Hi. On analogue cars, is the suppressor/capacitor on the motor necessary? I primarily run model railways, and there is a similar setup on those - I cut them out and convert them into the new DCC system. Thanks in advance 👍

Hi, I have a couple of Scalextric 'Start' sets, C 1251 and C 1271. I have looked at service sheet No. 459, but still have a question. What is the part number for the two wires and the connectors? Are they connected to the motor C 8146, are they connected to the guide plate C 8312, or are they a separate item not listed? I have enclosed a picture of what I'm trying to explain. Thanks in advance 👍

Hi Andy, thanks for the info 👍

Hi, I recently purchased the Scalextric GT Endurance C1251 and the Pro Racing series C1271 sets second hand. One of the controllers doesn't work, but because I have four in total, that's not a problem. Can I make a large circuit and use both PSUs along with both power bases? If not, can I use droppers and a BUS system? Is there a common fault with the controller? - I have a large model railway in the loft, and I convert the old 12vdc loco's to the new DCC system so I'm pretty good at fault finding and soldering. Apart from the cars which I have, can I use any analogue car? When purchasing cars, are they all analogue, or is it easy to spot a digital car? Thanks in advance 👍

Thanks for the info, gentlemen.

Hi, is there a 'best' way to clean locomotive wheels? As an experiment, I soaked a set of wheels for a class 37 in T-cut overnight, and then washed them in hot, soapy water. It worked fine - would there be any detrimental effects in doing so? I usually used IPA liquid which works well for me. Thanks in advance.

Hi, although I have converted many (30+) loco's from DC to DCC, I still don't know what size/gauge of wire I am using! Sounds strange, but it's true. I usually just get an old scart lead, cut the ends off, and salvage the wires inside. But what actual gauge should I be asking for if I were to buy decoder wire? Thanks in advance.

Hi, and thanks for the answers so far. One particular loco is a Hornby Yeoman class 59 Kenneth J Painter which has a sound decoder fitted. I have put a headlight kit in, which I bought off eBay, but I also installed a headlight below the windscreen which is a bit too bright for the camera.

Hi. As per the title, I would like to know if I am able to dim the headlights on my loco's by altering any CV numbers. I usually install 3vDC LEDs with a 1Kohm resistor in series for each LED. The lights look great on the layout, but are far too bright when being photographed or videoed. Any help would be much appreciated.