There has been some regular discussion here in the past about older Athearn diesels having a high starting voltage, and I need a reminder about what solutions, if any, are available for those equipped with DCC in order to get them moving at lower speed steps. I have two, both fitted with either older Lenz or MRC decoders, that won't budge before speed step 7. I can't identify the specific model number of the decoders, but they were installed (by someone else) at least 15 years ago.
I'd like to make the decoders I have more responsive, but I might consider replacing them if that would address the issue. If the only solution is remotoring, I'd like to know before I invest time and money trying to tweek them.
Both have high value custom painted shells, so getting rid of them is not an option. I'll put up with sluggish performance before I dump them.
Increasing the value in CV2 (Start Up) delivers more power to the motor at speed step 1, so by increasing that a little (say by 5 or 10) and then testing it, eventually you should be able to fine tune the engine to start better.
However, if the decoder is really 15 years old , I'd maybe replace it with a newer TCS or NCE one that has Back EMF and other features that should make the old engine run better in general. Electronics have advanced a lot since 1994!!
You might want to give the locos a good cleaning. The wheels, contact points between the trucks and the body all can get dirty which tends to make the locos sluggish. Also you could clean the commutator in the motor.
That said some more recent MRC decoder have poor slow speed control.
Another option, if the motors and drives prove to be a problem, is to look for a new chassis. I replaced an entire Athearn F7 chassis, and it only cost about $45. That's about the cost of a new motor alone, so I got an entire new gear train, wheels and trucks for the same price. The new chassis was much quieter, too, and was already configured with space for a decoder and speaker, making the addition of DCC and sound a piece of cake.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Yes, you can get an entire replacement chassis from Athearn Parts for some models.
If they run fine after you get them going CV 2 should take care of the problem. Last night I started to speed match a pair of Erie Built's. Had to bump up CV 2 to 15 to get the A to move on step 1.
If, you are not happy with the way they run, check this link.
http://www.mcor-nmra.org/Publications/Articles/Athearn_TuneUp.html
Would try this first before I spend money on a new motor.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Thanks for the sugestions. The link is especially helpful because both are long past due some standard maintenance. I'm going to try the CV2 business first and see what happens, but the maintenance is a must, anyway.
I am glad to see this thread as I am in the same situation as mreagant; I have several BB F units and a couple of GP7's in custom paint that need converted to DCC. I've been back in model railroading over 20 years, but DCC is still relatively new to me and I certainly feel like a dunce at times. I've recently installed a Digitrax DH163AT in one of the F's. I did away with the clips as the connections broke easily, and directly soldered the decoder wires to the appropriate places. Like Mreagant's loco, it takes several speed steps to start, but once going it purrs like a kitten. The usual Athearn gear noise is gone; I used the Pearl Drops fix. Anyway, I will try the CV2 fix as well. I also need some suggestions on the lights....will 1.5 microbulbs work with a dropping resistor? I was tempted to go with LED's, but would they work as the top headlight needs configured as a Mars light? As usual, thanks in advance.
sounds like a lot of work to me . be better off to buy a more expensive loco. i have a lot of old athearn locos that only cost 20.00. but they don't run well or at all anymore. maybe i could try some of your ideas 200 or more bucks is a lot of money for newer sound engines with dcc. just my 2 cents worth
rdettmer sounds like a lot of work to me . be better off to buy a more expensive loco. i have a lot of old athearn locos that only cost 20.00. but they don't run well or at all anymore. maybe i could try some of your ideas 200 or more bucks is a lot of money for newer sound engines with dcc. just my 2 cents worth
As I mentioned in my original post, these 'old' Athearns have very nice and rare 'high value' custom painted bodies (shells).
There is no comperable replacement. The issue is to either fix these or live with them as is. IF a new, more expensive Athearn chassis will fit, then that would be the best alternative to tweeking them or putting up with poor performance.
ShawneeHawkI was tempted to go with LED's
Shawnee, I would go with the LED's., I used them in some of my Protos that had bulbs. Look way brighter and last longer. I have use Miniatronics Yeloglo White LEDs and they work well. They have 2 different resistors with them that are color code so you use the right one.
I am not a fan of using the stock Athearn motors as a whole. I have had motors that stalled at 1.35 Amps, still below the max 2.0 amps decoders I use eat decoders.
When I convert some of the old ones, I am going to uses motors from this company.
http://www.alliancelink.com/alp/
They have direct fit with and with out flywheels. I have heard good things about them, but yet to buy from them. I did call and talked with the owner, one of the things I like is they make the motors there at the shop! So they know what they are talking about, not just reading off a sheet of paper.
mreagantAs I mentioned in my original post, these 'old' Athearns have very nice and rare 'high value' custom painted bodies (shells).
I too had the same problem as you. My solution was to replace the motor with a mashima brand motor and new flywheels. If you can spare the change to replace the chassis then by all means do it. I also added a new NCE DA-SR decoder and minatronics yello glo LEDs. It runs now like a dream.
I think the older Athearn blue box engines were great runners in DC 20 years ago, but I find they don't run too well on DCC, so thats why I spent the time to upgrade my custom painted engines.
well i took the time to take apart an old gp9 engine that wasn't running well anyway. got it apart but now i just have a dummy gp9. . well at least it has running wheels and a nice paint job, haha.
Dett, that makes it a great candidate for dual speaker sound install, and you can consist it between two powered units for a great lashup! Check out Joe Fugate's videos for more on this. HNY John
I have 16 or more Athearn BB locomotives. All of them are equipped with DCC decoders and most with sound. Performance varies from adequate to nearly as good as Atlas and PK2. All of the decoders are soldered into place.
I painted many of my BB locos and am reluctant to replace them with 'better" units. On advantage of the BB locos is that most of them have plenty of room for installing speakers, something many of the "better' locos don't have without modifying the chassis.
Adjusting CV2 will start the loco at speed step 1, unless there are other problems with the dive line. I usually put the loco on the main, set the throttle to Speed Step 1, then increase CV2 in Ops mode, until the loco just starts to move. It has worked every time so far.
Good luck to you.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
mreagant, have you seen any change in performance of your BB locos after mainenance and adjusting CV 2? On my BB F7A, I adjusted CV2 to 4 and it made a big difference. This weekend, I will try to get the lights figured out; I do have some Miniatronics Yellow Glow LED's from an earlier project, and some resistors I believe are 560 ohms, or in that neighborhood. Hope you were able to get your BB units running better.
ShawneeHawk mreagant, have you seen any change in performance of your BB locos after mainenance and adjusting CV 2? On my BB F7A, I adjusted CV2 to 4 and it made a big difference. This weekend, I will try to get the lights figured out; I do have some Miniatronics Yellow Glow LED's from an earlier project, and some resistors I believe are 560 ohms, or in that neighborhood. Hope you were able to get your BB units running better.
I have to admit that I haven't gotten to it yet. I try to keep no more than a couple of projects going at the workbench at a time so I can keep track of what I'm doing. As soon as I finish a Proto 50' dbl door I'm about done with, I'll try the F7 CV 2 tweek and then set about the maintenance. I'll report results, I hope this weekend.
Thanks for keeping track.