Hi all, I wonder about a couple of things.
I installed a Lenz Gold decoder in my 11 years old Atlas RS1, replacing an older Lenz. No problems at all with the install. When I had programmed it, it ran like a a dream, I thought it was a different engine!
Now it was so quiet and smooth, and I started to wonder if my other newer Atlas diesels would benefit from a upgrade as well. But no, they were as noisy as they used to be with the older decoders. The only one that benefitted was an S2....
So I wonder, has Atlas newer locos cheaper / less good drivetrains then they used to have?
And my other wondering is: Why does Bachmann, now when they install LED´s in the locos, use yellow ones? I hate to replace them, but at least I know now how to disassemble and assemble them again .
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The difference is probably silent drive. If you're talking about a really old Lenz decoder, it probably was switching on and off at approximately the same frequency as the DCC signal - generating a buzz similar to what you get when running a DC loco on DCC. The newer one will have a high frequency motor drive, usually beyond the range of normal human hearing, so it really IS like getting a new loco. And the new one probably has BEMF for better slow speed running to boot.
Stewart does the same thing - YELLOW LEDs. But some Bachmanns have bright white LEDs - the kind that have a bluish tint. This was the case with their E44 electric. Either way - a pain that you have to swap them out.
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Yes of course the newer decoders have a better motor drive with higher frequency, but I must say that I am disappointed that my newer Atlas locos has such noisy drivelines that a new decoder doesn´t do much of a difference!
And regarding the LEDs, I wonder why the mfg´s don´t place the resistors in the light circuit, near the LED, instead of on the board. In most cases I have to remove the original boards when a decoder is installed so I have to put new resistors in as the originals are surface mounted and hard to re-use.
Most of my european locos have the resistor in small "light-boards that is separated from the other board, making it much easier to DCC it.
You maybe misunderstood the earlier answer. If your engine was noisy with it's old decoder, and now is quiet with it's new decoder, it means that the DECODER was causing the noise, not the engine. Older decoders didn't have "silent running" and so made a buzzing noise, newer ones are very quiet.
If your ENGINE is making a loud noise because it has faulty gears or something, replacing a decoder isn't going to make any difference.
Generally, for decades Atlas has been one of the very best diesel producers. Their engines are virtually always smooth running and quiet. Which recent Atlas engines do you have that are noisy?? Are you sure you maybe don't have some Athearn "blue box" engines that you're confusing with the Atlas??
No I fully understood the answer, it was my question that may have been misunderstood...
I was wondering if the newer Atlas was inferior to the older ones as the (real) Atlas locos I have that is newer, and even one RS 1 from a newer run, runs much more noisy than the older ones (even with new decoders). I have looked inside them and the motors aren´t the same type now as they were then. My guess is that they have used cheaper motors, and that they are of a noisier type.
The old ones were made by Kato. The new ones Atlas has made for themselves. I mean the loco - motor and everything, not just the motor. The old ones are Kato models fromt he wheels up, the new ones are an Atlas made themselves clone made in China.
I wouldn't call the Kato ones bulletproof though. I had an RSC-4 that while old (a Kato one), had never been out of the box and run, and when I tried to run it the motor stalled. It acted like an open windoing, so I figured a motor repalcement was in order. With nothign to loose, I opened the motor, and ound the problem - a big gob of glue ont he commutator. I cleaned it off and it ran great. And just recently I got a old Kato-made RS-3 and the motor made a horrible buzz even with a silent decoder. Turns out the motor magnets came unglued and were being hit by the armature.
I've had others that were dead quiet out of the box - just pointing out that just because it's a Kato doesn't automatically make it perfect. Ive seen a few of the newer ones, particularly the Trainmaster, with the Atlas motor and it was also very quiet, so I don't think the newer ones are automatically bad, either.