[flyingscotsman]

Hello all,

I have a Flying Scotsman "Set" - the one that comes with coaches, power pack, track, track mat, etc.

I am planning to fit it with a DCC decoder and I think it might be impossible.

The motor is in the tender on this "set" version, and it seems like the motor is directly connected to the wheels for some of the electrical pickup from the tracks. If this is the case, then isolating the motor will be impossible, or is it???

Has anyone taken one of these apart, or installed a decoder in one?

I am in need of some sage wisdom on this one.

Thanks,

Jim C.

 

[mthornton]

I've done a tender drive "Gordon" without any problems.

 

[John Webb]

Several pages back in the DCC Forum there is a topic on fitting decoders to the older Ringfield motors - try searching with Ringfield and see what comes up. PECO's booklet on DCC also has a short article on the same topic.
Regards,
John Webb

 

[mthornton]

I suggest that you take the top off the tender to see just what the wiring is. Newer ringfield motors (such as the Gordon I did) are easily isolated, while older ones require a bit more fiddling.

 

[Doug]

Nothing is impossible. You have to just isolate the pickups and the motor terminals. Even with DC, these had to be isolated even if a live chassis was used.

You may have to isolate the motor from it's housing using plastic tape. I've done that once.

Test with a multimeter for shorts if you have one. This saves frying a decoder. I've done that too...

 

[Makemineadouble]

With older Ringfield motors power is conducted for one pole through the tender wheels through the outer body of the motor then via the left hand self tapping screw to the motor terminal. The other pole is collected on the right hand side of the loco through their funny little connector to the tender and then via a short cable to the pole. Isolation is simple a plastic washer or something fabricated from plasti-card under the self tapping screw to prevent it bottoming against it. Remove the confetti around the terminals and throw it in the nearest bin.
Place your decoder in the tender, I've had good success with the TCS M1 with the Ringfield provided you set up Dither according to the instructions. These type of Ringfield are not really good on DCC but you should achieve some type of reliable running. If you look in the RM there is a new type of tender drive unit using the Bull Ant motor bogie motorbogies and this might offer the best running for Ringfield powered Hornby loco's. The trick is to able to fit the unit inside the Hornby tender. I'm busy with measurements and discussions and will report on progress if any.

 

[flyingscotsman]

Thanks all - I think I will set this one aside 'til the next blizzard, when I am shut in the house without a thing to do!

Thank goodness for this forum, if not, I would have nowhere to get advice on Hornby products, as they are quite scarce here in the US. And trying to find a Hobby store that is familiar with them is impossible. The last guy I asked was a very cheeky sort. He asked me what locos I was running and when I said Hornby, he had a very disappointed look on his face, as if he couldn't come up with a witty remark to make, lacking any knowledge of the brand.

Best,

Jim C>

 

[dwb]

>blizzard ... here in the US
It took a while for the reality of your remark to sink in. Mind you, some former contacts of mine in Minneapolis could never understand why the east coast made such a fuss over a few inches of snow

>as if he couldn't come up with a witty remark to make, lacking any knowledge of the brand.
Don't tell him about this Forum then. It has been known for the occasional "disappointing" remark to be made about Hornby.

David

 

[flyingscotsman]

>blizzard ... here in the US
<<<It took a while for the reality of your remark to sink in. Mind you, some former contacts of mine in Minneapolis could never understand why the east coast made such a fuss over a few inches of snow.>>>

- I don't understand it either, I quite enjoy it when it snows - particularly when it gets measured in feet, which used to happen fairly regularly when I was young, but doesn't seem to occur all that much any more - chalk it up to global warming I guess. At any rate, I look forward to those days where I have an excuse to shut myself into the basement and work on my layout...

>as if he couldn't come up with a witty remark to make, lacking any knowledge of the brand.
<<<Don't tell him about this Forum then. It has been known for the occasional "disappointing" remark to be made about Hornby.>>>

- I certainly wouldn't tell him about the forum. I honestly can't understand how in this day and age, a hobby store owner wouldn't treat a potential regular customer like gold. With eBay and all the online stores, the local hobby store is quickly perishing in the US, and this guy is nailing his own coffin.

 

[dwb]

>a hobby store owner wouldn't treat a potential regular customer like gold
There's a few over here like that too.

David

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE a hobby store owner wouldn't treat a potential regular customer like gold And here too. It's amazing how snooty some shop assistants are with customers. They just don't realise they will lose a sale behaving like that.