Can I fit N18TXS chip in 08 shunter

[HJ1707823145]

is it possible to fit an N18TXS chip to an (TT:120) 08 shunter, because it is a bigger chip and the 08 is small. anyone know the answer?

[96RAF]

Elsewhere on this forum it tells you the 08 has a 6-pin non-sound decoder socket because the designers couldn’t find room to fit a sound decoder, the smallest footprint being a N18S.

[Rallymatt]

Rob, is it worth making a sticky on the 08/Decoder situation and save some time and repeat threads?

[96RAF]

Rob, is it worth making a sticky on the 08/Decoder situation and save some time and repeat threads?

 

 

So far as I know the 08 is the only TT loco affected but no doubt there will be more small locos to come that may be limited to a 6-pin.

I will change the title and sticky this post for now to see how it goes. Do folk read stickies?

[DB-Fahrer]

Hello Guys,

It will not work to provide the 08 plug and play with sound, but if you have manual skills you can equip even the smallest locomotive with sound. I know many TT railroaders who have provided their TT-Köf from Arnold with sound:

Here is an example (not mine)

Usually a Zimo is installed (and sometimes also engine conversion kits). one would have to wait and see how much space there really is in the 08?

[HJ1707823145]

thanks

[Old Kent Biker]

The Graham Farish Class 08 is available with DCC sound - in N gauge! to be fair, that doesn't have the HM7000 wifi, but it could, I'm sure it could have been done. Perhaps given time, and once the initial surge has died down, Horby will be able to revisit this, either through redesigning the chassis or shrinking the decoder... In the meantime, however, I'm happy to make do without sound!

[von Klinkerhoffe]

Hi

96RAF

You say the Class 08 has a 6 pin No Sound decoder socket, meaning (suggesting) you are unable to fit the Hornby R7321 HM7000-6 Bluetooth DCC Decoder to it. This must mean that to run it on DCC you will need a DCC controller such as Hornby’s Elite Digital Controller?

Or can you fit the 6 pin Bluetooth DCC Decoder to the Class 08 and run it using the HM7000 app but without sound?

New to DCC/HM7000 so thought I would ask as others who are new are bound to be wondering the same.

If not, why are Hornby pushing HM7000 as the ‘best thing since sliced bread’ when some of their new TT:120 locos won’t run on the HM7000 app.

[ColinB]

I think last time I fitted a Zimo Sound Decoder you could buy an incredibly small one, I think it was about half the size of this offering. The small Zimo one is based off their 6 pin decoder but unlike a lot of the 6 pin decoders I have purchased it runs ok on OO. I fitted one in my split chassis Bachmann Sir Nigel Gresley because I didn't want to hack away too much of the model, so I can easily see how it would fit in a confined space. Usually getting a decent speaker to fit is the bigger issue.

[LTSR_NSE]

@Von Klinkerhoffen - it is the decoder (not the socket) that determines whether sound is produced. @96RAF is explaining that Hornby are not (currently) producing a sound version of the 6 pin HM DCC (7000) decoder - R7321 is a non-sound decoder!

The reason given for not producing a sound version of the 6 pin decoder is that the designers have been unable to find a way of fitting both decoder and speaker into locos that require this size of decoder.

If in future the decoder/speaker can be reduced in size, or the designers discover an alternative installation method/arrangement, they may review this decision and release a 6 pin sound decoder.

The selling point of the new HM DCC (7000) range of decoders is their Bluetooth capability - which all the various pin arrangements support.

[von Klinkerhoffe]

Thanks for the reply?

I gather then that the R7321 HM7000-6 Bluetooth DCC Decoder has no sound but will operate the Class 08 using their HM7000 app.

[LTSR_NSE]

Correct thumbsup

[New08]

If I can fit a sound decoder and speaker in an N Gauge 08 and an even smaller Zimo (MS500 6-pin) is available now, I am pretty certain it will be possible to get sound in the TT120 model somehow.

[96RAF]

If I can fit a sound decoder and speaker in an N Gauge 08 and an even smaller Zimo (MS500 6-pin) is available now, I am pretty certain it will be possible to get sound in the TT120 model somehow.

 

 

Agreed it may be possible using other kit, but the OP question was can a HM7000-N18S decoder and speaker be fitted in the TT:120 Class 08 and the answer from the Hornby designer was no we couldn’t find space for it.

 

 

[New08]

96RAF the Hornby TT120 08 loco has a six pin socket anyway so that would rule out any kind of Next 18 decoder as a plug and play solution, not just the Hornby one. I was simply trying to suggest an alternative that could be used with the 6 pin socket and making the point that if sound can be done in an N Gauge 08 with a larger Zimo decoder then the Zimo MS500 offers a potential plug and play alternative to an N18 decoder.

Incidentally, the latest Farish 08 has space for a Next 18 socket, sound-decoder and speaker and they come fitted as such, so saying there is not room in the larger internal volume of the TT120 loco does seem a bit lame to me, I wonder if it is more to do with cost?

[96RAF]

Agreed again that it is possible to fit sound to these tiny locos in various scales but the fact is the TT 08 has a 6-pin socket (the Hornby 6-pin decoder does not support sound) because the designers said they cannot find space for a N18S, and this may be because the current decoder is oversize to spec, but they didn’t comment on that.

[Coachman]

Perhaps IMHO it is better to ask if there is room for a stay alive capacitor considering Hornby's points are insulfrog?

P.S. not a sound fan

[LTSR_NSE]

If you’re referring to the Hornby power bank, then virtually a guaranteed no - the TT:120 range has not be designed to accommodate it. Any third party stay alive that is small enough to fit, will probably not supply enough voltage to power the HM7000 decoders. Capacitor technology is constantly improving though & no doubt a usable version will be available in the future (especially if TT:120 & Bluetooth decoders become more mainstream).

[ntpntpntp]

Considering there are people managing to fit DCC sound and stay-alive in the Graham Farish N gauge class 08, I'm sure it'll be perfectly possible to fit such gear into the TT:120 model even if it's not "plug and play" and some chassis block hacking is required. So it's down to how much more space and current does the HM7000 decoder require compared to (say) the Zimo and ESU units people are using in N?

@Coachman I agree, I'm not a fan of sound in small scales either :)

[Peachy]

This is probably a daft question, please excuse my tech ignorance.

is it possible to connect an 8pin sound HM7000 decoder to the 6pin socket via an adapter?

(I was then thinking of stuffing the nxt 8pin hm7000 sound decoder in a vent wagon permanently fixed to one end of the 08

[96RAF]

All the 6 to 8 adapters I have seen have had a 6 pin socket and 8 pin plug which is the opposite of what you need. You can get an 8 pin socket with free tails harness that you could wire to a 6 pin header that would plug into the loco.

[Peter-357922]

My TT layout is going to be DCC so wanted a chip in this little shunter. My friend at Youchoose has solved the problem He has retained the 6pin DCC socket and has used a plug-and-play solution with a little Zimo MS500N sound decoder. A small modification to a plastic holder above the motor was enough to get a SugarCube5 speaker in, which sounds really good. He has so far put in a pair of 470uF Tantalum capacitors for stay-alive but we have agreed he will use the space in the cab to fit a better stay alive for me. I should see the finished loco in about 2 weeks or so......French customs etc permitting - I live in France. if anyone is interested you might want to contact him for the necessary bits.....info@youchoos.co.uk.

[Fishmanoz]

Not an N18TXS but see separate discussion on an 8TXS here: https://uk.hornby.com/community/forum/class-08-with-all-the-bells-and-whistles-358805

To summarise, you can fit an 8TXS, speaker, power bank, lights and a flywheel but only if you are willing to:

• remove the plug from your decoder and do all the wiring by soldering point to point
• remove the cab and its internal assembly to fit in a power bank
• drill the body to fit lights
• grind the body very carefully from the inside to get sufficient width for the decoder to fit, and
• mount the motor by supergluing it to the chassis so you can discard the current clip mounting to make room for the decoder

All at your own risk.

Note - this process may be simplified in future if the Mk2 HM7000-8TXS is decreased in width by 2mm to a max of 12.4mm.

Note 2 - when we eventually see the 0-6-0 steam locos, the chances are their bodies will be wider and a similar fit will be simpler.

[Fishmanoz]

Bumping this topic to show additional detail in my post above.