Walther's Mainline is advertised as a up-scale model, above the Trainline, but not a Proto though it advertises the same motor and gearing. I purchased) a-b F7 units and found the motor had way too much acceleration (it would be impossible to do switching operations) and I can't seem to address cv's of sound files. Has any one else found similar problems and found a solution? i searched for the resource mentioned on the Walther's website but found little information.
In the MR review Dana said:
"In addition to master volume control, I could adjust the levels of the horn, bell, and diesel engine. Both the EMD 567 diesel and the single chime air horn sounded like prototype recordings I’ve heard.
I was able to add acceleration and deceleration momentum. I also easily advance-consisted the A and B unit together. The units were speed matched out of the box.
To further fine tune performance, the decoder supports custom or 16 preset speed tables."
His review is here:
http://mrr.trains.com/news-reviews/staff-reviews/2018/10/walthersmainline-ho-scale-emd-f7-diesels
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
[quote user="BigDaddy"]
yahoo- thanks! have you thought of replacing with a Tsunami PNP?
James Hhave you thought of replacing with a Tsunami PNP
I don't have one.
As I have learned more about DCC, the degraded "value style" decoders are not for me. Maybe Walthers and Bachmann actually do sell more units at a lower price point, and if they do, then it's a good business decision for them.
Can you simply replace it with a PNP or do you have to remove the current board?
If the later, are you up to delicate soldering? Some forum members are slick and it's no different than brushing their teeth. Other of us, with less steady hands or faced with a different loco, older or smaller, with no space, find the task daunting.
With sound decoders, it can sometimes be hard to read back CVs. Often, you can change the CVs, but may not be able to read them. If you have DecoderPro on your computer, that can usually work.
Have you been able to change any CVs? Before buying a new decoder, what CVs do you currently have programmed into CVs 3, 4, 5 and 6 - or all they all still set at zero?
CV 3 is starting (acceleration) momentum, and CV4 is stopping (deceleration) momentum. From the factory, those will be set to zero - no momentum. The engine will jerk to a start and stop on a dime. The higher the value (number) you add to those CVs, the smoother the starts and stops will be. I like start with say 15 or 20 for each and see how it works.
CV5 is the top speed control, and CV6 is midrange. These are set to zero or "off", so the engine will go as fast as it can go at full throttle. If you put in numbers, like say make CV5 200 and CV6 100, the engine will go slower. If you then set CV5 to 100 and CV6 to 50, it will go only half as fast as before. This is how you can adjust the speed down to speed match the engine to another DCC engine.
this info very helpful and generous of you, stix.
You bet! Let us know how it turns out.