Rob, I'm curious if you're serious about the 'versioning' of these locs. I just ordered the UP from Anthony at ZSM Trains and recieved a confirmation of my order and an explanation that he was waiting on his shipment of Geeps some time this week (fingers crossed). So my question to you is this. Would this shipment of Geeps to Anthony be the v.3? Would this be closer to the "Alpha" release? I'm in the software industry and am familiar with "Beta" testing : ) And if these ARE beta versions, what is the actual ship date of the final versions? Eager to be a Beta tester, ~JimmyG
No we won't go as far as to add version designates to the packaging. Though it is an interesting idea. Anyone ordering the PRR and UP right now are getting the preproduction run. These are just limited to one roadnumber. Once the new roadnumbers are announced, you will know we are on to the next series. My new shipment of UPs came in today. I plan on testing them and getting Anthony his shipment this week. Enjoy! Rob
Couplers Naaa...less like a drawbar and more like Velcro!! P "By the way, a lot of clients prefer AZL couplers when they connect two locos together. They won't easily uncouple and act more like a drawbar. " Rob[/QUOTE]
Ztrack Rob; When will AZL work with some DCC MFG to come up with a compatible decoder that does not require shell mods and frame grinding to get them to fit. The competition has managed to get a nice decoder to work in their recently released engines without any drilling or milling. ( Thanks Joe).
AZL has been working with TCS on a decoder, but it is going slow. A drop in for the SD70 is planned first. We are also hoping they can put together a decoder for the GP7. Rob
The last quote I had from TCS was 2-3 months. I will check again with them and see if they have a new time frame. Rob
The wife must want a new pair of shoes... I said there was a new locomotive I wanted and she responded: Go ahead, Happy Whatever day.... I guess the espresso maker and new TV is on hold ;-)
"Happy Whatever Day!" I like that one. I might have to try it. Too bad my wife isn't in to shoes. ;-) Randy
I prefer bear feet- Dragonlady is into purses (suitcases) should I call her BAG LADY? NOT Survival Rate is very low! Fred
GP-9 Production for the first 2 sets are done, the only thing left to do now is get the NP Shells painted and decorated. As you know it's a very striking and difficult scheme to print. I think we are up to 30 hits with the Tampo Printer for each unit! Normally we would do something a bit easier like Penn out of the shoot, but this time we wanted to do something that shows off our printing. I should know better when these will be released in a week or so. Ben will release the list of paint schemes to me soon and will post it as soon as I get it. SD40-2 is coming along much faster than the last two we did, and considering we have had to do our own design of the 6 wheel trucks, I'm happy with the progress. Cheers Joe
thanks for the update joe. with such extensive printing requirements i am sure the first release unit will be expensive (perhaps more expensive than the most ornate GP35 release to date?). it bodes well for sales of a desirable, classic road name (hats off to robert ray), but ill for those of us who can't wait to get our hands on one to strip/paint/modify into something else! we shall see what we shall see. we are all looking forward to them. thanks, joe, for all you do. dave f.
decoder update for the SD70/75 Talked with the folks at TCS a few days ago. They tell me that the decoder for the sd70/75 will be ready in the june/july time frame of this year. They had to redo and validate the Back EMF algorithms for the decoders. The efficient motors in these Z engines did not work well with the previous implemented version of Back EMF. I will be waiting patiently for these puppies when they are released. I was told that the decoder will be a board replacement for the existing light board. stu
I received my Pennsy GP-7 yesterday. It sure looks great, but it appears to be a poor runner. I am experiancing the same stalling problems. It stalls out randomly on clean track. Can't seem to find the problem. Joe
Joe, Feel free to contact me on this issue. I have found the PRR run a little different than the UP. I am not sure why. I know of three GP7s that have stalling issues. These were not caught in our testing. I am trying to understand why they are stalling and why we are not seeing it in our test running. Of course this goes with anyone having similar issues. Please let me know if you purcased this direct, or through a dealer and the dealer name. Also, let me know if the locos is stalling on the same section of track everytime, or on straight aways. Also, the speed range the loco stalls. Specifics will help me troubleshoot. Even if you purchased through a dealer, I will be handling all returns directly. These are the preproduction runs and except for the few stalling issues, we are receiving great reports. Overall, I am very pleased. But with every new run, this is a learning experience! My direct email is ztrack@aol.com. Rob