Coach Lighting

With a spare hour or two, I've had fun tonight with DCC controlled coach lighting.

Bachmann are now producing a good range of coaches with built-in lighting. I thought it would be good fun to have these DCC controlled using the function buttons. Express Models also produce some great LED oil lamps for your coaches. These two combined in one coach was just too much for me to resist. Out comes a used (spare, having replaced 08419 with a Gold and Power1) Lenz Silver Decoder (overkill, I know), the tool kit and soldering iron, and here we go.

I fitted the decoder inside the coach, the LED tail lamp on the rear, took the wiring from the internal lighting and connected it all together. The internal lighting was wired to function output A, and the tail lamp to function output C. Function output A was mapped to the F0 key, and function output C to the F1 key. A"flashing" lighting effect was added to function output C (Function outputs A and B share the same lighting effect, so the tail lamp had to be on C).

The end result was terrific. There's nothing like pressing a button on the controller and watching the tail lamp on your rake start flashing.

Maybe I should get out more?

Fitting a Lenz USP Power1 Module to a Hornby Class 08 Shunter

Perhaps "squeezing" is more appropriate than "fitting"? Phew, this was a tight one!

My previous post explains the issues I've been having with my Hornby Class 08 stalling on insulated frogs. Well, after some of the most delicate soldering I've done, and many attempts with the Lenz Gold decoder and Power1 module in different positions, I've finally found a snug fit.

The macro mode of my camera doesn't do justice to how fine the soldering of the Power1 onto the Gold decoder is. Had to be very careful not to short the three wires with stray solder, whilst at the same time not overheating the tiny circuit board.

Here's the Decoder and Power1 wired up to the loco. I tested by coupling a truck behind containing the decoder and Power1!

After fiddling with several combinations, here's the location of Gold decoder and Power1 that I found you could fully refit the body shell on. The decoder is plug-side down and facing the decoder socket. The plug/socket arrangement itself is slightly recessed over the brass flywheel. The Power1 module just fits snugly in the nose of the loco. If I could have been bothered, I'd have shortened the wires from the Power1 and re-soldered them - I thought that was tempting fate somehow though!

The end result had the desired effect. No more stalling on those blessed frogs! That fact that the electronics inside now cost more than the loco is neither here nor there!

Of slight note, the Power1 does get very hot in a very short space of time when the loco is running slowly. I've seen other posts concerning this. I'll report on any smoke I see churning out of the loco. Still, would add to to the realism wouldn't it?