ColinB

Not that I have one of these but I would suspect one of the biggest issues would be adding a Powerpack or suitable "stay alive". Given the short wheelbase of this loco I imagine it would need it.

I rechecked the Bure Valley site and it was only the 8 pin that had that message. Of course the 18 pin ones are still in stock as I assume they don't fit most locos with an 18 pin socket. Thank you "Too Tall" for the information.

Well generally Bure Valley are pretty good, so I wonder why they would post that. There again I have had preorder locos that have arrived way outside their expected window for delivery. I was quoted end of the year for Powerpacks off another company, so I don't know.

Well this is what is listed on the Bure Valley website "OUT OF STOCK - NEW STOCK DUE TO ARRIVE FEB 25" . Even for Hornby I find that an amazing statement.

Jenny Kirk mentioned that when that connector was first used.

Correct me if I am wrong, but to use the HM7040 dongle you must have an Elite or Select device. So surely the answer to the original question is no, unless you buy either a Select or Elite plus the dongle. Now this I must admit i am not sure about, so perhaps you could clarify, but if you do want to control accessories because the dongle is not a true "pass thru" device you also have define them in the Select or Elite as well as the App.

Thank you for that information, that explains an awful lot. I have been wondering how Hornby could get away with 3 "Stay Alives" rated at between 2.5 to 2.7 volts (dependant on which specification you read) when the normal running voltage is in excess of 12 volts. The 3 "Stay Alives" unless you want to blow them up means you can safety only reach a maximum of 9 volts (dependant on which spec you read). LaisDCC uses 4 and I think the AE one does as well, so perhaps the AE one is a better option if you don't want to solder. I must admit I have never noticed the deceleration but then I am more worried about slow speed running over points so I would never have noticed. I wondered the same about the smaller components and less time especially after this morning trying desperately to fit the smallest LaisDCC "Stay Alive" into a 6 wheeled Pecket (it doesn't fit). Trouble is to get capacitors that work at 16 volts with a decent large value, they get rather large. Train O Matic have the best idea, use one low voltage "Stay Alive" and use an electronic voltage multiplier to get the right voltage. Trouble is that is a bit more expensive option. Thinking about it I wonder if it may be worth buying a Train O Matic one and changing the capacitor to a smaller value, or using a bank of SMD tantalums.

Looking at the photos it is the speaker wire that has fell off. Yes you are probably right although the pad is next to the red speaker wire it is very easy to create a short to the red pad which will blow up the decoder or if you leave the iron on too long pull the complete pad off.

As I keep saying the LaisDCC "Stay Alives" are supposedly quite good and I doubt they are a knock off, because no other company makes them. The circuit is a basic power supply circuit, the one I learnt in my first year degree, so nothing special, they probably do it at GCSE now. As I said in my post they do have a habit of the wires falling off, because looking at the soldering they are done by hand, which given the size of the components is quite a feat. It is hard to tell why they are failing, perhaps a bad batch of capacitor (stay alives). From the one I took the wrap off it contains a 2N222a for the voltage regulation and I would say the same for the diode (the markings are missing on that transistor). We used to use them in high current application so I doubt that is an issue. I also doubt it is the HM7000 blowing them up.

Actually it is very difficult to repair them anyway the components are so small. I did replace some components on a LokSound decoder that was broken but even then it was difficult. The original post didn't say which type they were (there are about 5), so it is difficult to know. Mine are all attached to Zimo decoders.

It looks very similar to my HD Sir Nigel Gresley, so I suspect it is right. As to the connector the edge connector in the tender probably needs its fingers squashing down but don't even try to, they might break. Get Hornby to do it.

Which ones have you got? If they are the very small ones the electronics is soldered directly onto the top of the "stay alive" components. I did have two from new where the wires fell off inside the shrink wrap. Trouble is the "stay alives" are in series so if one fails, they all fail. I must admit mine are all working and I have had no issues but then I don't run those locos very often.

That is amazing price as well. How can a model that is less than 6 months old have so much falling off it. I use superglue and a cocktail stick. You have to be careful you don't touch the loco after though, just in case some of the superglue has transferred to your fingers.

The trouble is with soldering on these things if you leave the iron on too long or the pcb is not good quality the pad you are soldering to falls off, generally on the tip of the iron. Then you really are in trouble.

Sorry Brew Man I was referring to Deems model. I remember you buying yours and I assume it runs perfectly. I am surprised about the front bogie though I can't remember either of mine having that issue, although I do have long sweeping bends. Before you do anything check that the set of wheels behind the front pony move freely side to side, that was the issue with my old one.

Amazing, is that all that was wrong with it?

I think we ought to forget this, why do I want to send the individual a personal message? I don't why you get so upset, it is called discussion. As to the Powerbank it works as do other varieties. Lets move on. As to the circuit when I have time I will take one apart and work out the circuit diagram.

I didn't want to actually say who that person was, I am too polite to say who it is, just check all the posts, end of story. Please don't use threats that is not the idea of a forum.

You sure about that 96RAF, the device has two connections, to control it from the decoder you would need three ( power out, power return and control). Now the Train O Matic one does. Charging I suspect, is controlled not by the decoder but by the zener diode and transistor on the Powerbank. Either way it doesn't matter, it is just I get fed up with people trying to over complicate things.

Certain people have suggested they were special but that doesn't matter anymore. I did actually think they would use a port on the micro to control the charging which I suspect Zimo do. I am not even sure that the LaisDCC design doesn't precede the Hornby one. The thing is, Hornby have lost a golden opportunity, you can't get them but you can get the AE and the LaisDCC ones. Now every one knows the others work and are cheaper, they will have lost sales. As to Hornby confirming my thoughts I doubt they can, seeing I have not even contacted them and I am definitely not going to. I suspect they do the same as I used to do when I was an analog design engineer, go get a basic design from a book (in my day National Semiconductors) and adapt it to work.

Trouble is Hornby made their Powerpack to be something special, we now know it isn't. It is equivalent to the LaisDCC and AE ones. The special bit as far as I can gather is the use of a zener and transistor in the charging circuit. Other ones you get don't contain these bits of circuitry and as such are a pain when trying to read back CV on DCC programming mode. I don't know how many capacitors AE use, but LaisDCC use 4. I assume because the basic capacitor is rated at 2.7 volts LaisDCC have probably used 4 to be be sure they are within the allowed voltage range but having 4 in series versus 3 for the Powerpack means the storage capacity is less. The advantage the Powerpack pack has over the other two is it is easy to plug in and out. The LaisDCC is a solder job and the AE according to the YouTube review doesn't have shoulders on the connector so is a pain to get out once in the socket.

I took my LaisDCC shrink wrap off, I was trying to fit it into a smaller space, but I did get to study the components and circuit. Surprisingly the LaisDCC has four capacitors in series so I assume these are the devices that Hornby are having so much difficulty getting. The rest was a couple of transitors (one being used as a diode) a zenor and a resistor. The running time is dependant on the motor impedance.

If I remember rightly this is the loco that has a screw at the back of the cab for holding the body on, rather than underneath like on all other Hornby loco bodies.

Probably the motor or loose gears are the favorite. On my one which I bought secondhand there was an issue with the lateral movement of one set of wheels. Worked out the slot the bearings fit into had not been deburred properly causing them to stick. I am sure Deem will let us know in due course.

This is a revamped very old loco, the only difference being that the DCC socket is in the tender and they cost reduced the smokebox door. So Service Sheet 261D will cover the loco, for the tender Service Sheet 429 from a later Rebuilt Scot will cover it. Last time I looked it was a bit academic as there didn't seem to be many spares available for this model but give it 6 months I am sure there will be ( Hornby seem to do it this way). So what is actually wrong with your loco? If it is the motor I think, last time I looked it was a short one on these so probably similar to a King one, gears I think are standard A4/Duchess/Merchant Navy etc.