129 - Shelfington - DCC Fitting - Graham Farish Class 24

[@Wickford_N_Gauge]

Greetings, Shelfington, and hello Ian 👋 Farish do assemble their models like puzzle boxes 📦 🤬 they're enough to make a grown man cry 😢 Very best wishes from the Emerald Isle ☘️

[@iansngauge]

Good morning Wickford, and hello Paul! Yes, it's always an adventure opening up a Farish loco, not one of them the same so far! Still, nothing broken off this one, so no crying this time! :) All the best, Ian.

[@thegrowler-blackwoodngauge]

Evening Ian - the 24 is a good model and performs well even on DC. Must look out mine and give it a run around the layout. Well hopefully this time tomorrow I'll be in MK ready for GETS 🎉

[@iansngauge]

Good morning Euan! Yes, after the Large Prairie the 24 was my next best performer on DC so far! I'm pretty sure it'll be a permanent fixture on Shelfington! Yes, have a safe journey! I suspect you'll be on your way by now! I'm driving up after lunch, but am dreading the M25! See you tomorrow! All the best, Ian.

[@Nat-AVMR-N-gauge]

Hello there Ian I agree with you, it would be very beneficial if the manufacturers could give us more detailed diagrams on the instructions, I’m always worried that I’m going to damage something because of their vagueness. Another great DCC fitting there Ian Nat 🚂👍

[@aleopardstail]

documentation is always an afterthought, one or two companies get it right, most don't its a really nice little locomotive, and having fitted a decoder to a Poole era GF class 25 its amazing how much further things have come on. DCC is perfect for low speed running, on DC low speed means low power, with DCC you have full power just a reduced duty cycle so the things should move. have had crawls I'm amazed at out of old Lima Class 86 that struggled to even run at half power on DC

[@iansngauge]

Good morning Nat! Yeah, the standard of documentation is shocking considering anyone who wants their loco to run on DCC needs to know how to get into it! It could be so much better! Oh well! All the best, Ian.

[@iansngauge]

The other problem with the documentation is that many a time it's not been written in English - or rather it is, but it's obviously been translated poorly! How difficult would it be to read their documentation and correct it before release? Yes, it's amazing how much better DCC can control the motor than DC, especially at low speed! Cheers, Ian.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Alls well that ends well. Take and hopefully see you tomorrow

[@iansngauge]

Good morning John! Yes, for me, this was a pretty frustration free DCC fitting! Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow! Have a safe journey! All the best, Ian.

[@exehavenharbour]

Good morning Ian, well done mate, informative as ever, I’ve done the same thing, fitted the decoder and nothing happens, it’s always my fault, bit of head scratching and figuring out and all is well. Looks like the class 24 runs very well under DCC, I’d like a couple of those to work in and around the docks on my layout, i think they’ll look the part. Enjoy GETS this weekend, you might find a couple of bargains! I’ve got one of our big golf days this weekend, The Monday Club Masters, hence why I’m not going. Hope your hand is ok cheers for now, John

[@iansngauge]

Good morning John! Thank you! Yeah, I was sweating a bit when the loco didn't move initially! Lol! The 24 has surprised me with how smoothly it runs on DCC, although I don't know why, as all of my other Farish models are pretty good runners too! They'll definitely look at home in a dock setting on Exehaven! I'm hoping to find some bargains at GETS, but am a bit frightened that my "wish list" is getting on for a whole sheet of A4 long! Lol! My hand is still causing problems, but I'm able to do most things thanks! Not sure I'd want to wield a soldering iron or Dremel disc cutter though! Good luck with your golf weekend mate! All the best, Ian.

[@endoorrailway]

Morning Ian 🙂 Some of the usual instructional problems persist then, but it's nice to have got through a DCC fitting without any damage! Did you have to do it with compromised feeling in your hand? It looks like you were handling it nice and delicately.

[@iansngauge]

Good morning Jonathan! Yeah, the Farish instructions all seem to follow the same template with the same wording! It's ridiculous! Haha! Yes, I've become so accustomed to snapping things off models, that to get through a DCC fitting with the model still intact is a bit of a novelty! Yes, my right hand is still giving me problems, but I'm managing to compensate with my left hand for most things, or else, like you say, trying to do things as delicately as possible as I have very little feeling in my thumb or forefinger! All the best, Ian.

[@joerotchell4882]

Hi Ian thanks for the video. Just starting in N but have DC OO experience. I want to go DCC for my first proper N layout. Can you recommend a controller system that uses a hand console rather than a screen based system? There’s a fair few products available but you sound very level headed and have more in-depth knowledge/experience of the scale. I just want to run trains not rival Elon Musk in the tech area. Cheers Joe.

[@iansngauge]

Hi Joe! Thanks for watching! Hope you found the video useful! Hmm! I spent quite some time looking at DCC control systems when I first started out, and settled on a Digikeijs DR5000! Digikeijs then promptly went out of business! However, a company called YaMoRC rose out of the ashes of the company, and has a similar controller called the YD7010! This will allow you to connect a WiFi throttle - or your phone / tablet - to control locos and accessory decoders! I use a Z21 WLANmouse wireless handset myself, but there are quite a few other makes available! I also have a NCE Powercab, which isn't wireless, but does have a decent length of cable, allowing you to wander around! It's not the most powerful controller, powering only five or six locos, but boosters are available to upgrade it! It's a great starter system, and I tend to use it most of the time while I'm building Shelfington! I've heard good things about Digitrax systems, and the Z21 system, but can't speak from personal experience! It really depends on how big your intended layout will be, how many trains you intend to run, and what accessories you intend to power! I hope this helps! All the best, Ian.

[@joerotchell4882]

Hi Ian a great response thank you. Personally I don’t enjoy large busy fast layouts. I’m more about the goods interaction than flying passenger services so while the NCE may not allow me to stand at the bottom of the garden with the locos in the attic 😂 it’s got a lot of time served builders/operators in its corner saying the same things you are. So thank you and this is where I’ll cut my teeth over the next few months. The layout will be small prob 1200 x 600mm, be set around Harwich Parkeston Quay (known as the ‘Mayflower Line’) 1965-1980 when I were a lad, the stories I could tell, but don’t worry….i won’t. 😅 Great advice. Cheers Joe

[@FrankC321]

And the vow to never take apart a $100 locomotive!

[@iansngauge]

Hi Frank! I have to admit that the more locos I take apart, the more confident I get, but it's always a bit nerve racking! Cheers, Ian.