Saga of the HAUNTED Challenger (MRC)

[claycts]

The Genesis Challenger I have is HAUNTED.

1. Changed DCC address on its own. Can be 03, 04 or 06 depends on MURPHY.

2. With NO LOCOS RUNNING it will start with the whistle, then the bell, then SILENCE.

3. Sitting on a siding, NOT the loco addressed. Conductore starts talking and the bell rings.

Now the HAUNTING FACTS.

These all happen with the power to the rails ON but NO TRAINS RUNNING. Working on turnouts or testing breakers. Not even in the same dirstrict.

Running a Spectrum NO SOUND address of 4303 the Conductor starts talking and the bell rings on the Challenger. The units are at least 25 ft apart and in a DIFFERENT Ditrict AND different Booster.

Going to order a new decoder for that thing. wanted to wait for the Digitrax Surround sound but that is a while away.

[GearDrivenSteam]

That does sound spooky. Yeah, Digitrax has been draggin their feet so long, I've lost faith in um, and I'm a Georgia boy. I think my next motor decoders will come from TCS. I've bought a lot of them from Digitrax, but they are just slow with the sound thing. When I called to ask about it, they kinda got short with me, so to hell with um. Good luck with your Challenger. You'll find it. Whatever it is.

[rrinker]

 I think you mean Soundtraxx and their SurroundTraxx product - which is Digitrax specific in that it uses Transponding, although part of the reason it has been delayed could be because they now want to use Railcom.
 It's meant primarily for the smaller scales where you can't have a speaker on-board, although it would certainly work with other scales, HO being right on the edge between fitting a good quality speaker and not being able to get one inside. It's not really 'surround sound' in the sense of Dolby movie theater sound. The concept is to mount larger high-quality speakers under the layout and switch the sound of each loco to the stationary speaker nearest where it is - the sound 'follow's the loco around the layout but isn't actually coming from the loco. What would be even neater is if there was a way to send back the low frequency sounds from an existing sound decoder and play them via an under-layout subwoofer, since lows are non-directioal anyway. That way you'd have sound right on the loco PLUS get all the low rumbles you just can;t get from a speaker that will fit in an HO or smalle model.

                                                          --Randy

[GearDrivenSteam]

Randy, I don't know if you were talking to me or not, but I meant Digitrax. I talked to them last year and they said their sound would be out the first of this year. I called late February ready to order, and they said July. I called at the end of July and now they are saing they don't know.

[SqueakyWheels]

HERE'S CHUCKIE!!!

That's what I though anyway after putting a sheer brilliance decoder in an Genesis F7- HA- with random sounds and all. Spooky.

[NS2591]

You think thats bad, I was working on track work with the power on, and all of a sudden both of the 2 trains parked on the main took off, When I grabbed the throttle, it wasn't plugged in, when i did plug it in, Neither of the leading units was called up, Just as i called one up it stopped, called the other up and it stopped. I'm the only MRRer in my area, and I'm the only one with a digitrax throttles, and i don't have an IR reicever on my layout. My friend was telling me he came down stairs to run trains on his layout, and he was running and all of a sudden the power supply shut down, and unplugged its self. our layout every now and then diffrent switches will throw and and every now and then for no apparent reason trains run into them selves, but i guess that comes with a 100+ year old building

[claycts]

HERE'S CHUCKIE!!!

That's what I though anyway after putting a sheer brilliance decoder in an Genesis F7- HA- with random sounds and all. Spooky.

Is that the BRILLIANCE from MRC!! Of all companies to use that name!!

MRC= My Random Control when it comes to DCC. I have 3 of their power packs but DCC!!

[myred02]

My Genesis SD45-2 came from the factory with an MRC decoder... talk about spooky! It gave me some trouble back when I first got it. I had to reprogram it to factory settings about 15 times, and after the 16th time, it (until this day, knock on wood) is working great. I will, however, occasionally hear a mysterious horn blast every 10 minutes or so...

-Brandon

[Texas Chief]

MRC makes great power packs but lousy decoders which is why I won't buy a Genesis with DCC.

Although, I did have a problem with a Soundtraxx sound decoder once. My Heritage 2-8-8-2 suddenly took off in reverse at about 90 mph. It backed right into the turntable well and broke several parts on the tender. The power was on but nothing was running and there were only 3 of us in the club and we were just talking.Also, for several months, I would go down to the club and find that my PA had been moved. I thought that another club member was running it on a night that I wasn't there. Then one night I discovered it was moving very slowly on its own. Now I park it on a siding with an open turnout at each end. It has a Digitrax decoder in it. I don't believe any of them have all the bugs out yet!!

Dick

Texas Chief

[Anonymous]

Put a cross on the wall in the layout, and wait for the engines to turn it upside down. Steam is alive, if you don't believe it will turn on you!

[claycts]

NO I AM REALY MAD!!!  I put a glass of Glinfidich on the layout next to the Challenger. went upstairs, came back and it was HALF GONE!!. That is going to far!!!

Mystery was solved at 1:30 am Found daughters cat PLASTERED staggering around the basement.!

[BRAKIE]

George,Not making light of the subject but,when I was using DCC I had a P2K GP9 with Sound Traxx DCC/Sound to come a live-sound and all-with the horn blaring and motor sound roaring..I jump like I been shot.Never did figure what happen.

[HEdward]

Have seen self actuated VCRs.  No, not timers, they play part of a tape then switch to fast forward, reverse, whatever.  Every mode except play or record or stop.  Stray radio signals could jam DCC circuits.  Remember the first computer bug was a real moth.

[Anonymous]

  Stray radio signals could jam DCC circuits.

This is a good point, and could affect the challenger more than others because the challenger has a radio reciever. Not sure about this but its something to consider.

[HEdward]

Track makes a great antenna.  Picks up all sorts of EM.

[claycts]

Track makes a great antenna.  Picks up all sorts of EM.

Sounds like something from Ghost Stories!

True, when the plumbers where working on the basment drain they used a radio to talk to their office. The DCC was on and the Challenger moved, bell, died. Had to reset it AGAIN.

YOu know if this was my only engine and all I had to run I would be very upset. The big deal is that MRC, Atherns or anyone else in that loop just DO NOT CARE.

[Anonymous]

people still buy the locos. I suppose they dont have to care.

[SqueakyWheels]

people still buy the locos. I suppose they dont have to care.

                                         BINGO!!!

[cjcrescent]

I do not know if MRC decoders have this capability or not, but other makes do. Check the programmingof the decoder to see if analog sensing is on. I have seen several other brands of decorders act like this when analog sensing is turned on. If your loco is run on a DCC layout only, this CV needs to be turned off. This has corrected a lot of erractic decorder behavior in several brands out there, including Digitrax, TCS and NCE.

[cudaken]

 More I read these kind of post, the less I want to go to DCC.

 As far as the HAUNTED Challenger, bulid a abandon spur and make the Challenger a old wreck left to rot. Ghost of the crew are still running there last run.

 Either that or find a Preist.

                 Cuda Ken 

[Pruitt]

I've never had anything weird happen at all. Then again, I use NCE (Never a Curious Event).

 

[Anonymous]

 More I read these kind of post, the less I want to go to DCC.

 As far as the HAUNTED Challenger, bulid a abandon spur and make the Challenger a old wreck left to rot. Ghost of the crew are still running there last run.

 Either that or find a Preist.

                 Cuda Ken 

Ken remember that MRC is not DCC. As long as you stick with quality equiptment DCC should be pretty reliable and the advantages are too numerous for me to even consider building a layout with DC cab control. This is a discussion about a bad decoder and a bad manufacturer. But DCC itself is a great system and improving all the time.

The MRC decoder in the challenger IMO is really designed with DC operation in mind. If you look at the manual there are all sorts of instructions for programming and running the loco with the little remote that is included. I'm not even sure that the analog operation can be disabled because it should always run from its remote as long as it has power. Like anything else with questionable quality, I think luck has a lot to do with what trouble or lack thereof you have. Claycts, I think you have a particularly bad one, and Brunton looks like he got lucky. It seems the only real solution here is to replace the decoder, but if you choose to send it to Athearn I am interested what they have to say.

[claycts]

The Challenger is sitting on a DEAD SIDING, no power at all. If it makes 1 sound I have a Colt Python with hdro Shocks and I WILL cure it!!

I have sent this back to then after the 1st problem 4 months ago. They had it for 1 day and using my Fedex account NDA back to me. It worked for about a month. Now it is back to where it was. There was no letter or anything with it.

You are 100% correct that this was a DC loco to bridge the gap between DC and DCC so that  they could entice people into DCC. If this was what DCC had to offer I would have run the OTHER WAY!!

I have been more than happy with DCC and Digitrax equipment. I have been very happy with the MRC Tech IV I use for alternate power. This thread is like sitting at the bar with a beer and talking to the bartender. Nothing will happen to change things but you feel better after you talk about it.