I thought mine looked a bit dark but in the sunlight it doesn't look too bad to me, unless FVM do a recall and offer replacement shells I won't worry too much over it. It's not as bad as some of Kato's orange interpretations of Santa Fe yellow or the plain wrong red on the first run of IM ATSF cabooses.
Good. More for me Digitrax did honor their guarantee, I'm happy to say. My long term plans include selling off my Katos as I can replace them with FVMs. I'm REALLY sick of Katos new chassis. Naturally that's not a problem with the GE locos, but the ACes (and SD40-2 Mid Productions) are a royal pain. I have one right now that is giving me decoder fits. Fits mainly because I'm trying to get the house decorated for CHRISTmas and can't get to the layout nearly as much as I want...
Tossed the GP60's into the trash box, will set out at the next train show for liquidation, same with the NS Heritage Gevos. I just do not have the time to F@## around with the nuisances of the shoddy Chinese manufacturing and assembly. Jim, I guess we can exchange places, me dumping FVM and you dumping Kato. I have no issues with the new chassis on the units I have.
Good so far , I have had my little helper helping me. He held the helix up while I screwed it in place. A little more track work , then it is mining out all the (now un-necessary )copper. Mike
IMHO the FVM GP60s rank right up there with the IM tunnel motors, the new Kato sprung drive, and the Atlas 1980s GP9 chassis debacle in all time N scale scandals.
Very pleased with my GP-60s! I only just received my two Santa Fe GP-60 models here, an M and a B unit. I very much like both of them. Despite the wrong tank placement on one. My B unit is running whisper quiet, but the M unit is a bit louder than I prefer. But still acceptable. Very much astonished by the miniature detailing parts! These are mostly way too small for me to handle. But even without them, these engines are great looking at any rate. Well done FVM!
Jim, could you give me more details on this problem, and/or point me to somewhere with pics and such? Danke
It's really quite simple. FVM states easy DCC conversion - and it is, as long as the light board is properly insulated from the frame. The area where the two light board tabs contact the motor tabs is where the main issue is - there should be yellow Kapton insulating tape on the frame (top and sides) at that point, so if the light board were to shift there is no possibility of any part of said board or tabs to touch the frame. This is standard with most conversions utilizing Digitrax plug n play decoder boards - you just put the Digitrax supplied Kapton where they show you on their diagram and you're golden. On the FVM, I believe the tape is SUPPOSED to be there, placed by FVM - but in several cases of late, specifically with the GP60s, there was no tape. Hence my message. I've got a new FVM loco coming tomorrow; if I think of it I'll take a shot and post to this thread. And I absolutely guarantee you I will be checking future FVMs most carefully. And I will likely cycle all my existing FVMs through the shop and make sure the tape is there.
Just the same thing I was going to do Jim. I have until Jan 3 to either get these running or they go out on a table at the Richmond Gateway show that weekend.
And to think I had my dumpster diving, haz-mat suit set out to take to the cleaners. Betting they get fixed and end up pulling those Santa Fe hot shots. Best of luck David!
Apparently the local post office is slammed...the package left Nashville (20 miles) last evening at 5:35...hasn't been wanded since. I do plan some pix...
OK, as promised...and the new loco did NOT have Kapton tape where it should have been. Here you see the chassis with light board as it came to me: Note the brass pieces extending down from the light board. These furnish power to the motor. And the area behind the 90 degree bend is what we're talking about. Here's a closer shot with the light board removed: By the way, note the two springs at the left - Kato should have learned from and stolen this idea. Because of them, the light board cannot lose electrical contact with the frame - a problem that vexes the Kato non-sprung design. There was some thought given to this design. OK, now lets put some Kapton tape where it needs to be: And that's all it takes. Now there's no way the light board can make contact with the frame. A view with the light board back in place. The decoder will now replace the shorting plug at right. Sharp eyed viewers will note the yellow LED headlight has been replaced with sunny white. This is one of the earlier runs; I understand the more recent runs have a white light already, as do the GP60s. Observing the design of this frame, it's more than possible a short would never occur even without the Kapton. But I'd rather not take the chance. I hope this helps.
Jim, You may want to also put a piece of Kapton tape across the frame beneath the decoder. I had a couple get pushed down by the shell/rear LED that pressed the decoder bottom on the frame. No fun seeing that smoke.....
Jim, Nice tutorial, thanks. I think the springs are a good idea, however, not knowing they were there I lost them the first time I removed a shell. I wonder if a MT slinky spring would work? Might be worth drilling a hole and trying the MT spring on a KATO ? ? ? PS - I had to do the piece that David suggests as well. Carl
I thought about that, David, but if you put the shell on with the rear first and nestle the LED, there shouldn't be much if any downward pressure...I've not lost one that way yet...still, I've got a lot of Kapton lying around, and as long as it's open anyway...could it hoit? Carl, first time I pulled a board I lost the spring. Talk about a downer. I found one that worked in my junk (parts) bin. Never throw anything out, ya never know. You don't need connectivity so most anything will do. Kato on the ACes actually puts tension on the decoder board by bending it...not too crazy about that, but haven't broken one yet. Makes it a bear to get it off unless you know to pry in just the right spot...you could probably get away with springs though, long as you drill carefully.
Premature raving It turns out that my M unit is not only a bit louder than I had hoped, but it has a "growling" sound at times, combined with irregular speed. I presume there must be a problem of loose gears? Probably the gear wheel on the axle that comes from the motor? Has anyone else experienced such problems? I know, the appropriate thing to do would be to return the engine to FVM. But sending it from Switzerland where I live to the US and getting it returned would be costly and complicated (due to customs) to the point that I'll have to resort to some "healing attempts" myself. Thus, any advice would be welcome from people with some experience with these FVM models. Thanks.
