Hornby Zero 1 R950 Master Control Unit
- Thread starter UPJunkie
- Start date
Hi UP, Some of us Old Timers recall the Zero One which in its day was an excellent analog control system that would allow independent control of trains on the same track, track routing, turnout control and other functions. It was programable by setting various codes into the master and slave units much in the same manner as the current digital systems.
However, this technology has gone by the wayside. To the best of my knowledge they are not available today. Several years ago I tried to repair one of these for a friend (lightning damage). I determined that the chips used in these units were made by Texas Insturments but I could not find a refference to them in any of their manuals. A call to TI revealed that the chips were custom made for Hornby and that they were no longer available and that there were no acceptable substitutes.
Unless you have all of the associated accessories such as decoders and reffrence modules the system is quite frankly not worth fooling with. I certainly would not invest any money into this system and you would be much better off going with one of the new DCC systems.
Zero One was state of the art in its day and an affordable alternative to the Keller Onboard System but today you are looking at a technology that is at least 25 years old.
While I'm at it.....lets see how many "Old Timers" we have...Does anyone remember the General Electric ASTRAC model railroad control system???
However, this technology has gone by the wayside. To the best of my knowledge they are not available today. Several years ago I tried to repair one of these for a friend (lightning damage). I determined that the chips used in these units were made by Texas Insturments but I could not find a refference to them in any of their manuals. A call to TI revealed that the chips were custom made for Hornby and that they were no longer available and that there were no acceptable substitutes.
Unless you have all of the associated accessories such as decoders and reffrence modules the system is quite frankly not worth fooling with. I certainly would not invest any money into this system and you would be much better off going with one of the new DCC systems.
Zero One was state of the art in its day and an affordable alternative to the Keller Onboard System but today you are looking at a technology that is at least 25 years old.
While I'm at it.....lets see how many "Old Timers" we have...Does anyone remember the General Electric ASTRAC model railroad control system???
Thanks I bid on one i seen on EBay thank god i didnt win it now 
Im not sure about running DCC im not that smart at wiring just anough to get by with thats it. I heard that DCC is hard to wire up and some people says to stay away from it and some say its wrth the $$$$$$$
Im not sure about running DCC im not that smart at wiring just anough to get by with thats it. I heard that DCC is hard to wire up and some people says to stay away from it and some say its wrth the $$$$$$$UP:
the zero 1 is now an orphan system. Best to leave the parts to people who have it already and need to expand.
We used to have a local tech who specialized in it, but I heard he went to England.
I think that the chips came in two versions: 50 hz and 60 hz.
the zero 1 is now an orphan system. Best to leave the parts to people who have it already and need to expand.
We used to have a local tech who specialized in it, but I heard he went to England.
I think that the chips came in two versions: 50 hz and 60 hz.
Vic, I remember Astrac! I remember thinking how awesome an idea it was but never came close to buying one, nor the Hornby for that matter. UP, DCC is easier to wire than DC, so that shouldn't keep you away. But by all means see if you can find someone in your area with it to check it out before deciding. If you go into the Digitrax users group at Yahoo, they have a list of people by city/state who are willing to help newbies.
Gary
Gary