I'm going to get the FVM EMDs. I hope they do a matching box set to go along with the Heritage GEVOs. Kato will get my money with those Maxi-Stacks and the Japanese E6 due next month.
Nothing runs like a Kato in my experience....Of all various locos that I have, the Kato's are the ones that make up 75% of my lashups, because they can run and pull better than any other brands. That said, I do like the looks of FVM (and have some GP60M's on orders)
Just my experience, the chassis' are held together by the motor saddle so it can't be simply loosened to install the decoder, so the trucks drop out. Once reassembled they won't stay in like they used to and the pickup suffers. Had this happen to me with two sd70m's (revised). Maybe the issue is more the chassis than the trucks but as I said its the experience I have had. I still love Kato, wasn't an attempt to bash them by any means
What kind of decoder did you use? I used a TCS K1D4-NC on my NS SD70M and it was just a drop-in install.
I'll second that. If there is a choice I'll go with a Kato mechanism and real drop in DCC over an Atlas style one where you have to spread the frames any day. The only thing better is the FVM mechanisms with the plug in decoder, there's nothing to go wrong there.
I am an avid norfolk southern modeller and follower. I model a fictional modern day branch, and have only actually bought one ns locomotive. It was an sd70m. I installed FCC in it and it ran fine. I then installed FCC in a p42, teste it out, and both engines now have problems. The sd70m is not responding at all, and the p42 sometimes let's me contral the lights, but never anything else. I am unsure as to which brand I am going to buy, but here is how ill decide. My bad experience with some Kato models and the superior detail on the fvm ones leaves me at a draw. I need more engines. If the Kato loos ship before the fvm ones are officially announced, I buy one and then wait. If the fvm ones are announced, I save and wait for those. Now if only the es44ac geckos would come out.....
The P42, solder the motor leads to the decoders. The button is not making a good enough connection. The DCC board thickness is thinner on the decoder so the contact is as good as it should be with the gray button holding down the leads. In the SD70, try to shim the decoder against the frames somehow. This again is caused by the decoder board being thinner than the original DC board. Neither of the issues has anything to do with the locomotive.
I couldnt see the number in the roundhouse picture of them all together. What is the NS unit number on the turntable? Is that one of the ace numbers KATO is doing? dave t
the locomotive on the turntable was an sd70ace and was numbered 1030. Although it looks like a normal 'ace, it has different numberboards, 1982 and 2012
also, although the 1030 is not on kato's list, it would be a relatively easy fix. just get repainted number boards and repaint/decal the numbers on the side of a regular sd70ace. thanks for the help with the engines, guys, its appriciated.
My TCS drop-in one runs great in the orig sd70m, but my digitrax sound (sd70m revised) required the frame spread a bit to get the decoder in, this caused the trucks to drop out and now pickup is iffy at best. I wish I had never messed with it. The orig sd70m's frames were held together by screws, no idea why Kato changed this when they revised them
the theory is the trucks where being broke to easy on the old style frame. so they changed the frame and trucks. but i have pulled the trucks on my sd70aces and new frame sd70m's and put them back in with no problems. you may have one of the truck towers not seated right or one of the contact strips out of place. the trucks have 5 parts to the towers
Possibly, I did spend a little time troubleshooting. Basically the trucks fall out of the fully assembled frame with just a jiggle. This causes iffy pickup I'm assuming because of the play between the trucks and the chassis. So this may be the case. However, the orig SD70m, being screwed together, well you can pull all day and the trucks won't budge. Again, I'm a Kato fan, and will be buying an ACE when they come out, so not bashing. I just prefer the original SD70M at this point
Do you have any pictures of your wabash cannonball? I was unaware that ns ran wabash painted excursions.
Back in November I sent you a PM to get in touch with me and I would help fix your 70's, no answer. Bob.
Sorry I didn't reply, got wrapped up in other projects. If u are still willing, I will get in touch with you soon!
We've got a bunch of FVM GEVO's and the Hiawathas when we do shows. I've never seen one that ran like, "crap." One guy did have an issue with one of the Atlantics, but I think it was resovlved quickly via Matt. That being said, we run Kato, Atlas, FVM, Intermountain, Lifelike, Bachmann, Model Power, and some other odds and ends, and many of them run for hours without issue. Sometimes, it's just doing a little maintenance to get them humming. Same. I've got P42's SD70's, F40's, and never had a problem. Unfortunately, once you have guys opening up locos, and installing things it may not necesarily be the loco at fault.
