Hi all,
I’m in the market for an articulated 2-6-6-2. All I see is Mantua. Anyone have experience with these? What decoder is in them, do they run smooth? Is there a better product available?
I did a little searching and it seems it has a factory MRC decoder.
I did find a couple links where a couple guys substituted a different decoder.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Thanks for teh replies. This and other forums are full of problems with MRC Decoders but if ther loco is as good runner I cant replace it with a Lok Sound or other decoder.
RR_MelI think that the problems other see with MRC decoders are man made.
Mel,
I'm glad you're happy with your MRC decoders. I have one bad MRC sound decoder experience that was installed in a friend's F-unit years ago when their decoders were fairly new to the market. While the motor-control was decent, the prime mover sounded like a UFO taking off. The sound was distorted and the volume wasn't even loud.
I'll stick with my Loksound and TCS decoders. If the Soundtraxx Tsunami 2 decoders do have improved motor-control (that some claim) then maybe I'll give one of those a try sometime.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I got one MRC decoder to see for myself. The board wuality is sub-par compared to any of the others - ie, sloppy soldering, etc. But it does work, it runs the loco fine, and it makes noise. The bigger problem is the quality of the noise - it's supposed to be an Alco 244 for an RS3. It sort of kind of sounds like an Alco. Horns are mostly muddled, even worse than Tsunami ones. It has a large election of horns, which is nice, however there is no documentation that says setting the horn CV to say, 5 results in a Leslie 3 chime or something. And an email to MRC tech support elicited a respone of "we don't keep track of that" What? So while I have no judgement on long-term reliability, just about everything else about them says "don't bother"
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Any one else able to attest to running performance? Slow, pulling power, etc. If they run good I can switch out the decoder.
How about Bachmann Spectrum HO 2-6-6-2?
gary233 Any one else able to attest to running performance? Slow, pulling power, etc. If they run good I can switch out the decoder. How about Bachmann Spectrum HO 2-6-6-2?
Alton Junction
I believe the Mantua is much smaller than the Bachmann and more appropriate for a logging operation. I own one, a 70s model. It runs well, but I added a tender for the decoder and extra electrical pickups. I can't comment on the latest runs.
Simon
snjroy I believe the Mantua is much smaller than the Bachmann and more appropriate for a logging operation.
I believe the Mantua is much smaller than the Bachmann and more appropriate for a logging operation.
You can also join the Bachmann forums and ask in the HO forum. There are users of the 2-6-6-2 there. I have seen discussions of this loco there. The site shows a lot about this loco also, parts list, DCC info, etc.
If you go to the HO forum and search that forum even without being signed in you can see discussions including the Mantua loco but the discussions are dated.
Or you can cruise through ebay...
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
My Bachmann USRA 2-6-6-2 is a nice-running locomotive, but it's not DCC equipped...
It's not an especially good puller, though, possibly due to the fact that both tenders are equipped with wipers for all-wheel pick-up...perhaps a little more pressure on them than is needed.
Wayne
Bachmann still seems to have parts for the 2-6-6-2 and the tender does have a place for what looks like a 28mm speaker and a PC board to plug in a decoder.. They sell a sound module.
The loco did come DCC ready as I recall.
I would look at the TCS site for conversion.
The discussions I remember the past few years, it was a good runner.
The links I found seem to indicate the Mantua is a little noisy but the sound verson seems to cover it up.
The Rivarossi 2-6-6-2 is also a good option. A very smooth runner and good puller.
The Bachmann 2-6-6-2 is a USRA light Mallet. I believe it has been offered with sound; at least I know many Bachmann engines have come with the 'budget' Tsunami. I believe all of them come DCC ready with lightboard and 8-pin receptacle, however the early ones don't have an opening in the tender for a speaker so you have to add one (i.e. drill some holes in the floor).
One thing to note is the Bachmann engine is a 'true' Mallet - that is, double-expansion, with high and low pressure cylinders. That means for sound it would only have four chuffs per driver rotation like a two-cylinder engine, as steam was exhausted from the high pressure rear cylinders to the low pressure large front cylinders, and then exhausted up the stack. The Mantua engine IIRC is an articulated but not a Mallet - all four cylinders are the same size and all use steam directly, so all four cylinders exhaust directly up the stack for a total of eight 'chuffs' per revolution. So on the Mantua one, you'd want to a use a sound decoder allowing for a synchopated chuff.