NyGaugeGuy

I've successfully powered an HM7000 8-pin decoder using a 3S 11.1V / 1100mAH LiPo battery. See video on YouTube when it was at 'proof of concept' stage: The loco is an old Hornby Class 37 with a Ringfield motor. I've disconnected the track pick-up competely and the only power to the decoder is the battery (black & red wires). The decoder is wired to the motor (orange & grey wires) and the control is via Bluetooth. I get about 3 hours continuous running from the fully charged battery. I find that the decoder shuts down (elegantly - loco stops and then engine sound closes down!) when the battery voltage drops to about 9.5V but I still think that it's very impressive. I have now fitted a charging socket & an on-off switch and I'm working on fitting running lights. I'll post an additional video once I've got those sorted. A viewer suggested charging from the tracks but the battery is 3 cells and therefore needs a 3S balanced charger which won't fit in the loco (it's pretty full already). Hope this is of interest. Martin

Thanks to you all for the feedback about this. I guess that it will be a long while before Hornby have a large sound library similar to what YouChoos / Coastal DCC / Legomanbiffo can offer on Zimo or ESU decoders which is a shame. I'm sure that a wider international library like ESU offer would dramatically increase the market presence for Hornby but lets hope the lack of content and content providers doesn't kill the market for them instead.

I've got my first HM7000 sound decoder on order and looking forward to the new experience of Bluetooth control. I'm planning to fit this first one in an old Class 37 as I've been working on a battery-powered Bluetooth control system for a while but Hornby seem to have saved me the bother... Only snag is, there's no Class 37 sound profile! I have appropriate sound recordings but I can't find a definition for the TXS file format or any software for creating a new profile. Anyone out there able topoint me to appropriate tools/documentation? Thanks