Hi Jim,
I just recieved my copy of the March CTT yesterday. I read the review on the train home tonight. These are my opinions:
I believe there are a lot of us that still buy TMCC/Odyssey engines and run them in conventional mode. I did not add TMCC to my layout until this last year and I know from other forums, that there are others who have the Challanger that do not have TMCC. This and the fact that Lionel has clearly indicated that these trains can be operated in conventional mode should make testing in conventional mode during a review an important part of the review. I disagree with the above comments in this respect.
However, I do have to agree with the commenter that the description of how Odyssey is turned on and off, as written in the CTT review, was very confusing.
After reading the entire review in CTT, I got the general impression/feel that the review was rushed. With all the new fetures being added for the first time and the level of detail that is on this engine, I felt that the review should have covered many of these areas in more depth. It just felt, as I was reading it, that it was covering two much to fast.
Another issue the above commented brings up is that of the momentum controls associated with TMCC. This feature of TMCC, being buried inside the CAB-1 lower compartment, seems to get missed by reviewers and operators alike. I have about 12 TMCC engines and I have never played with the momentum controls. Other than the very first TMCC reviews, I don't recall reviewers testing engines at different momentum settings. This might be something we want to add as a standard part of TMCC engine reviews.
There are a lot of intricacies associated with these new train technologies that may need to be taken into consideration when we do reviews. Setting the stall voltages on TMCC engines before lashing them together helps them work better together (less tendancy for one to start before the other).
I would imagine that then the MTH DCS controller comes out, PS-2 locomotives will also need to have some new things taken into considration when they are reviewed. With technology changing so fast, our testing specifications much change just as fast so that product reviews can test all features the way the manufacturers designed them to function.
Does CTT have standard specifications for testing locomotives. I know for the most part the reviews tend to be consistent, so there must be something in writing that identifies what is to be done for a review. Whatever it is, it needs to be kept up to date.
Just my opinions. Thanks for asking.
CTT Subsciber from the beginning (1987)
Tim P.