MTH Sharknose PS2 to TMCC conversion

Try Bill at Modern Toy Train Parts; he does conversions.

What an awful thing to do!

Why don't you sell the sharks and purchase a TMCC set? It would have to be less expensive than a 2-engine conversion.

Go Mario! Exorcise those demons!

YES!, come into the light, it is good  

I am all on the lighter side of the street!

I already have a AB set of Legacy units (trying to trade these PS2 for a Legacy powered B, BTW...).

and these are the ONLY non-TMCC/Legacy units that I have.  Well, almost, I have a Premier set of PAs with a DD Equalizer to go in, and a set of scale PS1 F3s (ABA) which will get the TMCC upgrade, as well.

I'd like to sell the F3s and get a set of Legacy F7s, but no ones interested in them, so upgrade it'll be!

Don't listen to those other two guys above Mario, take the DCS plunge, install it alongside your Legacy/TMCC and have the best of both worlds.  That's where the real light is. 

JK,

I've heard good things about it, but never used it personally.  From what I've seen at the club, DCS is something that I'm not interested.  I can't count how many times have I heard that the DCS doesn't recognize the loco sitting on the track.  Nope, it's not for me...  I've used both the TMCC and Legacy systems at the club layout, and they have been consistent performers.

BUT... at the time, I was considering just staying conventional, and I was unable to afford Legacy sharks, so the MTH was the way to go...  They're a little more detailed, and I heard that the MTHs are closer to scale, as well...

I'm thinking of just using these at the club and be done with it!

Thanks,

Mario

How DCS behaves on one layout doesn't mean it will do the same on others.  There have been club layouts that have had issues with TMCC and Legacy as well, (see some of the recent posts by Dale Manquen for example).  Some have reported on this forum that they have experienced the opposite of what you reported (DCS works fine but TMCC/Legacy does not), so I wouldn't take all anecdotes at face value.

 Mario, I would heartily agree with John and Barry above - Don't trash your PS2 Sharks!

Pick up a DSC set and enjoy them both. As nice as Legacy is, DCS has features that you will enjoy that are unique to DCS. They are BOTH good systems and enjoyable to operate. You'll find in the long run that you will appreciate them both and it will open up new possibilities in motive power rather than limit yourself as  the 'exclusive' operators of either system miss out on...

I'm not going to trash them, I bought them for a reason, they loog Grrrrrrreat!

I just want to improve them!

Thanks,

Mario

Install DCS on your layout, mission accomplished.

Mario:

If you want to install TMCC in your Sharks, then you certainly know what you are doing and are obviously happy with your decision. The thread asked who would do the conversion and a debate as to the merits of this decision was not requested. I am sure all of you who are urging Mario to go a different direction mean well by your comments, but alas, it appears he has considered all of the options and made his decision.

I once faced a decision to convert all of my PS1 engines to TMCC and never have regretted that decision.

It wasn't forbidden either. 

Mario's trains, Mario's choice...go Mario, go.

Rick.

You are all correct!

the benefits of each system and the cost of the conversion has definately kept me thinking..

I'll tell you what.

I'll bring them to the club next time I go and run them in DCS.  Then I'll report back (may be a while, we're redoing a lot of the scenery and ballast).

But... ahh, we'll see.

Thanks,

Mario

How many scale freight cars could a Legacy Shark A unit pull?

If you're talking level track and O72 curves minimum, I'd say 25-35 would not be unreasonable.  When you start talking grades or sharper curves, that number probably goes down.  I'm talking about modern cars with free-rolling wheels, the old PW cars have a lot more rolling friction, and even though smaller, tend to be harder to pull in quantity.

Here is another way to look at it.

That double A unit conversion will likely run about $500 by the time the smoke clears (no pun intended!)

Installing DCS on your layout will be considerably less; about $350.

It's a one-time only cost after which you can run any PS-2/PS-3 engine of your own or anyone else's. To me that's a no-brainer.

I run both DCS and TMCC on my layout together simultaneously, as do many other O gaugers. 

So by all means try your Sharks in DCS world before you settle which way to go.

Rod

Rod, you're not kidding... These numbers are going up by the hour!  So far, we've figured $370 for parts, $375 for the orignal set, not including shipping, installation...

Soooooo... "Sharks for sale, get your red-hot sharks!"

Thanks,

Mario

Take the plunge Mario.  Keep the Sharks and get DCS.  Have the best of both worlds.

How's that for peer pressure? 

How do you figure that much money?  An ERR Cruise Commander/Railsounds package from Boxcar Bill is $185 plus shipping.  His installation prices are reasonable.  One Cruise Commander in the A unit will run all 4 motors.  The MTH tether can be used to power the B-unit's motors, backup light and coupler from the Cruise Commander in the A-unit.  I do my own conversions and presently have an MTH PRR set of sharks running that way on my layout.  I've also done the same trick with an MTH set of F-3's and Centipedes and with a pair of Atlas RS-1's.

I was told by the folks at ERR that you could NOT use a Cruise Commander on more than two motors.  Hopefully, Jon Z will chime in here.

You can't use a Cruise M with more than 2 motors, it overheats.  I've had no issues at all with the regular Cruise Commander running 4 motors.

Hmmm.

My original thought that popped in my head is with GRJ.  We'll see what Jon or Mike have to say.

I will say... I hope so.  Plan for the worst, hope for the best!

This will save $$$ on my scale F3s ABA install as well.

Thanks,

Mario

ok... we have confirmation.

4 motors = no go.

Ok, I went to the clubhouse last night, to work on the new parts of the layout.  I didn't get a chance to run them, but we had a great discussion about DCS and TMCC and Legacy and conversions, and I've come to a decision.

Until further notice, I'm going to keep the DCS in the units and run them at shows...

The concensus was, in specific order:

1. DCS is finicky, but nice.
2. TMCC/Legacy has issues, but a lot more user friendly for casual users. (tunnels, bridges, etc...)
3. Conversions are rarely ever flawless runners, and are expensive.

So we shall see... JR Junction has a set of Legacy Sharks sitting in the display case, so you never know.  Also, hopefully someone will pop up with a powered B unti that I could swap the PS2 set for.

Thanks,

Mario

Well, I'd dispute #3, I've never had a conversion that I've done that I didn't get running just fine.  However, I think you're making the right choice, you'd have a lot of money into the converted TMCC units.

You could sell them and buy the Legacy ones and probably come out about the same price as the conversion.

Don't you mean #3? 

At any rate, I would also tend to dispute the "rarely ever flawless" statement regarding conversions, never really have seen an engine converted to PS2 or TMCC that had issues, and if they did, it was typically due to installer error.

Yep John, I did mean three.   I'll go back and fix that.

When I do a converstion, I normally know that it's going to be successful or I don't do it.