Useful video as ever. Great to get the dimensions accurately given too. Always weird that manufacturers themselves don’t always give exact figures. Thanks again.

Great useful content once again! Keep it coming Chris! Very much appreciated!

Hi Peachy! Do you mind if I send out a link to this video? We have some of the stay-alives back in stock (for now) - they'll sell through quickly, but we have more on the way :)

Isn't it just Sod's law that you go to all this effort to source a solution to the 'too big' power bank issue and then Martyn and Carl mention in another video that they're working on a smaller power bank at Hornby. On a plus side, competition is good and that thinner profile has its benefits as you showed on that A3(?). On that subject, the coal load you did looked so realistic it should be a video in its own right. Anyway, the current offerings from either Hornby or DCConcepts don't appear to be a solution for the smaller locos but at least we now know why they only decided to initially produce the one size.

Just got an email from DCC Concepts. They’re back in stock. I used the DCC Concepts one for my A4 Falcon using your old video. Worked well. The thinner unit actually helped

Great video. If you're feeling brave you can also solder other brand 2 wire stay alives direct to the decoder - the two tabs are marked on the pcb. But you do need a fine point on the soldering iron and a steady hand.

So far my HSTs work really well without stay alives as does my A1 when it comes out on a special. My 08 however... Hence my permanently coupled brake van with a stay alive in it. Eventually I'll add them to the HSTs just for peace of mind at some point probably.

Hi Chris. Great video. If you're desperate and can't wait for Hornby to restock in November(!), DCCConcepts is a great alternative. Their three-pack brings the price of each down to £16.65. If you can wait until November, the Hornby product has the advantages of smaller size and greater stayalive duration (as you said). You pay ya money and takes ya choice.

Power to you Chris.

Good comparison. Whilst I agree time to lose bluetooth connectivity is most important, IMO that should be with loco moving and sound on. I am much less worried about losing connection to something I am not operating. Hope we see a move towards smaller power banks. We don't really need 60 seconds worth of power reserve IMO. I notice that Zimo do a small power bank with 2 or 3 capacitors (cf normal 6), but it is only advertised as working with their decoders. Still, I will be looking at Zimo solution when green 08 turns up & maybe J50.

Hi Chris, are you anxiously waiting for the arrival of the class 50? I keep checking daily but still nothing, surely can't be long now

Hi Peachy, good video as usual. I hope you don’t mind me asking a question as I am not sure what I am doing! Been a few years since I have done any model railways but I have started to purchase TT:120 stuff to give the scale a go. The loco’s I have/will be purchasing will be HM7000 enabled. However, at this time I have not started to build my railway or purchased any controllers as I am not sure what to get! I suppose I am asking, how do I power the track so I can use the mobile app for operation of the loco’s? What do I need to purchase sticking with Hornby products? I have already taken on board the use of Power Banks! If you cannot cover it here can you please think about doing a video about it or if already done point me in the right direction!

Hi Peachy, two questions. What do you think that, from your experience with Stay Alives, is the minimum time of function that you could get away with to keep a loco going? And, if less than the average 60 seconds, would it be possible for a smaller SA with a shorter running time to offered that would fit more easily into a Jinty or 08? To me 60 seconds seems to be a bit overkill and I wonder if sacrificing some of the time in order to reduce size and gain extra 'Fit ability' is something that Hornby /DC Concepts have considered. Be interested to hear your thoughts on that.