Large Scale Central

Zimo MX644C in a Bachmann LS Peter Witt

General Discussion
#1

Today I got a Zimo MX644C 21MTC (with the US trolley sound installed) decoder in the mail.

Took a few minutes to unpack it, remove the bottom cover of the Bachmann Peter Witt streetcar and replace the DC interface (dummy) boards with the Zimo decoder.

Turned on the system and it ran flawlessly.

Next I changed CVs 33 and 34 so that both the front and rear headlights are on when the F0 function is turned on.

The Peter Witt now has all its functions and sounds running as expected.

I still need to go back and change some CVs to deconflict the sound and lighting functions so that both do not turn on with the same function. (for example the default is that F1 turns on the interior lights and 2 bells ring)

I still need to run the streetcar with the Zimo decoder for many hours to ensure that a problem does not crop up but that will have to wait since it is raining hard outside at the present time.

I will be running this streetcar at TrainOps on Sunday before our operating session for attendees to comment on.

Thanks go to Lee Riley at Bachmann Trains, Dr Peter Ziegler at Zimo, and Art Luescher from Model Railroad Solutions (the Zimo importer) for their help in providing product for this demonstration.

Stan

#2

What!!! No YouTube?

#3

Steve, its raining. Some of us don’t play with electric trains in the rain.

#4

David Maynard said:

Steve, its raining. Some of us don’t play with electric trains in the rain.

Why not? We do, out here on the Left Coast! Rain, snow or shine, nothing stays the…

#5

Steve! Steve !! Switch the power off if you can stop twitching long enough .

Steve .

Steve?

OMG . Another fan gone to the Big Switcher in the sky .

Or , dare I say , doing a stoking stint you know where ?

Mike Brit

#6

Stan, I have moved the sounds many times on the zimo decoders.

I always move the bell to F1 and whistle/horn to F2 and on many units I set the inputs for reed sensors to bell and whistle.

Look at CV300 for reprogramming sound function assignments.

#7

Dan Pierce said:

Stan, I have moved the sounds many times on the zimo decoders.

I always move the bell to F1 and whistle/horn to F2 and on many units I set the inputs for reed sensors to bell and whistle.

Look at CV300 for reprogramming sound function assignments.

Dan,

Things are sometimes a little different with the Däppen-Sound projects, but most likely the Streetcar version - the project was designed to go with the Hartland street car - is simple.

How did we (Art Lüscher and I) find out? Remapping the functions - standardizing to my scheme - wasn’t the way to go; so it was back to Heinz Däppen’s line-up and leave the aggravation on the side lines.

BTW Mr. Däppen is presently in the USA recording more sounds for more projects.

Note: generally Däppen sound projects require a clearance code specifically assigned to the serial number of the ZIMO decoder. Yes, there is a charge, but the sound is so much better than anything else that I’ve heard that paying for it is worth my while for all my RhB engines. Why go with the some of rest when one can have the best, eh?

#8

Mike Morgan said:

Steve! Steve !! Switch the power off if you can stop twitching long enough .

Steve .

Steve?

OMG . Another fan gone to the Big Switcher in the sky .

Or , dare I say , doing a stoking stint you know where ?

Mike Brit

Oh my goodness, don’t tell me that we have finally demonstrated the superiority of battery/RC over DCC, in that the battery/RC can be run in the rain, while DCC cannot?

Gasp!!! Did I say that out loud? :slight_smile:

#9

Steve Featherkile said:

…

Oh my goodness, don’t tell me that we have finally demonstrated the superiority of battery/RC over DCC, in that the battery/RC can be run in the rain, while DCC cannot?

Gasp!!! Did I say that out loud? :slight_smile:

Quite true, quite true and … those who aren’t already will be all wet in short order.

#10

Que ?

Mike , English speaking Brit

#11

Steve Featherkile said:

Oh my goodness, don’t tell me that we have finally demonstrated the superiority of battery/RC over DCC, in that the battery/RC can be run in the rain, while DCC cannot?

Gasp!!! Did I say that out loud? :slight_smile:

Steve

Thanks for derailing the thread.

To answer you specific concern we operate one of the larger DCC Large Scale layouts around and we operate 12 months of the year in all weather. The only time we can not operate is when the snow is to deep to shovel.

Most of our operators however do not like operating in sub zero weather or in downpours so we generally avoid scheduling a session at those times.

And personally I much prefer to operate on a nice day then when it is pouring hard outside.

Stan


Wnter Operations 2

#12

Stan, look somewhere else for your derailer. All I did was ask for pics, or youtube, since you like to post youtube.

#13

Steve Featherkile said:

Stan, look somewhere else for your derailer. All I did was ask for pics, or youtube, since you like to post youtube.

Didn’t see anything about battery power in this DCC decoder thread until … oh well.

BTW a lot of DCC users run in the rain, the smarter ones most likely to get their valuable equipment to a dry place.

The same guys most likely have a quick disconnect between the layout in the garden and the storage yard in the house, just in case lightning strikes … what are the chances, eh?

#14

HJ, the NCE system users like having the sounds the way I described as the handheld has a bell and whistle icon and they like these to work properly.

And for DC setups I have to program the inputs on all projects for bell and whistle.

#15

Dan Pierce said:

HJ, the NCE system users like having the sounds the way I described as the handheld has a bell and whistle icon and they like these to work properly.

And for DC setups I have to program the inputs on all projects for bell and whistle.

As mentioned most likely the Streetcar sound should be straight forward to remap. BTW we get to use the R/C Procabs on a large HO layout, but without sound.