Has anyone installed the new MRC decoder for the Atlas S2. How hard is it and how does it perform.
comet/Tallahassee
There have been several very negative reports about this decoder so I guess you are taking a gamble if you buy one. However mine is working just fine and I've heard of others liking them very much. So I'm not sure what to think about it except I'm glad I have one.
Motor control is excellent whereas this hasn't been the case on some earlier MRC decoders. The sound is also good except not the correct Alco engine sound for this particular locomotive. This seem so bother some but not me.
Installation is very easy, except that you have to mill the weights a little to allow it to fit. I did this with a dremel tool without any difficulty.
I'm really glad that MRC came out with a decoder to specifically fit this loco. David Bedard was kind enough to have previously given me advice on how to instal a Digitrax sound decoder in this loco but I kept putting it off because I wasn't sure I had the skill level to do it. Then this one became available so I went for it. I just hope it lasts longer than what some are saying. So far so good.
Jerry
Rio Grande vs. Santa Fe.....the battle is over but the glory remains!
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
In a word: awful.
The Atlas S-unit decoder is just plain j-u-n-k. I have personally seen a failure rate of over 50% (4 our of 7 have died) at my club. They won't program or they will have sound an no motion. They also have a recording of an Alco 244 V-12 engine (as in the RS-3) vs. the Alco 539 or 539T straight-6 engine that these units actually had. Also, due to MRC's woefully-behind-the-times technology, you can't even read back what's on the decoder (something common on DCC decoders for over a decade).
If they work, if you can program them, and if they don't die on you, you can enjoy the mediocre sound of an RS-3 coming from your S-2 that has to be turned on every time there's a track short.
Paul A. Cutler III************Weather Or No Go New Haven************