Actuallly, I took the pc board out and replaced it with a hardwired TCS Wow decoder.
Remember the Spectrum 2-6-6-2. I foxed the decoder issue and it's been running fine. I need to get the motor oiled, but I can't quite figure out how get the shell off to oil the motor. Any ideas?
Thanks. I will.
Jacob:
Rather than attaching this post to a thread dealing with a different topic you should start a new one in the "General Discussions" section. You will get more viewings and replies that way.
Joe
Hey everybody. I just recieved a couple old tyco loco's and I was wondering if anyone has experience converting them. One of them is the "Chattanooga" engine
And is missing the front truck. I was thinking of trimming and mating a Athrean F7 frame frame to it. The other one has a miniature can moter. Is there any way to find a brand new mini can moter or rewort it to accommodate an Athrean motor and trucks? I appreciate any feedback.
JACOB OLIVERAnd actually the loco has two plugs, a four-pin for power and motor and a two-pin for the light.
These are not the plugs Randy is speaking of. What you are describing are the connectors between the locomotive and the tender. What Randy is talking about is an 8-pin socket located on the board in the tender into which a 8-pin decoder plug is inserted.
Alright everybody, this is kind of embarrasing to admit but the problem was a cold soder joint. Please don't laugh. And actually the loco has two plugs, a four-pin for power and motor and a two-pin for the light.
Doesn't that loco have an 8 pin plug? Worst can happen here is it gets plugged in backwards and the lights don't work.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Oh, and it can't be a short this time because it's not a circut board type decoder and all the connections are covered in heat shrink tubing.
The guy at my hobby shop said I shorted out part of the board. By dejavu i just meant that this is sounding like the GP7 deal and a strain of bad luck with decoder installs just seems to be following me.
Dejavu? How about telling us what the solution was to your first loco's problem?
Hey everyone, got another issue for you. I recently aquired two Spectrum 2-6-6-2's. (Fantastic detail, by the way!!!) I got a TCS M1 decoder put in one of 'em. I broke the locomotive in and ran it a lot on DC before I started the project so the motor is fine. Anyways, put the decoder in and the thing won't run!!!!!!!! ( Anybody else getting a dejavu feeling here? ) I've tried doing a factory reset. No luck. The section of track has 15 volts going through it, so there's plenty of current. Does TCS have brake CV like Tsunamies?
Thanks for all the sugestions. I an't get anything to work, so I'm just going to take it to a hobby shop I know and have them look at it.
Mark R. Did the engine run fine on DC before you installed the decoder ? Mark.
Did the engine run fine on DC before you installed the decoder ?
Mark.
Rich
Alton Junction
When resetting a Tsunami, count the number of times the headlight flashes when you return all the wheels to the track after tilting the locomotive.
Sixteen flashes means the reset completed properly. Any other number of flashes is an error code, which you will need to know to get assistance.
I personally think it's not a good idea to mess with stuff like motor control settings until you're sure the decoder and the locomotive both work.
Both.
Thanks for all the info everybody. I'll try everything and then explsin how it went. thanks again.
Something else to consider the Dynamis is infared which is line of sight. Make sure the throttle has a clear line of sight to the recepter. Just a thought. Joe
I meant to say disconnect the motor leads from the decoder first then hook up the battery. When you do a reset with Tsunamis, do as Randy says about tipping the loco so one set of wheeks is off the track. After the loco is back on the track,if the decoder took the reset the headlights should flash several times. If they don't flash, the reset didn't take. Joe
DO NOT apply a 9V battery to the motor leads unles syou first DISCONNECT THE DECODER. Or you really will have a busted decode.
If you've been messign around with those CVs you may have it ina totally inoperable state. STep 1 is to do a factory reset. Set CV30 to 2. Tip the loco off the rails. It should now operate on address 3. If you cannot control functions like it does now using address 3, then the reset never took. If you can control the function with a known address, try using Ops Mode programming to that address to execute the reset. Unless you are confident that you are actually changing CVs when programming ont he program track.
Could you have F11 activated? I believe this is a brake function on Tsunamis. Did you try the 9V battery to the motor leads? With the shell off see if you can turn the flywheels by hand. You may have something binding it the drive train. Joe
I just can't get the locomotive to go. I've tried tweaking all the stuff I can think of, inluding speed steps, CV's 2 & 3, and the Accelerate and Decellerate rates. I'm out of ideas.
by the way, I keep track with your channel and love it. Very nice layout setup. Just something to think about, but you might consider making the connetion to staging a wye. Any counter-clockwise bound trains will have to back up the wye. That'll get anoying very fast and there will be a much bigger chance for derailments.
The loco simply won't go. I have the right adress and I've tried setting the basics such as Vstart, Acc, Dec, and others. I'm still trying settings, but haven't figured out anything yet. Thanks for the reply, I greatly appreciate it.
Some decoders will produce sound even though the controller is not set to that locomotive's address. If all you are getting is engine idling and the headlight coming on, but you cannot get any of the controllable functions to operate, i.e. bell, horn, lights on/off, coupler clank etc. then you likely don't have the address set properly.
As others have mentioned, some systems need the 'zeros' entered i.e. address "003" whereas other systems will not respond if you put in "003" because the system is looking for "3" only. NCE does not work when the zeros are put in. I found that out the hard way.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
If your throttle has the correct address for the loco, and the bell, horn, and other sounds work with the function keys, does the sound of the prime mover get louder as you advance the throttle? Try nudgeing the loco with the throttle on seiing 20. What type decoder did you install? Board replacement or one with 8 or 9 pin connecter. It might be a bad connection to the motor at the decoder. If board replacement style decoder, solder the wires to the decoder. One simple check: remove the motor leads from the deocer put something under the loco in the middle of the fram so the wheels are off the ground and hook them up to a 9V battery. The motor should spin. If not, then the motor lead(s) are not connected. If it does spin then the problem is the decoder or the motor lead(s) are not connected to the decoder. I installed a board style decoder in a diesel. It ran fine with the shell of, put the shell on and it hade the same issues. Took of the shell and one of the motor leads came off the decoder. I didn't check the solder joint to make sure it was good. Joe
JACOB OLIVER I know I have the right adress beause the sound functions work.
When you say that the sound functions work, do you mean the general sound functions, or the functions that work when you address the loco, such as bell and horn?
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