Heisler re dimming the lights. ** NEW INFO SEE POST #22 *****

[Stevelewis]

I received a Heisler today from my UK Supplier,  I am very pleased with the loco  it runs cery smoothly  and is powerful,  I await delivery of the sound module so it can be brought to life aurally!!

Just  one query though,  the lights are bright ( far too bright for  an early Heisler) according to the instruction  sheet the lights are dimmable using  F1, however  this does not work and the lights remain bright!

I have done the usual decoder re set a couple of times but still F1 has no effect,
I have of course  tried all the other available function numers ( 1 thro'16 ) but again  no dimmed lights.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?
regards Steve

[Kevin S.]

Whoa!

You got your Heisler!?

Lucky you!

Hopefully those of us in the States will get ours soon as well!

[Stevelewis]

Hey!!  I didn't know that you had not got them  yet  over there in the USA, mind you this  has  happened before  with some of the new releases.

So as far as my query on the light dimming is concerned  unless Mr Bachmann  comes up with an answer I will have to wait a while!!

The retailerI buy from here in the UK is www.tower-models.co.uk  in Blackpool  (where the Tower is!)

They recvd delivery  on the  18th Feb.  the Plain black is already sold out.

[TimR]

"IF" we should ever get them here in the States and I happen to get one at a decent price and happen to experience the same issue, I'll hope to experiment with this..

Seriously and all jealousy aside, congrats on the new loco. Very glad to hear its a good runner.  (OK, now back to being jealous...carry on.)

[Stevelewis]

I am  sure  yours  will not be too long away  now!!

[the Bach-man]

Dear All,
The Heisler's are indeed on the way, and I'm sure you'll all be pleased.
I'll check dimming when I get mine.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[Stevelewis]

Thanks  Jeff
You have  saved me looking  it up, there is no manual as such with the loco just the usual  schematic of the loco's parts.
I will check it out later  and   report back on here  re the  dimming of the lights.

Just  a bit more info,  the loco comes with all the  usual additional alternative  parts,  (fuel type, cmoke stacks, lights  etc)

Also I fine the loco  is very powerful, it will haul much more than  the  average small Heisler would have done in reality!

All I need now is the sound module!

[NarrowMinded]

Your welcome Hope it works out, keep us posted on the sound quality

I'd like to have one of these to run around with My little porters

NM-Jeff

[Stevelewis]

Your welcome Hope it works out, keep us posted on the sound quality

I'd like to have one of these to run around with My little porters

NM-Jeff

Tried  the CV settings as  suggested,  and a few others also, but to no avail. the lights remain bright,with no change  when using F1 or any other function through to 16!

Strange one this  I may try  using an alternative decoder later to see  what difference it might make, I will be interested to see if my Heisler is unique  with this when others receive theirs.
I

[Stevelewis]

Re the lights  I also should have mentioned  they are not working directionally, both fron and rear lights are 'on' at the same time, Perhaps Mr Bachmann could find out if this is correct or  should they be directional??

[NarrowMinded]

I seem to recall a similar post with the same issue

[Stevelewis]

Interestingly  the CV settings  for  CVs 209  to  214 are noted on the  quick start guide stating  that if a decoder reset is carried  out  they should manually re  set  to the values below:
CV 209=12, cv210=8,
cv212=200,cv213=8, cv214=15.
These values do not correspond (with the exception of CV 210) to the values quoted on the Soundtraxx website  for the Heisler

Perhaps  Mr Bachmann  would be able to check this out?

It will be interesting to see what happens  when the sound module arrives, to see if  it  has any effect on the lighting problem I am experiencing with this loco.
I have  tested  the loco  using  an analogue power  supply  and the lighting  works  the same  as on digital, BOTH lights illuminate brightly. 

[railtwister]

Tried  the CV settings as  suggested,  and a few others also, but to no avail. the lights remain bright,with no change  when using F1 or any other function through to 16!

Strange one this  I may try  using an alternative decoder later to see  what difference it might make, I will be interested to see if my Heisler is unique  with this when others receive theirs.
I

Hi Steve,

Trying a different decoder might be more trouble than it's worth, especially if you want to add the sound board later. I would guess this loco's decoder is not a plug-in unit that has a standard NMRA 8 pin connector, rather it is likely hard-wired, since the sound-only add-on board plugs into the decoder, and the decoder is included in all versions of the loco (ie: no separate DC only versions). Checking the exploded drawing  included with the loco may verify this.

Glad to hear it runs well for you. Can you tell if it has metal or plastic gears? I'd love to have one of the Heislers myself, but I'm hesitant to consider it because of the high price. Besides, I already have too many On30 locos with defective drive trains, so I'm afraid to take a chance on this one. Maybe after they have been out for a while, and their mechanisms have been proven to have a good track record, I might reconsider. They are very appealing visually...

Bill in FtL

[Stevelewis]

Hi Bill
The  decoder  is  integrated  in  the PCB ( much the  same  of  some  of my LGB locos)
so there is no easy way of testing  it with a different decoder. The PCB has  a 21 pin socket to accept  the  Sound Module ( which I will fit  when they are delivered over here)

As far as the gears  are concerned I have not yet  taken a look!,,  but did I read somewhere  they were supposed to be metal not plastic?

There is 1 gear box per  bogie,  cardan shafts take the drive to the gear boxes which are on the outer axle of each bogie the  other axle is  driven by the  side rods.

As mentioned earlier I am impressed by the  excellent running qualities  this ugly beast  has!! 

[railtwister]

Hi Steve,

With only one gearbox per truck, I would have some concerns about durability, especially given the recent history of On30 drive problems. I think that metal gears would be an improvement, but only if the gearbox is robust enough to take the stress and still keep the gears in alignment. I would love to see one of the Heislers in person, but that won't happen at any local stores, because the dealers around here are not stocking On30 due to previous quality issues that have resulted in less demand for On30 than either HO or O 3-rail. One local dealer here has a lot of Shays, Railtrucks, and Railbusses on the shelf that weren't moving even at half price.

If you should discover for certain that all the gears are indeed metal, please let us know...

Bill in FtL