Would this be a good choice? The loco is NIB. Seems like this is a early version of PS2 (3-volt), but I don't know for sure. Any information would be appreciated.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
The MTH number would help. Look it up on their site, download the manual, and that will indicate if it is 3v or not.
Early PS2 is 5v which this would be. Somewhere around 2004 was the change to 3v.
Pete
If you do opt for a purchase, also buy a BCR (battery replacement) for about 30 bucks. You will have to search for one, but it will make life easier for you in the long run.
Really need to know what you looking at. Some early PS 2.0 engines are great.
If you buy a PS/2 5V locomotive, just be aware that those boards are near the end of their useful life, and many of them a failing or will soon. I'm sure some will run for a long time yet, but the odds are not with you. The 5V board has a bad reputation for reliability, and it earned that reputation.
I recommend for PS/2 purchases you look for the 3V PS/2 board equipped models, the odds are much better it'll have a long life.
If you do buy a 5V board unit, I recommend you consider the likelihood of having to replace the board and factor that into your offering price.
gunrunnerjohn posted:If you buy a PS/2 5V locomotive, just be aware that those boards are near the end of their useful life, and many of them a failing or will soon. I'm sure some will run for a long time yet, but the odds are not with you. The 5V board has a bad reputation for reliability, and it earned that reputation.
I recommend for PS/2 purchases you look for the 3V PS/2 board equipped models, the odds are much better it'll have a long life.
If you do buy a 5V board unit, I recommend you consider the likelihood of having to replace the board and factor that into your offering price.
John, would it be a time factor, or operational time factor that would be more likely to cause the failure? If a loco was NIB, never run, would it be subject to the same failure just because of time?
I don't think it's an hours run thing as some NIB old stock PS/2 5V boards fail right out of the box. For one, the 20 year old capacitors seem to dry out and fail. Also, many of the components on the 5V board were running near their max ratings, they went more conservative on the later designs. All I can say is my observation of the incidents of random failures i see. I suspect that are fewer 5V board equipped locomotives in circulation than 3V board equipped locomotives, and I'd say the failures I get run about 4:1 5V board to 3V board. My personal opinion is the 3V board was the best DCS option they've had, I've had a number of PS/3 failed boards as well. The additional issue with PS/3 is there are very few field replaceable parts on them, so a failure is normally a new replacement. The 3V board was the most repairable setup they've had. Unfortunately, several parts went obsolete on the 3V boards, so they're slowly dying out as well.
Pardon my ignorance, but when was the cutoff between 5v and 3v, and is there an easy way to tell which version a loco has without opening it up?
Transition was in the 2003-2005 timeframe, I've seen 2005 locomotives with 5V boards and 2003 locomotives with 3V boards.
The easiest way to tell is look for the charging port for the backup battery. Round is a 5V board, rectangular is the 3V board. If it doesn't have one, (early 5V), then it's a 5V board.
You can also look up the product number on the MTH site and check the User's Manual, they talk about replacing the battery, and the type of battery will be specified. If it's a 2-cell 2.4V, it's the 3V system, if it's the 8.4V square battery, it's the 5V.
Here are some pictures from a couple of manuals.
Here's the Coors Silver Bullet train battery, it's obviously a 3V board.
This is a Lehigh Valley PA A-A, this is a 5V system.
Attachments
Question for MTH repair Techs. Does installing a bcr help reduce a chance of failure?
IMO, no. I see failures with and without a BCR in the 5V boards.
