BATMAN My first one the boiler was too hot to touch when she blew. I had been feeling the boiler on my second one periodically and it was always cool. I guess it is another bad decoder.
I'd guess the hot boiler would be a sign of a motor defect rather than decoder (is the decoder in the tender as usual practice?) Whatever the problem is I believe Jason will be straight forward with information as soon as the "smoke clears" enough for them to get a grip on what is the cause.
Mine has been in Markham over two weeks now with no report on repair progress. In my case it was a loose-fitting valve motion that somehow snagged and broke the eccentric rod. If Rapido is aware of a bigger electrical problem I hope they address that on my loco as well since I only had ten minutes of running time on mine.
For anyone that buys a Hudson for a future layout I think they had better get an oval of track setup in order to do a shakedown and see if any problems crop up. Better now than a few years down the road...
Regards, Ed
Ed, I just check the first email I got back from Rapido and it said because the boiler is hot it would likely be the decoder as that is where it is located.
The first one lasted about half an hour and I would guess the second was about 2 1/2 hours into its life when she blew. A long run is a must at this stage to make sure all is okay.
I wonder what the failure rate is with decoders in general and is the one in the Hudson a new model.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMANI wonder what the failure rate is with decoders in general and is the one in the Hudson a new model.
It is a Loksound 5 so it is new. I guess Loksound can not get some components needed for the old Select. Maybe there is some bugs that need to be worked out on the V5? I have to believe ESU wouldn't release a product without extensive testing.
We shall see...
BATMAN Look at this baby.
Look at this baby.
That thing looks goofy as heck.
All the "coolness" factor some may see would be over if you really had to mow your lawn with it. You'd need a 2nd regular mower to get at all the areas that thing won't come close to reaching around the house, deck etc..
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
BATMAN Ed, I just check the first email I got back from Rapido and it said because the boiler is hot it would likely be the decoder as that is where it is located. The first one lasted about half an hour and I would guess the second was about 2 1/2 hours into its life when she blew. A long run is a must at this stage to make sure all is okay. I wonder what the failure rate is with decoders in general and is the one in the Hudson a new model.
Based on your reports, failure rate is probably high. But due to some buying and not having a place to run them much, Rapido is probably seeing an artificially low failure rate.
Looks like those decoders need a proper heat sink on them if they are getting too hot.
gmpullman BATMAN My first one the boiler was too hot to touch when she blew. I had been feeling the boiler on my second one periodically and it was always cool. I guess it is another bad decoder. I'd guess the hot boiler would be a sign of a motor defect rather than decoder (is the decoder in the tender as usual practice?) Whatever the problem is I believe Jason will be straight forward with information as soon as the "smoke clears" enough for them to get a grip on what is the cause. Mine has been in Markham over two weeks now with no report on repair progress. In my case it was a loose-fitting valve motion that somehow snagged and broke the eccentric rod. If Rapido is aware of a bigger electrical problem I hope they address that on my loco as well since I only had ten minutes of running time on mine. For anyone that buys a Hudson for a future layout I think they had better get an oval of track setup in order to do a shakedown and see if any problems crop up. Better now than a few years down the road... Regards, Ed
I wonder how the quality control is done on these engines. At that cost, I would expect every engine to be tested thoroughly before it leaves the factory. If not, I'm not sure I would buy any of its upcoming steam engines.
snjroy At that cost, I would expect every engine to be tested thoroughly before it leaves the factory.
If I was in the biz, I don't know what thorough testing would be: 10 min, 30 min, 2 hours?
I'm not a participant in other forums, so I don't know if the problems here are representative of the world, or just a random cluster for MR forum members.
Whether it's trains, drugs, jet planes or airbags, if you put enough of them out there with a rare problem but a bad result; it gets noticed.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
snjroy gmpullman BATMAN My first one the boiler was too hot to touch when she blew. I had been feeling the boiler on my second one periodically and it was always cool. I guess it is another bad decoder. I'd guess the hot boiler would be a sign of a motor defect rather than decoder (is the decoder in the tender as usual practice?) Whatever the problem is I believe Jason will be straight forward with information as soon as the "smoke clears" enough for them to get a grip on what is the cause. Mine has been in Markham over two weeks now with no report on repair progress. In my case it was a loose-fitting valve motion that somehow snagged and broke the eccentric rod. If Rapido is aware of a bigger electrical problem I hope they address that on my loco as well since I only had ten minutes of running time on mine. For anyone that buys a Hudson for a future layout I think they had better get an oval of track setup in order to do a shakedown and see if any problems crop up. Better now than a few years down the road... Regards, Ed I wonder how the quality control is done on these engines. At that cost, I would expect every engine to be tested thoroughly before it leaves the factory. If not, I'm not sure I would buy any of its upcoming steam engines.
I'm sure each loco is inspected and test ran. How much is enough?
At what point does "thoroughly tested" make it "used"?
Some percentage of early failures are possible with any mass produced product no matter how carefully manufactured or tested.
Sheldon
BigDaddyWhether it's trains, drugs, jet planes or airbags, if you put enough of them out there with a rare problem but a bad result; it gets noticed.
Yup there are over 40 million airline flights every year and you never hear about the ones that land safely.
snjroy I'm not sure I would buy any of its upcoming steam engines.
And if the problem turns out to be the Loksound decoder you will lose out on all the great products Rapido has to offer. I am not too concerned about what for Jason must be a real mess. How it is all handled by Rapido will be the determining factor. I am not worried about the problem being resolved, I just hope it doesn't hurt Rapido too badly, as a major hit in the pocket book can adversely affect future projects and I am waiting for more steam locomotives.
While my two Hudsons were running they jumped out as being a much more highly refined product than my other steamers. Beautiful in every aspect. I can't wait to get them back on the rails.
Bad parts from a vendor can be a major problem for manufacturers/retailers.
Think FORD Explorer and defective Firestone tires - that one ended one of the longest business relationships in history and prompted FORD to redesign the vehicle earlier than planned.
It was eventually determined that the vehicle was not at fault - second time in history Firestone made an enormous batch of defective tires.
Back in the 1970's they made a defective tire called the "500", and put the SEARS name on millions of them - they replaced them all for free - I know, I owned a set and got my free set.......
My father had two of them fail while pulling a camper. Luckily no crash. He got a free set too.....
As long as Rapido gets this worked out, things should be fine.
I truly hope it will get worked out.
As any pilot will tell you when purchasing an airplane, "Never buy an A model of anything."
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
Have not seen much if anything on the Loksound boards about issues with the v5. Perhaps it's the boiler mounting, I would suspect much tighter quarters with less air flow, or maybe things gradually shift a bit over long run times, allowing something to touch what it shouldn't.
The good thing is, Rapido is making it right. The do run them, in at least one of their videos from the Chinese factory they show them running. Doesn;t seem like a huge long time though, just enough to verify that it moves smoothly and the features are all working.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Rapido must be swamped, it has been 51 hours and 31 minutes since I wrote for a Warranty slip to send in my second Hudson. Usually, I hear back from them quite promptly.
I am hearing it will likely be Sept until I get my first one back.
BATMANI am hearing it will likely be Sept until I get my first one back.
HA! Never listen to rumours. Just got an E-Mail from Rapido and Hudson #1 is in the mail and due in on the 18th. If Canada Post has space on the plane they will fill it up with the cheapo rate stuff. That's what happened when I sent mine back, they got it really fast (2 days, instead of nine). Canada Post has a DC-10C out of Toronto to Vancouver Sunday, I might get it Monday. YIPPEE!
They didn't tell me what was wrong with it so I wrote and asked, we will see if I get a response. I am just curious.
I have two, the sound and mechanism is epic!
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
Well I'm glad to see the problems are being resolved and don't seem wide spread.
And, it seems from all the reports the performance is everything you would expect for the price.
Not being a DCC/sound user, and not modeling the railroad in question, I will skip both the price and the experiance.
Fergmiester I have two, the sound and mechanism is epic!
What two did you get?
A word to the wise for Rapido Hudson buyers. A friend of mine just got his, took it out of the box, put it on the track, and the #1 driver started getting bound up on the #2 pilot wheel (yes, actually touching each other).
Come to find out, the pilot truck was reversed. The pilot truck is not 100% symmetrical and can be rotated 180 degrees. I don't know if my friend accidently rotated it or it came that way, but it would be a cheap easy fix for someone having troubles.
Paul3Come to find out, the pilot truck was reversed. The pilot truck is not 100% symmetrical and can be rotated 180 degrees.
The pilot truck freely rotates, you just have to make sure it is the right way around when you put it on the track. No biggie.
I wrote Rapido to ask what was wrong with my first Royal Hudson and Jordan replied saying it looked like a short occurred and a new motor and decoder were installed. Can't wait for Thursday.
Got my first Hudson back today two days ahead of schedule, so it got on the plane. It has a new motor and a new decoder.
Three hours and twenty minutes before I got my first one back Rapido received my second one. Not sure when I'll get to run it as I can hardly stand with this wrecked foot, maybe tomorrow.
I have been running mine a lot since they both were returned twice and so far they have been running like tops. They pull really well and look stunning. I have since bought two Rapido FP7s and they are beautiful and have been perfect.
I just got a #2860 Hudson a few days ago. Bought a second tender and put a coupler on it.Was runnig a bit rough but better fine after replacing drivers with the non-tyred ones and tweaking all wheels and gears Swapped tenders to test new tender, then swapped back. Now no sound in either tender or the smokebox and after multiple resents, still nothing. Tried to reimplement CV54,0 things again and it just hung so sucpicious the sound section of the decoder is fried. Other than sound it runs and lights all work. Awaiting word back from Rapido.
They replaced the motor and decoder in both of mine and they have been perfect ever since.