AceinOz

Ok, so it’s a new day and I had another go with the loco. I set the sound to 30 (from 255) and it did many laps around the layout without a problem (🤞). Lesson learned. I am warming to these HM7000 decoders - many great features, just need to explore some more.

Did you do anything specific or did it just fix itself? Should I try changing the enclosure?

Thanks for that. I will try the super glue. The initial sound was set at 45%, so not overly loud. The problem is the overall volume dropped by around 50% after a few laps around the layout - could hardly hear it.

I took the plunge and purchased a HM7000 8 pin decoder with sound, noting the good reviews it seems to be getting. I installed the decoder and speaker in a Hornby B12 - plenty of room. It was all working fine until the volume of the sound file dropped by about 50% and started to sound a little ragged. I checked the settings and they were all fine. I was using the default sound file and the initial general volume setting was 45%. The drop in volume occurred after a few laps around my layout - a few minutes of running. I stopped the loco, shut down the sound, took the loco off then on to the track to ‘reset’ the decoder, started the sound - again, it worked fine for a few laps then the sound died again. I reloaded the sound profile, did the on/off process - again the sound was fine for a few laps then died. Everything else was working fine. The decoder and speaker are not cramped or touching anything which might cause a short circuit. The speaker can only attach to the decoder one way so that is fine. Appreciate any advice as there is nothing in the Hornby documentation or online documents that cover this problem. Big disappointment to say the least.

Apologies if this has been asked before, but why is it recommended to run in a new train using DC? What is wrong with using DCC to run a train in?

Thanks for that. I have one arriving next week. Looking forward to it.

Many thanks. That all makes sense.

I recently found out how to set my NCE Powercab to monitor how many amps are being drawn on my layout. However, with no trains on the track it indicates it is drawing .03 amps. Is this normal? I have not installed lights, signals etc, so nothing should be using any power until I put and loco on the track. Also, what is a ‘normal’ amp draw for a loco?

Thanks all. I am going to send the loco to my local repair guy I think.

Has anyone had a positive experience with the Hornby 4MT 4-6-0? All I see on Youtube is how the motors died etc. Surely someone has had a good experience.

Bachmann have replacement motors for the 4MT 2-6-0 but not the 4-6-0. According to the manuals the motors are different or at least have different catalogue numbers.

Thanks everyone. I removed the motor from the chassis to test it. My 4MT is the dcc version with motor 110-106.

The loco is a Bachmann 4MT 4-6-0

I have a loco that i purchased secodn hand that runs forward ok but will not go in reverse. I pulled the body off and cleaned everything. I separated the motor from the gears, cleaned off excess grease from the gears and the gears move freely. I put a small amount of oil on the bearings at either end of the motor. The motor will run forward but not in reverse. It will do a few revolutions in reverse then stop or seize up. I have even tried different decoders to make sure the original decoder was not a problem. It is definitely the motor. Can this be fixed, would cleaning with electrical contact cleaner work? Appreciate any advice.

I have a new Hornby Class 31 and I installed a Hornby Class 31 TTSound decoder. I use a NCE dcc system. The loco ran normally up to about 13 on the controller (28 step). When I pushed the speed higher, over 15, the loco started to stop and start. This stopped when the speed was reduced back down to 13. I swapped out the tts decoder with a bog standard Hornby 8 pin decoder and the train runs normally on all speeds. Anyone have a view what might be wrong with the TTS decoder?