ColinB

Yes it sounds like it has died. Generally with LaisDCC decoders they generally smoke so have a look at it to see if the sleeve around it has melted. As it programmed perfectly I suspect a motor current issue. The 0-6-0 Hornby motor takes a reasonable amount of current so it might be that the decoder has died through "overcurrent". I have had many go that way. Generally when I convert my locos I put a socket in the wiring, it makes replacement easier. In the case of an 0-6-0 I use a 6 pin socket, the Bachmann or DC Concepts ones seem to be the most reliable, I found the LaisDCC ones tend to pull out the wires too easily. I use a Zimo 8 pin decoder, which has a much higher current limit.

I managed to get a couple of the really old 21 pin Hornby circuit boards, from when they were fitting LokSound decoders. They fit in the tender in the same place as the 8 pin one. They are such a neat design and so easy to wire. I just cannot understand why they stopped using them, I suppose it is something to do with cost (double sided PCB with plated through holes verses single sided poor quality one). If you take the systems approach a 21 pin decoder socket is a much smaller than 8 pin socket and lead. Funny on the latest 8 pin DCC socket offerings from Hornby I have noticed that they have gone to a dual sided plated through hole version, so I suppose they eventually realised the cost save wasn't worth it (plated through hole pcbs are easier and quicker to wire and more reliable).

I have had them fall out, generally because it wasn't fitted in the slider properly. As someone said, remove the body. The cylinder block screw is underneath the chassis. You need to remove the front bogie, that then gives you access to the block screw. Unscrew the block carefully and lower it slightly. Now fit the valve gear slider back into the slider trying to make sure the other side doesn't fall out. This is the Railroad valve gear so it should be reasonably easy. It is much easier this way than taking off the conrod screws.

Yes a 21 pin socket is bigger but in something like a diesel or APT there is probably plenty of space. In fact if I remember rightly in the class 50 the space allowed for the 8 pin is about the same size anyway. Either way the APT is a brand new design so you shouldn't be having issues fitting the decoder. Perhaps I have the wrong idea but by default a Hornby loco should allow a standard Hornby decoder to be fitted without any modification. It should be one of the production "sign off" requirements, just like the crossing of double points is (as seen in the series).

I assume you want something that is wireless or bluetooth as this is what I would find quite useful, sadly it doesn't exist.

This why Hornby should have adopted the 21 pin decoder option years ago. On very many Hornby models I have found the 8 pin decoder with its wiring just won't fit. On a model costing this much you would have thought that they would have spent a bit more time designing the DCC interface properly, especially as I assume the APT already houses a printed circuit board.

And of course, in true Hornby style that is not currently available as a spare part. They have been sold out for ages.

Another thing to do is buy a LaisDCC 8 pin decoder, the cheapest one you can get. These are wonderful for testing out DCC as they work and if you blow them up you haven't lost much.

I assume you are using the standard Hornby decoder, if it has bulbs as lights then this may my be your issue. Buy a Zimo standard decoder which has a much higher current limit on the function outputs and the motor drive. After Hornby's latest price rise, I think that they aren't much more expensive than a Hornby one.

It also looks like the standard one fitted into the Tornedo, Duke of Gloucester and Railroad Mallard. The only thing is these have a double shaft as they have a flywheel so you might need to grind the other end off. If you want a five pole replacement the Pendolina one should be the same size again with two shafts.

Ok, this is what I do. Go down adjacent pins with a multimeter, if you get a resistance near zero then something is wrong, so test 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5 and so on. Then test 1 to 8, 2 to 7, 3 to 6, 4 to 5. Then finally with the loco attached if the socket is in the tender measure 1 to 5, that is the only one that should give you a resistance less than a 100 ohms, which will be the impedance of the motor.

Yes the 01 is a superb loco, runs really slow and the valve gear action is really good. I bought one after I watched a review from Jenny Kirk, I would never previously considered it.

I assume most of the limitations of the Select is that the display would have difficulty displaying the data. I guess it was designed as a cheap DCC controller to get people into using DCC with a view to them upgrading to an Elite or something more powerful later.

They may well be old stock, but most of these models are cheaper than the second hand ones on EBay. I bought some Gresley suburban carriages for £25.00 each.

It has got to be something wrong with the 01 loco. I have one of these and out of all my locos is the most reliable, I have a Zimo sound decoder in mine. It could be something to do with the wheel base perhaps as someone said the back to back spacing is slightly out, this would show up more because of the 8 wheels. I had this issue with large radius electrofrog points until I isolated the frog and powered it separately, so I wonder if it could be something like that. The back to back spacing is my favourite. The other thing to check is the pickups on the back wheels near the cab, on some A1/A3/A4 locos I found as the back wheels went round curves these wheels moved in and the pickup touched the chassis causing a short.

I have just bought one off Amazon, they are more expensive than LaisDCC but cheaper than virtually all the others. Looks like they are shipped from Germany.

Actually Chrissaf, I know all that. It is just occasionally if you keep getting a short you press the Escape button, then having cleared the fault, the screen returns to normal but there is no DCC output. Power off then on and it all starts working again. It is ok, I have returned its use to programming only.

@Fishmanoz, I think if you read my post that was what I suggested doing if you don't know the address. I didn't know though that you couldn't read values back from the decoder using a Select, that is a major limitation. Having said that I was using my Elite on my main layout because of the issue of the new decoder not accepting the reverse command. I was amazed, considering my Fleishmann is obsolete, it is streets ahead of the Elite for controlling trains. The Elite also has an annoying habit that if it sees a short, occasionally it comes back with no DCC output, so you have to turn it off then on again.

I agree with you "The son of Triangman" standardisation would lower costs, that is how Triang used to do it. The trouble is someone on RMWeb would complain that the sixth rivet on the valve train is missing (you probably can't see it when it is running). More and more each loco is a separate design, even with locos where in real life they would share components with other locos. I don't think the range is too big, because half of it doesn't exist. You get the catalogue, of which many items are last years models carried over, which generally have sold out. Then you have the pre orders which currently you don't see for about a year. That leaves a few that are still available. You could blame Covid for some of it, but I waited 3 years for the blue Merchant Navy which pre dates Covid.

Before you can run any DCC loco with a decoder in it, you need to know its DCC address. Now if the Seller didn't give it to you, then you need to find it. Normally the default number is 3. I am not an expert on the Select controller, I have an Elite, but on the Elite you put the unit into programming mode with the loco on the programming track and use the read address facility, alternatively as you only have two locos program the address to be something different to your first loco. You then control the extra loco using its address. Chrissaf needs to know the software level in your Select unit so he can tell what it will or will not do. Yes it is a shame that you can't put the loco on the track and the controller works out which locos exist and lets you set the speed on them, but currently I don't think there is a controller that will do that.

@Going Spare no there is nothing wrong with Hornby setting a credit limit, but I suspect the issue is the delay between receiving preorders and actually coming up with the goods. Hornby seem to have a flurry about January time, I don't know if it because they misjudged shipping for Christmas then usually no activity for a couple of months. Then there is the issue of taking preorders for 10 customers and only receiving 8 actual items. I was watching a YouTube video from Rocket Railways where he was saying he had loads of interest in the APT only to find out he didn't get allocated any, even after appearing in the Hornby program. You cannot run a successful business if you constantly get let down by your supplier.

I have had it on Princess Elizabeth (whole chassis rotted), original West Country/Battle of Britain (weight disintegrated) and the favourite Royal Scot (motor holder, chassis). Generally the only way I have found to replace the parts is to buy a scrap one and swap bits over.

@Will Hay running a Model Shop must be problematic when dealing with Hornby, we see the shiny new catalogue but generally most of the items don't appear until a year later. I notice I am always getting mails from Rails to preorder this and that, trouble is they are even worse, sometimes the model doesn't appear until 3 years later. The big issue with all of this is you are basically buying something you have never seen, so you can quite often end up with a lemon as was the case with several Hornby models.

I wondered where Hattons were getting these models, so it appears off Hornby. The thing that surprised me was the actual recommended retail of the 01, it is about £126. I have one of these and they are brilliant locos. I would have bought another at Hattons bargain price but I decided I was just buying as it was cheap. So why is the 01 so cheap, it is a really nice loco.

Thanks LMSFan72, I will try that.