Overland SD70ACe are here

Everyone, thanks for that information about the radius.

Are any of you planning to put DCC in these locomotives?

Since I have no time to get involved in such a project, I was thinking of sending mine to Tony's Train Exchange to have that done.  Have any of you had experience sending a brass model to them for a DCC install?

Mike, I'm thinking about doing the same.  I'm not sure what to put in.  I'd like to make sure its at least dual mode DC/DCC with sound.  It would be interesting if MTH had PS3.0 kits.  Knowing me, I'll probably run them on plain DC for a sometime as others have figured what is best.

I was thinking of having a small hidden switch, to go to either DC or DCC.  One side of the power goes straight into the existing DC configuration, and the other, if switched, would go to the DCC circuitry.  There would have to be enough insulation on the two, since there will likely be at least 3 or more amps in the rail.

As far as equipment, I would have to consider high-end electronics, since this model is of such high quality.

My time frame is most likely the end of the year, since my schedule is very full now with work/school. 

I'm going to try testing with a QSI Titan from a 3rdRail E7.  Wrong prime mover sound but...  I would just go and buy one with the correct 710 but they don't seem to be available retail yet.

I believe they automajikally detect DCC or DC.

Now, good speakers and baffles well fit into the hood, that's the hard part.

You can see an Overland O scale install thread below on the old archived Atlas forum that is very similar to the SD70Ace, just pick the proper 710G3C-T2 TSU-1000 decoder from Soundtraxx.  Protocraft does not yet appear to have a high-amp version of the Soundtraxx 710G3C-T2 but if you follow the thread, you can use an NCE D408SR for motor control along with the Soundtraxx TSU-1000 for sound as an alternate option to get the proper sound and high amp motor support.  You can also call Protocraft and see if they might be able to whip up a 710G3C-T2 decoder for you.  Price range between the two options is 6 of one, half dozen of the other.  If you go to the bottom of page 2 of the Atlas thread you can see a link a YouTube vid of the finished install in action.

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=63744&whichpage=2

http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/...wistle.php?s=sd70ace

Scott K.

Austin, TX

Latest from Overland,

"Good afternoon.  I am happy to report that on December 5, 2013 the models will ship from South Korea.  We will have the models either on Friday December 6 or Monday December 9, 2013.  Upon receipt we must breakdown the shipment, inspect, test and repackage...then pack for delivery to our customers."

Will be a great Christmas. 

I would look at the Loksound XL 4.0 comes with 12 function outputs and the motor control and sounds are incredible.

http://www.esu.eu/en/products/...und/loksound-xl-v40/

I'll have a video of an OMI SD70ACe in this configuration as soon as I receive my locomotives from Brian.

Motor control

From a LokSound made for larger gauges you expect an excellent motor control and considerable power and deservedly so! LokSound XL V4.0 is equipped with the 5th generation of load control. You can adjust the control frequency adaptively to the speed. So many motors will run even better and softer. 

Thanks to the 10 Bit A/D convertor, locos with well-known motors by e.g. Bühler®, Mabuchi®, Faulhaber® or Maxon®, will drive very slowly on the tracks. You can determine a limitation of the load control‘s influence with the Dynamic Drive Control (DDC) to control very accurately in station or shunting switch areas. Uphill running also appears very natural with it.

The power of the LokSound XL V4.0 decoder´s motor output has been increased by 25% and now delivers 4.0A continuous output (for a short time up to 5A) to keep heavy two-engine locos (e.g. by Piko®, KISS or LGB® also running smoothly.

Functions

In larger scaled locos a lot of special functions could be switched or moved. Therefore the new decoder comes with twelve (12!) function outputs with 500mA power/constant current each to control lighting effects or fan motors. Each function output can be adjusted individually in terms of brightness or lighting effects and controls LEDs or light bulbs. Also micro bulbs with a current of 1.8V can be directly used due to an integrated voltage regulator.

Beyond this, the LokSound XL V4.0 decoder controls 4 servos. This allows features such as lifting and lowering pantographs, functional shunting couplings or radius bar (reach rod) changes on steam locomotives. Simply plug in our ESU servos or other commercial servos. Of course, you will be able to synchronise motor, sound and special functions. 

This makes remote controlled coupling possible including the prototypical automatic pushing and pulling of the loco.

The LokSound XL V4.0 decoder is prepared to control external smoke generators. No matter if it is the Dynamic-Smoke module by KM-1® or the smoke unit by Massoth®: the decoder creates the required synchronization impulse. 

Three digital inputs can be used for control functions. Thus it is possible to install a reed contact under the locomotive and spread track magnets across the layout to trigger a horn when passing them or – a brand-new function! –stop automatically at the station and drive on automatically after a few seconds.

Units look great! Did you get an email saying they were shipped or did they just show up? I'm still waiting for my CN unit.

CN_Hogger

John,

Like Mike DeBerg, I am also interested in what surround sound system you are using. I had been contemplating Surroundtrax.

Mike, I only ordered 1 CN isolated cab.

I ordered an Isolated cab version as well.

CN_Hogger

Awesome guys!  I'll be posting mine as soon as I get the decoders installed. I'll have from unboxing to decoder install.

Wow are you guys out west?  Maybe mine are in the mail.  Or at my door stop today.  How merry would Christmas be if they showed up.

Mike,

I just got email invoices saying mine had shipped today.  So mine won't show up out west till next week.

Pitogo,

I'm in the Chicago suburbs and I still haven't received mine yet.

CN_Hogger

Got my notice.  Monday the 30th.  Will see what they will be able to pull.

That's awesome.  You won't be disappointed! 

I know trying to ship things last week was a nightmare, not to mention the poor handling of the packages due to the Christmas rush.  Probably better from a logistics perspective that you receive your locomotives after the holiday rush.

My trio came today.  No damage.  Looks like all the popcorn would absorb the any harsh impacts and two layers of foam inside the box for a snug fitting container.  Will post updates.

Got mine today also.  I'm impressed.  I have a few OMI diesels from past runs but this one is the best done so far.  Extremely detailed, more so than any diesel I've seen.  Even the updated box is nice.  This time the mirrors, hoses, glad hands, couplers, chains come installed.  Only the side ground mirror is in the parts bad along with a MU cable to stick on.

pics:

... Now to try and figure out what electronics to put in it.  Any ETA on PS3 kits?  Will they even work in these?

 I would say the biggest issues would be does it have a flywheel? They are talking about a future board that won't need one. That would probably be a while off.

 That is a beautiful engine. Congrats to all that got one!!

Well... the wait is now over and  I've had them now for a bit over 24 hours and here are my first impressions.  The new box design is great.  They make me feel easy the models are safe in there.  The models I received are 3 of the 6 made in CSX livery.  Shipping was pretty fast considering the time of the year.  The units arrived at my doorstep undamaged and nearly perfect.  First box I opened 4837 had a loose mu hose and had a screw fall out.  The loose hose was attached with a dab of glue no big problem.  The mystery which seemed more serious was where did the screw come from.  Flipping the unit over I noticed the cab interior rattling.  Eight screws later I removed the chassis from the body and discovered it was one of two screws holding the cab floor to the body.  The screw was put back and tightened with the other.  I had this same exact problem on a second unit.  The third unit was fine. 

   Out of the box, they come with the new style Kadee coupler held on with a single screw (this btw breaks from NYSME standards which require boxes be held with at least 2 screws).  The coupler heights were off by ~1/16 of a inch and too low on all the units.  This required some thought to correct and a simple solution was found.  The mounting tab holding the screw hole for coupler pocket was angled biasing the knuckle downward from the body and not parallel to the rails.  The quick fix was to straighten the tab by inserting a screw driver shaft into the pocket and using the leverage to gently bend the whole assembly straight. All now it sit perfectly on center with an NMRA gauge.

  The wheel gauges seemed tight–on both the pocket NMRA and full O scale NMRA gauges–but does not affect operation.  The wheels look to use the old standard .172 instead of the newer .145, this could explain why they were meaty and hanging on the gauges.  One thing to note as I've discovered (and should have known) look out for clearances with the sanders.  On all three, I've had to bend them out for clearance.  My units seemed to have lead wheels affected, now pitted from all the sparking. 

  The models operated great on standard DC with very fine speed control and range even with a heavy load.  Absolutely superior to vertical "china" drives (without BEMF or DCS "ProtoSpeed" control).  OMI has got the speed right.  Similarly outfitted models with the horizontal drive from Sunset suffer from being too slow.  The OMI models have a soft motor whine which gets louder as the speed increases.  At top speed the whine is very noticeable and may quite over time as it breaks in.  After half an hour of breaking in with continuous running, one of my units front gearbox seems to have developed a severe whine.  The dreaded and first box with #4837. Forward or backward it seems to sound like some sort of resonance on the drive axle.  Will investigate further and my need to contact OMI for possible repair or parts replacement.  On the plus side, the trucks are all sprung and the journals all look to have ball bearings.

  Pulling a load seems to be its weakness.  While the fuel tank has sizable lead bar, two units ( the one unit 4837 went out of service due to gear box whining, better than to risk further damage) alone cannot haul a reasonable 10 car Atlas Articulated Auto Rack train.  I dare not try having it pull 45 intermodal cars or 101 freight cars on NYSME grades, a feat I've done with 3 stock MTH ES44DC's.  The MTH units seemed to be a bit heavier, though not sprung weight seems to have been the advantage.  I will also have to look into this further.  

  So the big question how do I like them?  I Love them!  9 out of 10.  They could be 10 out of 10 if they pulled a bit more.  The longevity is yet to be determined but maybe a box of spare chassis parts maybe on order.  Unlike ubiquitous MTH wheel sets and parts. I may never see spares for these out in the market.

Joe, yes they have dual shafts and dual flywheels.  Ideal for PS3.0, which look like it could fit.  I'm more familiar with PS2.0 kits as I've installed a dozen or so kits.  PS3.0 right now looks alien but I do hope kits become available and in smaller packages.

 Wow Mike! on several things.

First, the candid and thorough review was refreshing from usual others I've read.

Second Wow, is how stunning they are still. Like seeing each version has it's own wow factor built in.

 I'm sure when PS3 kits have been out for a while, we'll get to know the ins and outs. I always look forward to your posts and this one just drives that home. You have influenced my work on several topics.

 anyways... Congrats!!!

(PS. I finally got my hands on a MTH SD70ACe dummy. It will be powered up soon. I'm usually years behind, so maybe someday I'll get one of these used? Probably not, just by how stunning they are.)

A video of the trio running. 

 And a quick follow up, after some investigation I found the cause. The tower gearbox on the lead truck in 4837 has a good wobble and source of the buzzing.  The other gear towers and gear boxes look to run smoothly and are relatively quiet.  The problematic gearbox also felt warm to the touch compared to the others after some running.  I'll likely have to place an order for some spare parts to fix the issue and get her back running on the rails.  For now enjoy the above.

Great video Mike thanks for posting, will be interesting to see if MWM gets their Diesels produced,if so with Erics drives they should be excellent runners.

 Wow again!!!

That could be a commercial endorsement for these.

My dream RR. Very nice. Thank you for sharing. I hope all works out with that gear box. It always seems that these toys require attention. Be patient!

 This leads me to wonder if I could get more realistic looking wheels on my engines. The profiles look much better on these. All of the detailing is much higher obviously, I just was thinking that the wheel profile takes it over the top.

I've been checking in on this thread for a while now; waiting to see what is supposed to be, some of the best... in O scale. I like the real world prototypes.

Maybe, their actual in-person visual impact gets lost, in photos and video?

They look like models... definitely would not mistake them for the real things. Nothing over-the-top spectacular, considering their cost.

Thanks for posting, Mike.

Rick

Hi Mike,

I've observed some of your posts over the years, and have noted your gravitation towards realism. That's why I was waiting to see Overland's efforts...

I, too, have an eye for realism; I haven't followed through though, like you have, purchasing models, in this price range.

Modern safety/wide cabbed diesel-electric models were, for a long time, my favorites type of locomotive models; but, that seems to have waned. In particular, they(the models I have and have seen) don't project the outward mass; especially, re: the cab area. Models with fixed pilots are an improvement, but that's still short of the actual "presence" felt track-side.

I guess what I'm saying is... to me, some things don't scale down and still have somewhat of a realistic appearance.

BTW, I find GE Evolution models (GEVOs) even worse, in this regard. Something definitely gets lost, when the dimensions are scaled down.

I was curious to see if the expensive model builders, had better success?

Rick

Good Day Michael,

Great video of your Overland Models CSX SD70ACe's. The engines look fantastic! Thanks for sharing the pictures and video.

Best Regards,

Frank