dBerriff

Audio amplifiers add to heat generation. Hornby set default volumes surprisingly high when they first released the HM7000 range. I find a setting of 15 to 25 is about right. After that you just increase distortion and eventually start damaging the speaker coil as it overheats. Insulation melts, resistance drops, current increases further and the result is a blown amp. This is will happen to all makes, not just Hornby/HM. I presume it is just not possible to include over-current protection on these tiny boards.

That is my spending money cleaned out! You get points too. The sun is shining. Life is good. 😎

Thank you Hornby 👍. I have always found the support excellent, not that I have needed it much. And now an unexpected bonus.

Great, except I spent out 2x more than I planned on coaches (Era 4 blood and custard ready for a Duchess) and a Class 08 (bright red DB Schenker - my initials!) that I wasn't planning to get for a while. All TT:120. Eras all over the place. Never mind - it is now most definitely a heritage layout.

Just bought from the Shop and got an unexpected discount. Thank you Hornby - saves me waiting for my points. Should I buy more??? Temptation as always.

As above. There is an existing investment in “ legacy” or track-controlled decoders. The Dongle recognises this as what I would judge to be an important part of HM7000 acceptance by existing DCC users. The Dongle is not useable on its own and I would be surprised if Hornby was not working on a controller for it to plug into. Microcontroller hardware has advanced a lot in recent years and with the expertise at HM they should have no problem with designing a replacement for the Elite. Manufacturing and distribution however is not so easy.

https://www.petersspares.com/index.jsp?pg=2&searchStr=eurostar

I have been as diplomatic as I know how to be and evidence-based insofar as that is possible.

It is looking a lot more positive for TT:120 as far as I can tell. We have not heard the full story either as clearly some of it is commercial-in-confidence. Thank you Peachy for an informative video.

The Facebook discussion shows that is it not just Hornby decoders that fail. The HM7000 range is probably no better or worse in that respect as the different makers' boards will be using components from the same sources. Assembly will be by robot. The variables are chance and the installation procedures. Another message from the discussion is that buying from a dealer and paying them to do the installation eliminates the element of chance as the install will be tested and medium term failure will be covered by consumer law.

No one is saying that decoders do not fail. Sometimes components are out of specification, are the wrong end of silicon yields or for whatever reason just stop working. These should be indeed replaced.

If it looks like a shed and it sounds like a shed .... Sorry, not a Class 50. Thread drift...😳

Class 66s represent a great success story. I could watch them speeding through Oakham when we lived there. The drivers would sometimes change over when I was waiting for my train at Peterborough so this was another opportunity to get up close. I have to get one. My initials are DB so that is the finish sorted.

This post was prompted by some of the reports of multiple HM7000 failures. One message from the Facebook discussion is that if you do not know that you are doing something wrong then how are you going to stop doing it? Many decades ago I taught physics and our youngsters left with some concept of voltage, current and circuits. Is that no longer the case? Sorry if this is in the wrong section - I did consider putting it in General Discussion.

My Select dates from around 2010 when I bought the strange (SDJR + LMS) Somerset Belle set on a whim to try out DCC. I have had the firmware updated and it still works reliably. To be fair, it has had an easy life.