It's autumn already. The outside temperature went down by a lot and there's no denying, the garden season is over. It's time to go back to indoor activities. In my case this means working on my new N-scale layout inside a coffee table.
I haven't made much progress so far on this project, but this is going to change now. I've decided the first step would be to finalize my DCC wiring. In particular - I want all my turnouts to be controlled digitally. Previously I would use Digitrax DS64 decoders for that purpose but my experience with those was not good at all. So this time I'm giving Piko decoder a try. And since my new layout will be driven by a Trix central station, some validation of the setup is needed.
Today I'm going to check the compatibility between Trix 66955 mobile station and the Piko 35013 switch decoder. This is going to be similar to my previous tests involving Roco z21.
My first test involves the mobile station, the decoder and a dummy target. This target is just an electrical circuit featuring some LEDs and resistors. I do not want to use the real turnouts right away, since they draw a lot of power and I'm just testing digital compatibility here.
The results are very promising - by invoking functions on the Trix device I'm able to light up all of my LEDs. All four outputs work and their polarization is correct. The digital compatibility is confirmed.
Let's try with some real turnouts now. The challenge here is with the electrical current that is required to flip the switches. Digitrax DS64 decoder features a big capacitor that is discharged whenever an action is needed. This in turn ensures a short but large electrical current.
Piko 35013 is different. It simply takes the power directly from the main DCC signal. Will the Trix mobile station provide enough current the re-route the turnout? Let's see...
I'm going all the way, and I'm connecting two Kato N-scale turnouts to one output of the decoder. This basically means I will use double the power that is normally required. I press the button and... it works!
Yes, the Trix mobile station was able to provide enough of a charge. This device is rated 1.9A, so - from an electrical standpoint - it was actually expected to work, as each turnout is a 20Ohm load. Well, I'm certainly glad it did!
Here's a short video documenting my test:
One thing that I struggled with previously during my Roco z21 compatibility tests was the "LED constant output" mode of the Piko 35013 decoder. I could not make it work at all. I assumed the Roco central station had a difficulty programming the decoder, and I hoped this functionality could still be enabled with a controller from a different manufacturer.
Unfortunately I have to report that the mentioned mode does not work with the Trix mobile station, either. The Trix unit does not seem to have any difficulty programming the decoder, so I'm pretty confident I'm enabling the "LED constant output" mode correctly. But it still does not work and I do not know why. Perhaps it's implemented in a non-standard way and will operate only when triggered from a Piko DCC station.
But overall the tests are still a success. Piko 35013 can be used for N-scale turnouts and it can be driven from a Trix mobile station. This will be my solution for the coffee table layout. And I'm very happy I do not have to deal with any Digitrax equipment anymore... :)
The product I'm going to write about today is definitely the deal of the year. For less than 300 Euro, Trix has decided to provide us with a complete digital starter pack. And it not only includes a train, a set of track and a central station. It also features a locomotive equipped with a sound module. Yes, finally an N-scale starter set with sound. This is Trix 11140.
For me the main reason to buy this item was its DCC central station. I needed one more controller for my coffee table layout and - being a long-time Fleischmann/Roco user - I decided to give the competition a chance this time. Trix 11140 was the most economical way to get it (considering all the extra stuff I got).
Let's take a look at the product. The side of the packaging shows all the basic information about the set. It is digital, it features sound effects, the locomotive offers white headlights and red taillights, and so on... and so on...
Another picture shows the content I'm going to find inside: a passenger train, a digital controller kit, an oval track set...
...and a bus model. A bus model? Interesting...
Let's open it already. Here's what was revealed to me right after lifting the lid of the box.
The product comes with a lot of documentation. Even the AC adapter gets its own small booklet.
The most interesting one is of course the locomotive description. Here we can learn that the model features an impressive number of 28 DCC functions.
There's also a guidebook included which attempts to describe the most important aspects of our hobby. I have not read it, yet, but I must say it does look promising. It might actually be useful for someone just starting his/her adventure with the trains.
The central station's manual is written very clearly with a lot of pictures and screenshots. For some reason I got two French copies of the text, and not a single English one. Well, I can't say I really care - it's all available online anyway.
This is what the content of the box looks like once I removed all the books and leaflets.
For me the most interesting part of the set is the digital controller kit. It consists of three elements: Trix 66955 mobile station (the controller), a connector box and a power supply.
Let's power it up. "Keine Lok" is the welcome message - obviously the device is not configured, yet.
This is where it gets interesting. Included with the set is a chip card containing information about the featured locomotive.
Once you slide the card into the mobile station, the data is read and the controller immediately becomes ready for operation. The DCC functions are configured automatically and the relevant icons show up on the screen. The programmed engine's image does not really resemble the model at all, but luckily it's something that can be changed manually.
What worries me more is the limitation of the controller. It seems to be able to access only the first 16 DCC functions of the decoder. So while the locomotive features more, I won't be able to use them all. That's a little concerning...
The language used on the mobile station can be changed easily. And a nice surprise here - it even features Polish!
My overall feeling about the Trix digital station is the following: it is simple, it is comparable to Roco Multimaus, but is definitely less than Roco z21. All in all, it should be fully sufficient for my coffee table layout.
But enough about the mobile station. At the very bottom of the box I found this little bag. I'm not sure what the content really is, but those strips look like power pick-ups for the passenger cars. I'll investigate it later...
Let's take a look at the locomotive now. It comes separately packaged...
...and again the side of the box lists all the main features.
Here's the model itself. It's a BR146.2 electric engine in red Deutsche Bahn livery.
It definitely looks simple with very few significant details, and almost no separately applied parts.
The pantographs however can be raised...
...and if you look closely, you'll notice it is very nicely painted indeed. It's definitely a budget model, but it will do very well inside my coffee table :)
Let's move onto the passenger cars...
The first impression - they feel light. And of course in this hobby "light" means "cheap". But did we expect more?
They don't look bad though, they're nicely painted and even feature some interior details.
But in the end the quality could be better. In my case, the roof on one of the cars was not even properly attached to the body. I'll have to fix it somehow...
Obviously they don't come "interior lighting ready". But those wheels look like they would accommodate the metal strips mentioned above really well.
OK, it's time for the last element - the bus model.
This one feels really cheap. It's very, very light and it's made purely of plastic. Still, it does look reasonably well and can definitely be used on a layout. Considering it's a free extra - I like it!
And a surprise. This little bus model can be customized! If you disapprove the wheels in a straight position, you can replace an axle and the wheels' angle will change. That's cool!
The set features a selection of track pieces, which I will not be describing. My coffee table layout is going to use Kato Unitrack anyway, so the elements from the Trix package are staying inside the box. Maybe one day I will find some use for them.
Alright, as always - let's take a look at the digital performance of the locomotive. Here's a short video I created:
Well, the DCC functions on this model are not bad at all. They are actually on par with the fully priced engines. That's a very nice surprise!
Summary
Trix 11140 starter set is definitely some sort of a compromise. The locomotive is simple, the quality of the cars is not what we're used to, and the bus model is just a toy. But we have to remember that we get all of that - plus the digital controller, plus the sound functions, plus a set of track - at a cost of a single regular engine. So it is still an amazing deal, and a great way to make a start in the hobby.
While I can't suggest purchasing this set to people who expect perfection and care about every single detail, I can definitely recommend it as a cost-effective way to begin your adventure with trains. Or - as in my case - a way to get a controller and an extra locomotive that can be run by your family members or guests without causing you much of a headache.
The Piko Taurus locomotive in G-scale I bought earlier this year is without any doubt a very good product. A conversion to DCC and adding sound functionality made the model even better and allowed me to enjoy it fully on my garden layout. Still, I wanted to give it a little bit of a personal touch and improve it further. That's how I came up with the following two extra modifications...
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Modification #1 introduces a power buffer in a similar way I did it before for my Piko BR80 (more info here). The goal is to make the locomotive ride smoothly despite any dirt that could (and will!) accumulate on the track. Taurus is a large vehicle, so I have more freedom in choosing a capacitor that will compensate for any power disruptions. The largest - reasonably priced - I could find was 22000uF / 25V element. Its capacity is basically twice of what I added to my BR80 in the past.
The electrical part of the installation is very easy - the capacitor's pins need to be connected to the "plus" and "gnd" sockets of the decoder. And it's all described very nicely in the manual. Physical installation seems to be trivial, too, with all the empty space inside the Taurus...
...well, not exactly. The photo above shows my initial placement of the power buffer. This is what seemed like the natural choice to me. Unfortunately in this configuration, the chassis wouldn't close. I was forced to move the element and install it somewhere else. Only then I was able to close the model. The picture below shows my final location.
In my post about the BR80 upgrade I tried to come up with some "scientific" ways of deciding whether a power buffer of this size was useful at all. The results were promising back then. Now I can say I'm 100% positive the capacitors that I use do provide enough power to smoothen the ride...
My confidence comes from a mistake I've made during the upgrade. The manual is pretty clear about the need of disabling "analogue operation" if a power buffer is added. That's something I did not do. The side effect? Locomotive going forward at full speed once the DCC power is abruptly cut.
The decoder probably assumes it's running on a DC layout instead of DCC when the digital signal is suddenly gone, and consumes the capacitor's entire charge at once for a short but a very fast ride. This does look scary and it's something I disabled right away once I saw it (bit 2 on CV29). But it also proves the power buffer offers enough energy to actually push the model forward. In case of the Taurus engine, the locomotive was able to move by over 10cm. Nice!
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Modification #2 is about adding red taillights. For some reason Piko's Taurus does not offer those. I really miss them, so I've decided to install my own set. I'm using regular 5mm LEDs with 1kOhm resistors. All soldered in the simplest possible way shown below...
The 5mm LEDs fit perfectly into the slots in the model's chassis. It almost feels as if Piko intended to include those but for some reason decided not to at the very last moment. Everything is ready - all I needed to do was to stick my elements into the holes. A tiny drop of hot glue gave me confidence my lights would not fall out.
Of course some simple extra wiring is needed. And suddenly the leftover cables from the DCC conversion became useful!
What I'm doing is basically bridging the front red LEDs with the back white ones, and vice versa. I do not need any extra control over my taillights, and it's OK for me that they will light up together with the opposite headlights (function F0 in DCC). I keep it simple!
My solution works right away. And now in addition to the strong headlights...
...I can also enjoy a little bit more subtle taillights.
I'm very happy with the two above changes. And I'm actually considering a third one already - adding a cabin light. I'm just not sure if I really need it or not... What do you think?
Decision to run your trains under digital control often doubles the price of adding a new locomotive. It is expensive, but in my opinion, it's definitely worth the money. The ease of control and the extra features make it a good deal for me, despite the high price. Today I'm going to bring another of my engines into the 21st century: G-scale Taurus from Piko.
There are of course different options available when converting a piece of rolling stock to digital protocol. But if you want to make it easy for yourself (and I do!), you just go for the dedicated electronics. In case of Piko Taurus that would be:
Piko 36120 DCC decoder
Piko 36190 sound module
These are the two components I will be installing today.
The box the decoder comes in is exactly the same as for all other similar Piko products. The only difference is in the sticker in the right bottom corner.
The content is exactly what we would expect. We get:
a decoder PCB with cabling
a set of screws
a set of instruction manuals
The packaging of the sound module is not a surprise either. The same purple cardboard box with a sticker indicating the type of the item inside.
After opening the box we find the following:
a large loudspeaker
a tiny piece of PCB (the actual sound module)
installation instructions
digital functions descriptions
First we need to open the Taurus. The schematics provided with the locomotive are very clear about the disassembly process. What's even more interesting, they offer a hint on how to perform that operation in a safe manner.
The trick is to use the original polystyrene mold that came with the model. We can place the locomotive upside down inside the part that normally acts as a top cover. This gives us access to the bottom of the engine while keeping all the roof details completely safe.
And it gets better! Once we remove the 10 relevant screws, we can move the chassis away and place it next to the still secured top element. The cables are long enough to allow comfortable work in this setup. Fantastic solution!
The bag containing the decoder screws holds also a few small electrical connectors. Those confused me a lot in the beginning. Turns out they're needed only in case of some older Taurus models. I will not be using them for my Piko 37428.
Wiring for the upgrade is not difficult but the connectors next to the bogies may be a challenge at first. The pins' functions may not be so clear. The puzzle is solved once we take a closer look. There are clear markings in the plastic but they are not visible right away, especially in poor lighting.
The decoder gets installed in its dedicated space. Fits perfectly.
Once all the wiring is done, we still have some leftover cables. That is fine. And of course we might find them useful one day in the future!
It's time to start testing. And I get a nasty surprise - it does not work. Roco Multimaus has some clear issues programming the decoder. I'm forced to reset it to the factory defaults and start from scratch. Luckily it's a success on the second try. Everything works...
...not. I have obviously made a mistake and wired the engines the wrong way. When one motor goes forward, the other goes backwards. I need to correct the polarization :)
Adding the sound module comes next. There's pleeeeeeeeenty of space inside the locomotive. The loudspeaker goes into its dedicated slot, and the PCB goes... anywhere. It's only important to secure it well.
The sound module requires no configuration. It just works. Here's a demo of the available functions:
Conversion to DCC and adding sound is an expensive procedure. Many people still believe this is not worth the price. From my point of view, the model gains A LOT as a result of the upgrade. I'm very happy with the outcome and I'm convinced my money was well spent. I'd encourage everyone who is still "behind" to take a leap of faith and finally go digital :)
