there is usually a reset CV, and it differs brand from brand.  who's decoder do you have installed?

yeah, it depends on which 44 tonner you have.  Mine alsoe has solder pads on the side of the circuit board.  I thought mine had 8, but maybe not.  i guess you'd use a DZ143 on it. I'm going to be upgrading my 44 tonner soon, and i haven't taken a good look at stuff in a while. I'll tell you what i find out

chris

It depends.  these guys say 15 minutes.  Mine took a few hours.

then again, you guys are installing stuff in steam tenders.

I installed a loksound decoder inside my U34CH locomotive, and it took some modification to get it in right.  there was space in the cab, and it only required a few cuts to make room.

do not worry though, you should be able to plug it in.  the only hard part i think would be mounting the speaker in the unit.  You have to pick a good spot so that the sound comes out right, and with such tiny speakers you need to figure that part out.  Make sure your speaker is installed solidly, or with some foam tape to stop vibrations that can cause unwanted sounds.

in the future, you can install them yourself, and for probably less cost.

the only hard ones are diesels without cowlings.  there is little spacer under the hood, yet you don't want to use tiny speakers, as you won't get any sound from them.  Its best to buy diesels with sound installed from my expirience.  while if you get silver series Atlas locomotives they have places for the speakers and such, you do need enclosures that put the right pressure on the speaker, which take space, so you may not be able to use whats there.  I plan on trying to get a loksound decoder in my B40-8, but i'll have to see what happens.

keep us updated.

There is a particular way you need to go about uncoupling, and alot of things need to be fine tuned.

the idea is when you ack a knuckle style coupler (Kadee, McHenry, EZ-mate, Accu-mate) over the magnet, it will pull the coupler trip pins (the wire that looks like a hose)  to the side. you then just need to pull your locomotive out slightly, and the cars should disconnect.  if you push back on the cars after moving away, you should be able to push your cars down a siding without coupling.

the magnets themselves are not "remote".  they are just magnets.

You can get remotely controlled magnets that work the same way as the usual ones, only they have to be turned on or off, which is useful if you would have to stop the train over an uncoupling magnet, but did not want to uncouple just then. 

the usual problems with the magnets is either

1. The Magnet is not strong enough
2. The coupler pins are not spaced right
3. You are using couplers that do not work well together
4. You did not situate the train over the magnet correctly/ ypu installed the magnet wrong.

It can be any number of these problems that creates issues.

the first problem is common.  often times the under track magnets loose their power once buried under track and scenery.   they do sell extra powerful magnets for the job, but i have yet to try them out.  I had a bachmann magnet, and i tried to mount it on my layout.  its buried now, with no effect on the cars on that siding.  also rememberto put the magnet on the right way. test it and mark it so that you know which way is right.

secondly, some times the wires need to badjust properly. ideall, they will  be as low as possible without getting stuck on turnouts or crossings.  they will have a bend on the bottom of them as well.   if you look straight down at the coupler (with the knuckle being "12" and the shank being "6", like a clock), the wire should point to the "1 o'clock"  position, not straight ahead.

thirdly, some knuckle couplers hate eachother.  Atlas has big clunk Accu-mates, and they don't always uncouple well with the kadee style knuckles. Athearn has started to use scale couplers that are much smaller than the kadees, and they are pain as well, so you should make sure you couplers work well together. X2F /horn hook couplers will not work, period.

finally, it is sometimes tough to learn how to get it to uncouple smoothly.  you need to have a good locomotive that can creep at a reasonable speed, (no "Pancake" motored units), and you need to practice.  You also need to know where the magnet is under the track and ballast, which is why you get the little plastic figure with the bachmann magnet.    if you mover the train to quickly, you can pass over the ideal spot where the knuckles are most open. if you are pulling the train over magnet, you may need to give the couplers some slack so that the knuckles can open.  Also, unless you have VERY broad curves, you probably cannot uncouple in a turn by way of magnet.  you'll need to find a tangent ( straight) track, or atleast a place where both couplers are centered to install the magnet.  otherwise, the couplers are pulled off center ( and away from the right poles) of the magnet.

If you consider these things, it might help you get better operations from your magnet.

keep me updated.
Chris

i call this as a fake. while there have been nuclear locomotives, (a test bed was built back in the 50s in the US) , and they would be large, it is not likely that they would melt through the ground.   

first of all, its not like the russians haven't been using steam locomotives.  If the heat coming from the locomotive was that horrifying that it began to melt its way through all that ice, people would have been dead.  more importantly though, the reactor probably would have melted through the locomotive, or lit the ties on fire.   

they don't give you a date either.  it sounds like its a completely fabricated story to me, and your supposed drawing was probably just an impression of it.

Quote from: Dr EMD on March 31, 2007, 10:24:14 PM
What makes these GE units different?

the question is not what, but where.

these are the C30-7s that got sent down to Brazil.  they might have different gauge trucks,but the look the same to me.

actually, i think the only tough part of remotoring the first run is trying to get the drive shaft attatched to the motor.
It isn't all that different than a Athearn locomotive in the layout that it was made in.    The old motor is just that, old, and so i think NWSL makes a round can motor that will fit in this space.  It also looks like a Athearn SW style motor could fit in it as well.  this is cheaper than buying weird motor trucks that do not look right.

all i want to know is what is more important for overall speed, RPM or amps? while something may turn quickly, if it doesn't have the power to pull the train, its not gonna be any good.  At the same time, the Metroliners were fast commuter trains ( forerunner to trains like the Acela)  and so if the engine isn't making the train go to fast, i'm also out of luck.


here are some pictures of the inner workings of the Metroliner


overall view


Motor compartment


The motor is flat, and would slide into this space.  the metal cover would attach to one lead of the motor, while there is a silver open area in the bottom of the motor compartment that connects to the other end of the circuit.



The unusual gear arrangment of the metroliners.  If you use shims properly, this is a reliable set up, although i suspect a good amount of noise comes from it. Most metroliners have shims under the plastic bearings, but you can remove them, or put them under that large horizontal gear.   apprently this is a unique setup among models in general, so it is reccomended to not tamper with it. I hear this part does not dissassemble and reassemble well.

Has anyone had any expierience repowering a Metroliner MU set?

I've gone through alot of trouble but i've managed to gather a set of the first production run locomotives with all wheel drive, as opposed to the later Pan cake motor version. 

I was looking through my walthers reference book, and NWSL sells a motor that appears to be able to fit in the space where the current motor is now.

What should i know about motors as far as strength and speed goes?  I'd like to run a set of 4 Metroliners at a reasonably high speed. 

thanks for your advice.

Here is some of my work.

I figure since this is the bachmann forums, that is is apporpriate i post a picture of my greatest Bachman engine, my 44ton switcher.  True, others have better detail, or look nicer, but this little engine is the only engine that can fit in my tight industrial center with the modern cars.



some of my other work

my Philly division GP38 i've been working on.  there is a GP40FH-2 in the background.



My SEPTA train.  despite having alot of Philadelphia based trains, i actually model the North Jersey Coastline, so this is alittle out of place, lol.




thats all for now.