Hornby Dublo A4 - 2023 Edition

Kit: MS440C; SugarStrand25X20X10; MGOLANG stay-alive

Hornby's 2023 reincarnation of the A4, presented in a smart box, and sporting minor enhancements to the design - primarily 21pin DCC socket in the tender and a new PCB-style connector between loco and tender.

We really like the new connector type - solid and easy to handle.

Pop out the tender coupling from its' NEM socket, and a single retaining screw is revealed - remove this to allow the tender body to be taken off.

21pin socket is revealed - remove the blanking plate, and we realise that the socket is designed upside-down compared to most 21pin sockets, so we have to remember this when plugging in the decoder!

We connect up the dual SugarStrand10 speaker to the pads marked S1 and S2.

We want to use the big speaker, so have to remove the plastic slope under the coal load in order to create space for it - worth the effort though!

For stay-alive we opt for a Zimo MGOLANG, which is 6 mini GoldCaps in series, all pre-connected for us. We simply have to connect the MGOLANG's wires to the MS440's stay-alive wires. Once charged, the MGOLANG will provide a number of seconds back-up time.

The stay-alive is wrapped in Kapton and secured in position with some BlackTack.

With the coal load still removed, the speaker is a comfortable fit with our tender-mods.

Please note that these guides are provided as useful resources for you, as-is. YouChoos cannot be held responsible for errors in the information, or for any damage caused to your models or equipment if you choose to follow any of the steps detailed here.