TaffsTT Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 So I have confirmed today my Blink Bonney is shorting the layout out on HM7000 app and via DCC and my NCE Powercab setup. I really am trying to be positive but: Mallard still with Hornby William Whitelaw had its Next 18 decoder replaced Blink Bonney similar issue. All three locos I bought have had issues or problems - is it me? Am I too rough or doing something wrong because surely I cannot be this unlucky?? Re: Blink Bonney - let Hornby know. Suspect it will have to be returned, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Have you tested them on a test bit of track, with just a DC power feed and the app? Are you on the V2 profiles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaffsTT Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 37 minutes ago, Dodge1965 said: Have you tested them on a test bit of track, with just a DC power feed and the app? Are you on the V2 profiles? Yes - it was doing back in November but I thought it was my app / phone. Its doing the same on NCE Powercab now so its loco and not app or dcc control or track, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John208 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Not sure how relevant this is, but I'm having problems with the Scotsman 'shorting' the power when it runs over one set of points in one direction! If I swop over the tracks the William Whitelaw runs faultlessly across the same points and the Scotsman runs perfectly well onn the other track. The sorting id very brief, just enough to shut off the Bluetooth, and then a delay before all works again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMD Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 @TaffsTT Are you using Hornby or Peco track/points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 The first thing I would suggest is looking at the ‘Back to Back’ measurement of the wheels, most likely problem ones are the front bogie wheels and the tender wheels, fortunately the easiest to set. I was think to do the next High Fell ‘tricks and tips video on this subject specific to TT:120. I’ll get it out over weekend and see how you go. The other issue can be the bogie wheels touching the driving wheels on some curves, a little tweak on the bogie bracket can sort that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaffsTT Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 (edited) 26 minutes ago, John-376819 said: Not sure how relevant this is, but I'm having problems with the Scotsman 'shorting' the power when it runs over one set of points in one direction! If I swop over the tracks the William Whitelaw runs faultlessly across the same points and the Scotsman runs perfectly well onn the other track. The sorting id very brief, just enough to shut off the Bluetooth, and then a delay before all works again. Thanks...mine is happening on corners but not on points. I have a feeling though it could happen anywhere on track. Edited March 15 by TaffsTT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaffsTT Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 13 minutes ago, GMD said: @TaffsTT Are you using Hornby or Peco track/points? Hornby ones out of sets and purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 42 minutes ago, TaffsTT said: Yes - it was doing back in November but I thought it was my app / phone. Its doing the same on NCE Powercab now so its loco and not app or dcc control or track, etc. I had a few issues on the old V1 profiles, but nothing at all since upgraded to V2. Hope u get them all sorted soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaffsTT Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Just now, Dodge1965 said: I had a few issues on the old V1 profiles, but nothing at all since upgraded to V2. Hope u get them all sorted soon. Thanks Dodge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John208 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Hi all. I'm using Hornby points straight out the box set. No issue seemingly with curves, although there has been some 'hesitancy' elsewhere on the track. As to RallyMatt's reply, if I'm honest, I don't actually know what that means! I'm and very new (and very old!!) to all of this. A video would be very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 @John-376819 - see this thread for the main things to check: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I’ll explain it all in a video, often visuals help but it’s the measurements between the wheels, sometimes also called ‘gauging’ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Something went wrong with the YT video I did last night, it lost a chunk of the content, I will re do it and hopefully upload today and see if it helps get you both going 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 (edited) Video now up, hopefully it will explain what’s happening in many cases and how to cure it quite easily with resorting to fitting a PB. If the issues are caused by a short, fitting a PB is a bad idea as it masks the underlying issue. Repeatedly subjecting electronics to shorting events usually leads to damage and that can get expensive. Edited March 16 by Rallymatt 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Video now up, hopefully it will explain what’s happening in many cases and how to cure it quite easily without resorting to fitting a PB. If the issues are caused by a short, fitting a PB is a bad idea as it masks the underlying issue. Repeatedly subjecting electronics to shorting events usually leads to damage and that can get expensive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John208 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Hi Rallymatt. I'm just back from the Model Railway Exhibition at Alexandra Palace and have watched your video. It's brilliant, many thanks for taking the trouble to go through all of that. I have seen some sparks on the points, and your video has now perfectly explained why. I'll have a go at checking and setting the back to back measurements, and I might attempt disassembling the front bogies, but my 70+ year old fingers aren't quite what they were, so I might have to resort to Hornby Customer Care as you suggested. All of this I guess might also explain why a loco runs perfectly say anti-clockwise, but derails on the same bend when running clockwise. Anyway, thanks again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Glad you found it helpful, if only understanding what is going on. If it’s the front end where the sparks can be seen, you can adjust the back to back without need for any disassembly, I’d always try that first as it’s been so successful in dealing with 90% of issues. As I mentioned in the video, anyone who isn’t confident making adjustments and things are not quite right, Hornby have an excellent customer service department, call them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redders55 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Hi all, Mg Blink Bonny arrived yesterday and runs fine - by its self if I give it any coaches (pullmans with lights) it struggles massively and with 3 coaches it stops - any help or advice would be appreciated! not sure if it’s the engine slipping or if the coaches are catching and acting as a massive break - only have the 1 engine at the moment and a bit reluctant to add another at the moment with these issues! IMG_1892.mov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) Check out the video I did to make sure there is nothing holding BB back, make sure your track is clean and free from any oils etc. see how freely your coaches run, you can do that without a loco, the pick ups on the axles have caused a few to drag, that can be cured by unwinding the spring a little, it doesn’t need to be tight round the axle to work. Edited March 21 by Rallymatt Clumsy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritInVanCA Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 On 16/03/2024 at 07:41, Rallymatt said: Video now up, hopefully it will explain what’s happening in many cases and how to cure it quite easily with resorting to fitting a PB. If the issues are caused by a short, fitting a PB is a bad idea as it masks the underlying issue. Repeatedly subjecting electronics to shorting events usually leads to damage and that can get expensive. Apologize @Rallymatt I kept meaning to watch this but only got around to it today as I was just going to order the gauging tool from DCC Concepts and heard Modeloco say 10.2 wasn’t right. Love the explanation. I learnt a lot. I haven’t had many issues but occasional my locos do randomly cut out sometimes not even on points. As you said the reset on Bluetooth is a pain. Takes about a minute. BTW DCC Concepts have the gauge on clearance so perhaps they are changing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rallymatt Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 @BritInVanCA no worries, glad it’s been helpful. I have been saying for months that the 10.2 mm gauge setting is undersize and cause of many issues, others are waking up to it 😁 PB shouldn’t be needed in anything other than very SWB locos, and can be a bad move in some cases. I hope the video explained ‘why’ this issue occurs and why opening the gauge out cures it. You Tubers are good at views, engineers are good at making things work 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moawkwrd Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 (edited) Great video RM, are these the pliers you’ve got? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Redline-67842-Combination-Handles/dp/B011IL4262/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?crid=3K621KAWGID2Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3Lhb3fYX8v-NNaSMkK4ZIJNzNFBe35IU4-nTSOvZK18E38KWyzgJ61mlrtfGwXkuroqbI1gVvw9pe3NbD0b1uxJbm_-2sN3gfJG6FwQev-p4ICcBPB6PFoCXm77-DZEF9vRu52fp61Hpwt5x00eToYB1YT0DcXatLwyhQ04k27W1ImScTi1lVpZRcYVYp97jo0kMfwrxboSkddk0YXQ0RQ.AzL2ifwuXzxlHOqCFQx8TvpVVJ3DoTMyr4Ee2g_9qGk&dib_tag=se&keywords=redline+pliers&qid=1711922255&sprefix=redline+pliers%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-11 I could do with some new long nose pliers too so might as well get the set of 3 that includes the above. Edited March 31 by moawkwrd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les-345151 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Just a note on the Draper pliers linked above, I have a set of these and mine are 11.4mm across the jaws; so there may be some width tolerance in manufacture. Perhaps pop along to the local tool shop with a suitable measuring device in hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Too Tall Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Yep, they have obviously changed things with the pliers as I got some that looked identical to RM's and the crucial size was way different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now