Oh my, what a bad night.. I just bought a brand new Paragon E7 A&B (both units powered) from the store tonight, brought it home and I opened up the box, and the B unit was missing from the box. I paid over $400 too. On top of that, I put the A unit on the track in DC, and turn up the throttle and I hear the sound momentum going up all the way, even at full power, but the engine doesn't move, and the headlight doesn't brighten. The horn works if I flip the direction switch, but at this point, thats the only function that works.
Whats worse is, both the manual and warranty info are missing from the box, and there is no receipt in the bag. I live about an hour's drive away from the store. And they are closed now. I'm not sure if they will even take it back tomorrow.
Call them?
If you are running on DC, it sounds like someoen used it on DCC and left it in disconnect mode which means the sounds go but the motor is in effect 'disconnected'. If you have DCC, double click F6 to start it back up.
Or best option, put it back in the box and don;t mess wih it, and return it tomorrow and get what you paid for.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Someone has opened and removed items from that box. I can't imagine a B unit going "missing" like that. It was done intentionally. Sorry, this really bites.
Why should the receipt be in the box? Normally I pocket those or place them in my wallet.
I would call and discuss the problem. They'll likely answer this time of year. Maybe the B unit is on a shelf somewhere in the back of the store. Hopefully.
Crandell
Thanks for the thoughts. Good news and bad news. I called the store, at first they gave me the run around. The staff was very rude and denied that they had the B unit when I explained the problem ever so politely. They pretended like nothing happened and that I must have 'lost' it, and then when I insisted, they said I should bring it in to the owner and talk to him, they then hung up on me. So I drove all the way up there, and I explained my situation, again as calmly as I could manage. The owner looked in the box, and then let me search the shelf myself, and it was right there in the display case behind several other locos. The owner apologized for the problem, and I thanked him for his help and went on my way.
Still dazed by the long drive and the relief of retrieving the B unit, I completely forgot to ask about the manual and the problems I had with running in DC.
Unfortunately my DCC is down at this time, so when I get home, I put the B unit on the track and it runs fine. Only the A doesn't respond to the throttle. I think the suggestion about the DCC reset involving F6 sounds right though. If this is the case, would only the A unit be affected? And is there any way to perhaps perform this reset with the DC master?
Anyway, the whole situation is a reminder to me that its best to deal with your own LHS that you know and trust, and if not them, then to deal directly with Factory Direct or some other online reputable distributor.
I just can't get over how condescending the staff at this place was, when it was their mistake. I won't be going there again, the owner seems like an ok guy but the help there is pretty awful.
You can find copies of the Paragon manuals here: http://www.broadway-limited.com/supportdocumentation.aspx.
As far as the A unit not working properly, give BLI a phone call. Contact information is here: http://www.broadway-limited.com/customerservice.aspx.
The one thing I would take from this aggrivating experiance is next time 1) have the model test ran at the store 2) check the box to make sure it is all there- Number 1 would have fixed number 2
maxman You can find copies of the Paragon manuals here: http://www.broadway-limited.com/supportdocumentation.aspx. As far as the A unit not working properly, give BLI a phone call. Contact information is here: http://www.broadway-limited.com/customerservice.aspx.
Thanks for posting that.
Question if anyone can answer.
I'm looking at this page under the normal analog operation section:
http://www.broadway-limited.com/support/manuals/Generic%20Diesel%20Q1a%20Operator's%20Manual.pdf
On the top of page 8, it talks about the reset feature in DC I believe, but I don't understand how to acess this on my power pack. I'm having trouble getting into programming mode, I'm following the instructions of flipping the bell on by toggling the switch, but I just can't get the timing right I guess.
Are these engines N scale?
I looked at BLI's website and it says these are Paragon 2 models. The instruction you referenced looks like it is for a QSI decoder. Do these engines have a QSI decoder, or a BLI decoder? If it's BLI, I think you need one of those DCMaster blackbox things to make any changes.
Its HO and QSI equipped. It says I can enter programming mode by applying the bell at three consecutive times upon start up. I finally got down how to flip the bell (without the horn going off) after a lot of practice. But I have followed the instructions doing the first bell flip within 5 seconds, the second within 3, and the third within 3, so far no luck. It says I should hear a voice come on and the headlight should flicker, but I guess I haven't done something right. I'm using the MRC Tech II Railpower 1400.
After much trial and error I finally at least made it into programming options, even to the point where the voice reads out option 11, programming reset, then the warning starts, but thats as far as it goes.
Ah, I think I fixed it! For some reason when both units were on the track together, they didn't play nicely together when trying to program. I tried each one separately in programming mode and it looks like I'm back in business!
Thanks to everyone in this thread!
rjake4454 ... I just can't get over how condescending the staff at this place was, when it was their mistake. I won't be going there again, the owner seems like an ok guy but the help there is pretty awful.
...
This is an unsettling treatment of a customer. Perhaps, though, their behaviour is understandable in view of some history of theirs. They may have been stung by unscrupulous customers who took stuff home, and then found that there was something "missing". Maybe even to the extent that the boss began to deduct the costs from their wages. So, everyone is a bit testy. And who knows, maybe they have been the butt of many complaints over the past week as Christmas nears. Maybe the QA problems with all makes of locomotives these days have them run ragged accepting returns, issuing refunds, and having to ship stuff back to the manufacturer or distributor.
Perhaps it is enough that they allowed you to search their premises, and that you were able to 'show them up' in person when you triumphantly held up the missing item for them to see. You have your prized item, you can let your blood pressure return to normal, and they got a lesson in humility if it was really their due.