Recent content by gfmucci

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    Proto 2000 Phase II GP7 Issues

    With two returned HO-scaled engines in 2 weeks for two different problems associated with their small size, I am leaning more and more toward O-scale. When a great HO is working properly, it is fantastic, just like the old English sports cars. I'd say a '57 MG and a '57 Chevy are good relative...
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    HO Decoder Equivalent to Lionel TMCC or MTH DCS

    Are HO decoders "universal" or "proprietary?" Is there an HO equivalent to the brand specific Lionel TMCC or the MTH DCS? Which ones tend to work best with a variety of brands of engines?
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    Popped rivet on Mountain 4-8-2 Bachmann

    What do they do with the "old" engines If Bachmann (or anyone else) usually provides a "new" engine in place of the one sent in for repair, what do they do with the old engine? The one I sent in, besides the broken linkage, had some sticky tape residue in the tender after I removed the rim...
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    Popped rivet on Mountain 4-8-2 Bachmann

    Grrrreeeaatttt. :| The Roundhouse I had doesn't run right on the club layout, so I spring for another $74 for the Bachmann replacement to have it in time for my grandson coming over next week, then the first time out the linkage gets tangled up and pops a rivet...and it takes six weeks to...
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    Popped rivet on Mountain 4-8-2 Bachmann

    The hole for this particular "mini-rivet" is smaller that the diameter of a straight pin. Plus the smaller linkage is also bent - didn't want to take the chance of breaking it off when trying to bend it back. I'm going to let Bachmann do whatever they do. They did request that I return it to...
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    Popped rivet on Mountain 4-8-2 Bachmann

    I picked up my new Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2 "Mountain" this past Saturday:thumb: and gave it a trial run on the Club layout this evening. It did fine initially untill I opened it up to about 3/4 throttle (perhaps about 45-50 scale mph) and a rivet popped in a part of its drive linkage.wall1 Two...
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    All 'tis very true. But perhaps after the 2nd or 3rd similar issue, they will finally upgrade their substandard block. Might take a year or two, though. Another way to look at it, from the Club perspective, is that no standard was violated by their layout. No standard exists as the basis for...
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    The end of this saga... Since I am new to the club, and not experienced with someone else's complex electrical power arrangement, my jumping in and upgrading the power grid was not a viable option. And the upgrade components would likely cost well over $100. I visited my "local" hobby shop...
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    Fred... You about wrapped it up. That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate your comments. I'll talk with the club guys again and see what involved in this layout power upgrade.
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    "N" is typically ~12 volts. HO ~14 volts, right? Harold...is your Roundhouse more sensitive to voltage drops than your other engines? Is there anything you can do besides preventing/avoiding voltage drops? How much variation in voltage is acceptable by the average engine/controller?
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    Exactly. The other engines on the block draw amperage, lowing the voltage to the point where this engine works quirky, but all the other engines work fine. The question remains, why is this engine the only one doing this?
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    Sure, it is not a big deal to do that track cleaning exercise. But as I noted in a previous post, dirty track or dirty wheels have been confirmed to not be the cause of the problem. Dirty track, dirty wheels or lack of circuit continuity at switches has the very visible result of making the...
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    Yes, the tender has pickups, as well as the engine. As for cleaning the inside of the rails, I will find a different hobby before I begin doing that. When mine is the only engine out of DOZENS in the Club experiencing a particular problem, I am not about to begin cleaning the inside of the...
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    OK, here are the facts of this problem so far: Running a Roundouse 4-4-0 "American" with factory installed MRC controller and sound On a club layout using the Digitrax remote system Wheels clean and track clean Engine slows to a jerky crawl on one block of track, especially with other engines...
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    Erratic operation of a ready to run MRC in Roundhouse Engine

    After the phone conversation I had with Dave of Roundhouse, I e-mailed the link to this entire thread to him... I hope he/they see how these problems can create unhappy customers. I discussed this thread with our club president. We will conduct another test next week to see if this same...
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