It HAD to happen! glasgow model rail show today!

QUOTE (db ice 3 @ 23 Feb 2009, 09:33) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>hi agian david, i agree its amazing what "value" digital can put on a model railway!. - im hoping that as this kind of technology becomes more widespread, it ll come down in price too and eventually become the new technical standard in times to come. (in a similiar way that flat screen tv, recordable dvd, etc has)

im still learning about it and when im confident i can operate the train in a nice "makes sense" pattern ... ill make a youtube video for you all to enjoy! ... altho i might have to email you outside of here! ... one of the moderators (in france?!) doesnt like my pics/postings!
That would be the forum administrator. I'm sure he likes your pictures however it would be preferable if they were resized to a max of 800pxls. The reason is that some people with smaller monitors have difficulty with larger pictures as they have to scroll continuously from left to right and to help those people it is preferable to have smaller pictures. Some photo hosting sites do resize pictures automatically such as photobucket.

Look forward to seeing your clips.

cheers

Neil

Great set. You sound like a VERY happy bunny.

Thanks for posting the pictures and I am looking forward to the video!

I would probably have ordered the set too had the loco been a steamer, or even an interesting looking diesel (I have heard there are one or two about somewhere...... )

Rob

hi ebaykal - yes you are correct about the wagons with the telescoping hoods. they are being released as a set of 3 with motorised hoods and sound decoders so you will get the motor and squealing sounds as the hoods open - on all 3 wagons!.

all 3 passenger carriages contain a sound chip in each one. when the doors are opening or closing, you hear the sound jumping around from carriage to carriage - synchronised with the actual doors opening or closing. it seems they did this because like on a real train the slam doors dont open and close in a all at exactly the same time, they are staggered between the coaches. so as the doors open/close on each coach u get the open/slam sound and it jumps back and forward!. also the coach with the guards office always is the last door to close ... then a few seconds after that last door closes, u get the blow of a short whistle!.

the coaches can be run with a different loco this way or even independantly from each other as they have their own sound decoders and actuators inside them so you dont need to run this train in the supplied format - good forward thinking!

its all very theatrical and funny/amusing/amzing to watch. im sure eventually the novelty will wear off but its fun right now!. im going to have a narrow shelf on my living room wall along the entire length and put this train on that ... a little station maybe and some lights on it!. but i really need to be getting a move on with my n layout which seems to have come to a halt at the moment!

QUOTE (billericaybill @ 23 Feb 2009, 12:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>awesome stuff ! Anyone any idea how the doors work ?
Andrew

QUOTE (clive hayward @ 23 Feb 2009, 13:12) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>That's an incredible set, I've just checked the price and over here it retails at 879 Euros. Further electric locos with working pantographs can be bought for 453 Euros!

An incredible set but an incredible price, still hope you have fun with it, you seem to be doing, best of luck.

regards

Clive

well 1st of all the video of it in action - please excuse the long gaps between events - thats me reading from a check list of 19 digital functions - not all of which im using in this video! ... u need 2 people to make a great video of this train, 1 to film, the other to perform the functions in the correct sequence lol!
i did my best on my own!

a description of whats happening in the video!:-

0.03 the driver in his cab (yes he is really in there!) switches on his cab light to get the train ready!
0.06 the air compressor starts up.
0.15 the rear pantograph is raised by the compressed air!
0.28 air compressor shuts down.
0.34 the loco electric systems are energized.
0.42 the station announcement system is played.
0.54 the carriage doors open ready for passenger boarding
1.07 the carriage doors begin to "slam" closed - notice the sounds! after the guard has closed his own door (the last door) he blows his whistle!
1.20 the driver turns out his cab light.
1.24 the driver turns on his headlights.
1.32 the brakes are released (sound) the fans speed up as power is applied and the train begins to move!
1.56 notice the switched on lights inside the passenger carriages as the train passes - on a sunny day these can be digitally switched off!
1.58 the train has to stop quickly. hear the brakes being applied!
2.03 the fans slow down in the e-lok as the energy is reduced.
2.25 the air compressor comes on and the passenger doors are opened.
2.41 the train onboard conductor asks passenger to exit the train.
2.50 the doors close again.
3.05 the 1st pantograph is lowered and the other one raised for driving in opposite direction.
3.13 the drivers rear cab light is turned out.
3.21 the e-lok fans speed up as energy is increased then the train starts to move.
3.52 the carriage doors are opened.
4.00 the e-lok energy is turned off.
4.08 driver turns on his cab light to get ready to leave.
4.10 the air compressor turns on.
4.21 driver lowers the pantograph.
4.33 carriage doors are closed.
4.45 air compressor is turned off.
4.51 the driver turns off his cab light.
5.00 the driver turns off the loco tail lights.

hope u enjoyed that, its not accurate but it gives an idea of what the train can do!. ill get better and quicker but its hard to memorise all 19 functions! - i keep having to refer to the chart in the book! lol

roco start set in action!

roco digital start set in action

hi andrew, i have no idea how the doors open/close on the passenger carriages - roco supplies a service sheet for the carriages and there is a mechanism, a motor and a sound decoder in each carriage. i suppose its all co-ordinated together and this is the result!

clive, do you know the roco model numbers for the other roco locos with digital functions ie pantographs and sound? i didnt know there were other locos too that had this function ... uh oh- this is very bad news - i dont model ho at all and now i might start buying more of it!!!. maybe ud better not tell me - but then, id really like to know! lol

QUOTE (clive hayward @ 23 Feb 2009, 16:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks for the video, very impressive indeed.

Here's a link to other Roco locos with working pantos (all SNCF):

Roco locos

hope it works if not go to train-modelisme.com, click locomotives, then click locos avec pantos motorises.

regards

Clive

thanks for the link clive - it worked a treat - i didnt realise that roco had such an extensive rolling stock of locos esp french outlines - and with sound and working pantos - amazing!.