Sorry Brendan, the focus of the article will be on DCS not DCC.
Bill
I get the point is to get the bulk of the info out in the magazine, but any change we can get a picture of the box it comes in? Does it look like the same set up as what SHS did or did MTH go their own way?
Ben
NotInWI posted:Rusty
Its odd, according to Ro's website, they only show the JC B unit in stock. I am curious if this is/will be a sell out for MTH. The order of the release of the road names is so bizarre. After all this time I would think they would wanna get the SF, NYC and UP into our hot little hands. I mean, JC first, and no real timeframe when the others will be here...so strange.
I wish MTH's involvement on this forum (or on Facebook for that matter) was still existent. It would be nice to get some info from them about what's up....you know, other than what the last 5 things they have in stock are!!
I will still likely get all the powered UP units.
Ben.
The only thing I can think of is the F3's are essentially BTO, although MTH probably wouldn't admit it. Could be the Jersey Central units got the least amount of orders and was run first to get something finally out the door.
Rusty
Ben: The box is clearly marked MTH and is much larger than the S Helper boxes I remember. Why do you think this is important?
I think the question might be are the F3's packaged individually or 2-3 to a box.
I never cared for SHS F3's being two to a box. The F7's were 3 to a box and you got the same huge box with an empty Styrofoam insert for a 3rd unit even if you ordered an A-B set .
Rusty
Rusty: They were all three packed in separate boxes. Powered A, unpowered A, and Powered B. Boxes are twice as long as the engine and the engine is packed in Styrofoam two halves like Lionel. Also in a cellophane wrapper. Small holes in the Styrofoam for extra pieces.
Thanks. Sounds much like the packaging MTH uses for their O Scale stuff.
It'll be easier to play Jenga with...
Rusty
Rusty hit it the nature of my question on the head.
Ben
Roundhouse Bill posted:Sorry Brendan, the focus of the article will be on DCS not DCC.
Bet that was mandated by MTH.
I'm not against DCS. I own and operate it in O, but DCS has zero footprint in S. DCC while small definitely has an install base. Mostly in Scale of course. I'd like to see DCC reviewed, but I'm pretty confident that it will work as well as it does in O and HO. Which is to say adequate.
jonnyspeed posted:Roundhouse Bill posted:Sorry Brendan, the focus of the article will be on DCS not DCC.
Bet that was mandated by MTH.
I doubt that. It would be to MTH's advantage to review all of the operating modes, but if Bill doesn't have DCC...
Most of the folks that read the S Gaugian are from the Flyer side of the scale and will likely be either running the F's conventionally or will acquire a DCS system.
I have some experience with DCS, but I am hardly fluent in it. I've used my DCS system more to run Flyer TMCC/Legacy locomotives (with the associated hardware, of course.) DCS for me is mostly for test-tracking.
I would have to read up (Whoops, time to tear up my man card again) on how to consist 3-4 locomotives with DCS. Heck, I'll have to brush up on consisting with DCC. When I'm running DCC on the Great Plywood Glacier, it's usually with a single locomotive or the A and B have the same address. Good thing MRC puts the instructions on the back of the controller.
Rusty
All right, let's be nicer here, no hitting folks on the head--especially with a Rusty nail!
(Someone had to lighten up this thread!) I'm here all week folks--unless the ripe tomatoes come in.
I'm here all week folks--unless the ripe tomatoes come in.Guys, MTH didn't mandate anything for the review. They did supply a DCS system to me with the locomotives. The S Gaugian reviews I do are not written to be negative or positive about a product's attributes from the beginning. I write what I observe in using them.
No, I don't have a DCC system. That is why I will not be discuss it in the review except what MTH says about it in their written material. I can tell you here that it will run with DCC.
From the written material that came with the locomotives I can tell you it doesn't do much with DC. It runs and you get engine noise. No horn, no bell, no announcements. Pure DC people are the ones shorted as far as I can tell.
It will take many hours of effort to truly understand this product and the DCS system.
From the written material that came with the locomotives I can tell you it doesn't do much with DC. It runs and you get engine noise. No horn, no bell, no announcements. Pure DC people are the ones shorted as far as I can tell.
The American Flyer SD70ACe, ES44AC, and Y-3 operate the same way with DC current. The Y-3 leaves its rear headlight on when going forward, and all three locomotives respond more consistently to reversing signals than to forward signals. Voltage needs to be above about 6 volts to get them to respond, which means the user has to be sure that other DC locomotives do not see the same current at the same time in order to prevent runaways at high speed. Engine sounds are good but delayed by a second or two to changes changes in throttle control. I do miss the quilling whistle/horn now and then, but not the announcements. I can always switch over to Legacy control whenever I want to hear those features (as long as the DC locomotives don't see the same current and shake themselves to death.) I generally find that I use straight DC more often than the Legacy system because it's simpler and because any mishaps expose circuit boards to 6-10 volts instead of a "fixed" 18 volts. (I set my Legacy controller to a maximum of 5 volts for this reason). Including the DC response feature was a good move on Lionel's part, and I'm glad MTH does the same with DCS because that feature does offer more flexibility.
Just my two cents, but we already have enough control options in S. It probably is an advantage to O guys who also run S, but that is probably it. I look forward to Bill's take on DCS.
Brendan
Brendan: I am still working with the F3s in conventional mode right now. Tomorrow I will start making a shelf under my transformer table to hold DCS. It will take a day to finish the shelf before I can set up DCS and get it wired. I have talked with the MTH service department today about wiring and how it set it up with my Legacy still in the loop. They have a connection for TMCC built into DCS unit so that you can run TMCC with the DCS hand held unit, but it limits Legacy engines to TMCC operations.
I know a lot of O Gauge guys that use both Lionel and MTH systems because there is a lot of different and good product from both. If MTH gets prolific in S then maybe S Gauge people will use both too. Time will tell......
The MTH DCS system is very robust and has a lot of features Legacy doesn't. I will know more when I use it with the F3. In fact, the publisher of the S Gaugian wants me to write a comparison of the two systems in the future.
Sounds like it will be a thorough article. I think a system comparison article would be helpful. Myself, I had trouble with the DCS O engines I had years ago and am somewhat prejudiced.
Brendan
