Hello again everyone, I have a couple of Athearn HO RTR locomotives DCC ready that I run on my DCC layout as address 0. These locomotives run however they run poorly. And by poorly I mean that I can set the throttle all the way to 100% and they creep around the track slower than a turtle. They do not hesitate or anything like that, they just creep very, very slowly around my layout at a steady pace. I have seen videos on youtube that suggest that I tweek the pick up strips on the trucks and so on and so forth which I will try. Can these locomotives be improved by the addition of a decoder (will they run better if I install a decoder). Does anyone know any other tricks to do to get them to run as they should? Do I have to change the gearing on the trucks? etc. Thanks for all the support you all are always giving me on here it helps me a lot. Thanks in advance as always.
Allen
I am looking forward to someone explaining. I thought it was a no-no to put a DC loco on the DCC track because of potential motor damage.
I'm curious, do these locos run properly on DC (if you have that capability)? Also, what DCC system do you have (as different ones act differently on address 0)?
I googled the following that might relate, but do not understand it all.
DC Loco on DCC - Mark Gurries (google.com)
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I'd see how they run on a DC powered track.
I'm with Paul, as to the potential damage to the DC loco, on DCC powered track.
On Paul's link, at the bottom of the page, are 2 subpages, read about "DC Locomotive Damage Risk".
I ran DC locos on DCC, breifly, but they were older BB Athearns. I would never try to run a more expensive RTR loco on DCC without first adding a decoder.
With dual mode decoders, you might get away with it.
The Athearn RTR are not dual mode.
Mike.
My You Tube
I love all my RTR engines, they run just as good, if not better then my genesis models. Although when I run them I hook up my DC powerpack and have no issues.
Some of the early RTR Athearns could be coffee grinders, those sold over 10 years ago. The newer ones mostly are pretty good. I have a couple of RTR SD45's that run similar to Kato's! Quiet and smooth.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I use Digitrax. You can run an analog (DC) locomotive on DCC utilizing address 00. I do not run them for long extended periods of time. I run my Rivarossis and mantua locomotives on my layout all the time. The locomotives I am asking about are newer Athearn RTR locomotives that are DCC Ready. I will try running them on DC to see if they respond better. But I am under the impression that they should operate on DCC as they should DC. (It takes a little more power though). I dont think they should creep around the track as they are doing but I may be incorrect in my thinking. I have other Athearn RTR DCC ready locomotives that run perfect and do not creep around the track.
Hi There
My guess is that you are using a DIGITRAX sysystem or a Lenz system.
Yes the engine will run , but run poorly like you said it was doing .
I HIGHLY suggest you put a good decoder in it!
I was in your position at one time .
I keep my DC engines seperate from the DCC stuff , i have 20? left to change over to DCC .
I connect a dc power pack (MRC tech 760) to the layout to run Dc engines .
I reconnect the DCC system to layout when I run DCC engines .
I hope this helps .
CHARTER MEMBER OF THE MILWAUKEE FALLEN FLAG MODEL TRAIN CLUB . I COLLECT HO, N , O-3rail & On30 Trains & run them ! I Use KATO HO & N scale Track . I also Use Lionel Fast Track ! I change track layouts Often !
LocojunkieBut I am under the impression that they should operate on DCC as they should DC.
Not my experience.
I use Digitrax as well, and, as I mentioned, I have run DC locos on it, but the performance was anything but good.
The older BB Athearns make a lot noise that even sounds damaging on DCC. Don't the RTR's make noise as well?
Hi guys
From my own personal experience . If I run a RTR engine with DCC board in it that allows DC running ( CV29) , it runs better on dc , but eats alot of power .
if you run DCC with sound engine on Dc , that really eats power . the engine on full speed on a small oval will run like you set the power to 1 or 2 .
To Mike , very cool layout !
Very few locos run anywhere near 'normal' speed when running on address 00 on DCC. It's OK for a quick test but operation in general is rather poor compared to using actual DC. Either run them on DC, or put a decoder in them, and you won;t have this problem.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Sorry for this tangent, but I have questions for Mike (Mbinsewi). I would PM but dont't know if that works. If it works, you can PM me, please.
I agree your layout is very cool, nice videos at your link. What radius are your mainline curves? And do you have access to the long tunnel in case of a derailment?
Thanks guys. My PM does work, but, the loop on each end is 24", and the city scape and the mill/food processing plant to the left of the city, all lift up.
I spent alot of time on the track laying, in the 12 years that I've been running trains on this layout, I've had to take up the factory twice, and the city scene once.
The hill/mountain scene behind the pulp wood loading comes up too, but it's a bit more hassle.
The scene along the Lake Superior back drop painting is open, I stand on a milk crate stool and can easily reach it.
All of the back drop is hand painted.
Now, back to topic.
Thanks again.
My experience is similar: DC engines are noisy and do not run "well" in a DCC environment. Tweaking the engine is unlikely to change things. I agree, install decoders, or put a switch that will put the entire layout in DC or DCC mode. That's what I did for a year or two, before going entirely to the dark DCC side .
Simon
I have a Lenz DCC system. Yes, it will run a DC engine on address zero. It's a poor imitation of running a locomotive. If I buy an engine without a decoder, I'll run it around the layout a couple of times to verify that it works and then install a decoder.
This always works, and from then on the engine is fine and runs like a normal DCC locomotive.
FYI, a DC engine running under DCC will not properly traverse a DCC auto-reverser section.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.