People’s Republic of China N Scale trains

[JeTFiN]

Does anyone know if this is the improved 10-301a or the old 10-301?  I would like to look at taobao, but it seems as an American I'm not allowed on the site.  Every time I attempt to register my account is immediately frozen.

 

https://cart.eztranscom.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=103&product_id=112&limit=100

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.  I rode on several CRH370A sets while I was in China a few years ago and it is exciting to learn that there are n scale models of it now!

[katoftw]

The pics of box is 301

[JeTFiN]

On 11/4/2020 at 9:06 PM, katoftw said:

The pics of box is 301

Thank you for the reply.  Yes, this is true, but I assume if they are now selling 10-301a, they wouldn't update pictures or anything since the average consumer wouldn't be able to identify a difference.

[gavino200]

On 11/4/2020 at 8:34 PM, JeTFiN said:

 I would like to look at taobao, but it seems as an American I'm not allowed on the site.  Every time I attempt to register my account is immediately frozen.

 

You can use Taobao from the US. I do. But I agree it's very complicated. Not user friendly at all. 

[gavino200]

9 hours ago, JeTFiN said:

Thank you for the reply.  Yes, this is true, but I assume if they are now selling 10-301a, they wouldn't update pictures or anything since the average consumer wouldn't be able to identify a difference.

 

I wouldn't assume that. There are still a ton of the original release models on the market. Make sure you get the updated version.

[JeTFiN]

Thank you, @gavino200 and @katoftw!  I wasn't sure if I should assume all models are the improved "A" version or not yet.  I guess the right option is to purchase the 3 car improved set from Hobby Search and the 8 car addon from eztranscom.

An additional question for someone who already owns a Kunter CRH380AL: Are there provisions for DCC control on this model?  I'm unable to find this information as it seems the manufacturer has no website.

[Yavianice]

50 minutes ago, JeTFiN said:

An additional question for someone who already owns a Kunter CRH380AL: Are there provisions for DCC control on this model?  I'm unable to find this information as it seems the manufacturer has no website.

 

The CRH380 AL from Kunter is not DCC ready.

[JeTFiN]

6 hours ago, Yavianice said:

 

The CRH380 AL from Kunter is not DCC ready.

Time to heat up the soldering iron... I'll post pictures later this month/next month when it arrives and I get it converted.  In the meantime, does anyone have a picture(s) of the inside of the motor cars?  I'd like to see if the DZ126PS (https://www.digitrax.com/products/mobile-decoders/dz126ps/) will fit (dimensions 

11.56mm x 9.37mm x 3.2mm).

EDIT:  I just realized that since the cab cars are separate from motor cars, four decoders would be required for the headlights and tail lights to function properly.  I suppose I probably shouldn't be spending $100+ on decoders, so I might instead opt for a DF11 and some passenger and freight cars.

Double edit:  Never mind, I'm just going to get the extra decoders.

Edited November 9, 2020 by JeTFiN

[Nozomi329]

On 11/6/2020 at 9:35 PM, gavino200 said:

 

You can use Taobao from the US. I do. But I agree it's very complicated. Not user friendly at all. 

There are several buying and transfer agents that have English services. You might be able to save some shipping fees as well.

[Kiha66]

While I don't have this particular model I'm sure the DN or DZ wired decoders should fit inside the shell.  I'd recommend not getting the PS style tho, as that indicates it has 8 pin plugs on the end which you'll have to cut off, so might as well save a few dollars and get the wire only version.  I buy DZ123 bulk packs to have on hand for installations like this.

[gavino200]

18 minutes ago, Nozomi329 said:

There are several buying and transfer agents that have English services. You might be able to save some shipping fees as well.

 

Thanks. I use one of those for Germany where the postal cost is ridiculous to the US. For Taobao they'd cut into the cost savings. I have Chinese friends who help me when I get stuck. 

[JeTFiN]

48 minutes ago, Kiha66 said:

While I don't have this particular model I'm sure the DN or DZ wired decoders should fit inside the shell.  I'd recommend not getting the PS style tho, as that indicates it has 8 pin plugs on the end which you'll have to cut off, so might as well save a few dollars and get the wire only version.  I buy DZ123 bulk packs to have on hand for installations like this.

Thank you for the tip on the DZ123.  I somehow missed that model - the price drop ($22 down to $15) makes it inexpensive enough that I should go ahead and keep the CRH380AL orders live. 🙂

[JeTFiN]

The packages arrived earlier than expected, just 4 days total to ship.  I started a thread on how to convert to DCC operation.  So far I've only converted the power cars and I will convert the cab cars later to be able to control the headlights and tail lights.

[JeTFiN]

Would someone be willing to help me create a TaoBao account?  I've made 5 accounts, all of which became immediately frozen, and all attempts to contact customer service end with a failure of the verification slider that I have to get through after claiming I can't get into my account.

Edited November 26, 2020 by JeTFiN

[Kiha66]

I've found that I have to disable all add block type applications before I can access taobao, otherwise I have that slider issue you mentioned.  Good luck, its been very hit and miss for me but I've usually gotten what I ordered from them!

[gavino200]

7 hours ago, JeTFiN said:

Would someone be willing to help me create a TaoBao account?  I've made 5 accounts, all of which became immediately frozen, and all attempts to contact customer service end with a failure of the verification slider that I have to get through after claiming I can't get into my account.

 

Everything I've done on Taobao has been with great difficulty. Are you aware that it's regionalized? You need to join Taobao USA or "Meiguo". Google translate is your friend here. That and lots of trial and error. I seem to remember having to do something with Alipay when I joined first, though I may have done that through a misunderstanding. Taoo is a bit of a head wrecker but it's worth the considerable effort.

[JeTFiN]

Right now I'm here:
https://world.taobao.com/

And clicked the "register" on the top right.  I put in one of the free text numbers (that I tested functional), swiped, checked create alipay account, and never received a text.  Am I on the right Taobao site?

Edited November 26, 2020 by JeTFiN

[gavino200]

Yep that's meiguo. I didn't have that problem when I joined. 

 

Is it possible you have some kind of sms filter on your phone blocking calls from China?

Edited November 26, 2020 by gavino200

[JeTFiN]

I don't know.  I am able to get SMS from Taobao on my actual phone number, but every time I attempt a login I am met with:

"非常抱歉！您的账户存在严重违规情况，已作“冻结”账户处理。详细请参见这里"
"very sorry! Your account has serious violations and has been processed as a "frozen" account. See here for details"

Which happened immediately after creating that account.  I tried making 4 other accounts with different emails and different methods and each one ended up with the same result.  I was able to make one Google Voice number linked to my real SMS number that could receive TaoBao SMS, but the same result occurred and now I can't make another Google Voice number because I've already linked my phone to the first one.  I would be able to make another one in 90 days or if I pay $10 which I think would lead me to spending that $10 over and over.

Edited November 26, 2020 by JeTFiN

[gavino200]

Are you sure there's no other method of contact. A while back I was having trouble getting a train from warehouse to mailing status, so I had a friend email them in chinese. 

[JeTFiN]

Maybe they contacted the individual seller.  It looks like Taobao itself has no support email address available.  I've tried going to the support page when you can't login to your account but on only that specific page the swipe to verify never works.  I've tried Chrome, Edge, Explorer, with VPNs, without VPNs, with Adblocker 100% disabled, etc.

[gavino200]

Try posting here: https://www.reddit.com/r/taobao/

 

It's a subreddit solely for users of taobao. 

[roadstar_na6]

There‘s an app called textfree that can generate more numbers for you to try.

However it seems that Taobao has a 24/7 English support phone number, maybe that‘ll help? I don‘t know it tho, only found it when googling and reading some stuff on r/taobao

[Nozomi329]

On 11/26/2020 at 11:07 AM, JeTFiN said:

I don't know.  I am able to get SMS from Taobao on my actual phone number, but every time I attempt a login I am met with:

"非常抱歉！您的账户存在严重违规情况，已作“冻结”账户处理。详细请参见这里"
"very sorry! Your account has serious violations and has been processed as a "frozen" account. See here for details"

Which happened immediately after creating that account.  I tried making 4 other accounts with different emails and different methods and each one ended up with the same result.  I was able to make one Google Voice number linked to my real SMS number that could receive TaoBao SMS, but the same result occurred and now I can't make another Google Voice number because I've already linked my phone to the first one.  I would be able to make another one in 90 days or if I pay $10 which I think would lead me to spending that $10 over and over.

I would suggest you try to look for the English (or even the Chinese with the help of all these translators) customer service of Taobao. This might be an effort of Taobao to reduce fraud accounts. There have been multiple reported cases in China where criminals use foreign-based phone numbers to conduct fraud activities, so they might have added this verification for oversea users. I've never had this problem since I registered on Taobao with Chinese phones, but I'm pretty sure I've had similar issues at some places. What they want is for me to actually call them so they can make sure I'm not trying to cause harm.

[Yavianice]

I kinda wonder if Kunter is ever going to produce the final expansion set of their Hexie.... anybody know?