I want to change the beacon casting on my Athearn BN F45 to the later style Prime Stratolite. Does the factory MRC board, which does make the original beacon flash, support other lighting effects? I have read that the the other MRC sound decoders have a CV118 that can be changed to different values to simulate different kinds of warning lights, that value would need to be 3 for what I want providing the factory decoder supports this CV. Its not listed in the manual, but I have learned not to trust that. It will be another day or so before I can get back out to a buddies house with DCC to try and program it. Just curious if anybody else knows before I try this. The gentleman I bought it from forgot to send the little control fob with it, I wont have it till tomorrows mail comes, so I cant even try programing in analog right now. Everybody downplays the MRC sound, but to me it sounds just fine. Thanks MIke
LHS mechanic and geniune train and antique garden tractor nut case!
Oh I agree they put themselves on a high horse and totaly failed to deliver a reliable product, but that being said, I dont plan to drop another $75 in a Tusnami till the MRC fails on me. I know the same MRC decoder in the Milw MP15 Bandits had the proper flash pattern to the beacons. Just seeing if I can change a CV to get that effect for right now. It is a shame MRC blew it big time, they had a good chance to get a sound decoder on the market and follow in the lead of all thier nice analog throttles. Heck my old golden throttle pack that I have had since I was 8 years old still works great and serves to power my test track on my workbench. Yes when the MRC fails, I will swap in a Soundtraxx board, but till then its the MRC sound. Unless I find a screaming deal on a Tsunami with 645 sounds, then I might be tempted to change it out. Atleast its all wired up and has a speaker in it. Now to see if I can get that beacon casting off the roof and swap in the Prime beacon casting I have. Mike
If the light CV cant be changed, could a Digitrax TL-1 be added to control the light and does the TL-1 support the prime stratolite flash effect? Mike
Thanks Dave, while we are talking, how difficult is it to replace that decoder with a Tsunami? Can I reuse the speaker in the F45 or do I need to change it to another one. With all the replacements you have done from my reading of your other posts, I am going to assume you have done one in a F45/FP45 sometime in the past possibly. I did just get the beacon casting changed to the DW106 Prime beacon. I know the Tsunami supports that light effect. The biggest issue with sound units is the local club layout is analog DC and will always be that way, but it also has 3vt AC across the rails to trigger the CTC board block detection circuitry. This seems to make dual mode engines difficult to control at slow speed or switch industies with. Of the two better sound decoders I know of, Tsunami and the QSI Revolution, does either have better DC responce than the other? My future home layout will be DCC, but I still need the dual mode control for atleast a few more years at this club layout. It seemed the MRC Decoders, for all thier issues, had better DC mode motor control than the others, but then fell short in DCC mode. Hopefully in the future we will see more seamless control from DC to DCC modes on decoders. Still learning this DCC/Sound stuff, most of my stuff is Atheran Blue Box that is waiting for upgrading to DCC/Sound. Mainly BN U30C's that need sound/beacon lights installed. I normaly run 3 U30C's in a consist on the headend, then tie in 3 SD40-2's with a fuel tender as pushers for the hill. Although they are not really needed to pull the train, it simulates what the real railroad did. Thanks for the help Dave. Mike P.S. where would I tie the TL-1 into the factory system? To the power leads to the beacon light bulb, or to another source. Will the TL-1 power the beacon in DC mode since its being powered by a duel mode decoder? Once again trying to keep my full dual mode ablities.
I haven't personally swapped sound decoders yet, but I know people that have. It is best that you change out the speaker. There are better speakers available that what MRC has. Just a suggestion.
Will
I dont think the speaker in this engine sounds any better or worse than my BLI I1sa Decapod. For now nothing will change. I will play with the CV's and see if the light effect can be modified. Mike