Athearn DCC-sound-equipped N scale F45

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Athearn DCC-sound-equipped N scale F45

i love them :slight_smile:

I’m looking at one to add one to the Santa Fe section of my layout. Seems price is starting to drop. I have found that it might be cheaper to pick one up from the hobby shop over one you can buy on eBay,

Eric G. Hall
www.GSMrr.net

Love the detail & look I have 1 sound & 1 std
The standard one run well right form the start
But the sound equiped one has been very poor &
I cannot program it at all and it would only run at all on 14
speed step
Still trying to get it sorted

Love the detail & look I have 1 sound & 1 std
The standard one run well right form the start
But the sound equiped one has been very poor &
I cannot program it at all and it would only run at all on 14
speed step
Still trying to get it sorted

I wish Athearn would put this technologyu into their contemporary locomotives like the SD70 series or the F59

I have both Warbonnet FP45’s and three blue pinstripe F45’s. The Tsunami Sound System is a tad different than its competitors, but it sounds terrific. I could even make out the sounds at a noisy Greenberg Train show!
When you run these beauties in DC, the track work has to be in top shape or the engines will excessively cycle through startup, crossing signal horn sounds, etc. On the plus side, you don’t have to crank the power pack to the limit to get them to run.
In DCC they’re a dream: lotsa smooth power and a great menu of customizable sounds. The paint is first-class. Athearn even weathered the ventilation grills with some factory-applied “soot”.
In a word, more than worth the price, but shop around to get a good deal. They’re worthy companions to Athearn’s stellar Big Boy and Challenger.

Sounds great cant wait till they start getting all these features in all “N” scall models. plus Im sure that would help prices to fall faster so more could buy this great tec.

Sounds great cant wait till they start getting all these features in all “N” scall models. plus Im sure that would help prices to fall faster so more could buy this great tec.

Great models, i bought 3. The sound equipped models come with a short documentation of the sound decoder and Soundtraxx has extensive documentation to download, but otherwise there is no documentation at all!

Great models, i bought 3. The sound equipped models come with a short documentation of the sound decoder and Soundtraxx has extensive documentation to download, but otherwise there is no documentation at all!

I have one and need to share that even though it was kept in box for a month after the first run, when I retrieve it to run on track again all the sound disappear? I tried to reset it to the factory default many times but it still not get back. Now I have only DCC loco with no sound : (
In my country there is no Athearn dealer. Just only send back to USA to fix it is not worth with it price.

I have one and need to share that even though it was kept in box for a month after the first run, when I retrieve it to run on track again all the sound disappear? I tried to reset it to the factory default many times but it still not get back. Now I have only DCC loco with no sound : (
In my country there is no Athearn dealer. Just only send back to USA to fix it is not worth with it price.

My first introduction to this model was in the hobby shop on the test track. It was sitting in front of an HO steam loco making HO-sized diesel sounds. Really confusing, and very impressive. It runs great on our DCC club layout, and the sounds are rich and impressive. The dummy couplers are a little disappointing, but most Athearn units are that way. I still give it a 5-Star rating.

My first introduction to this model was in the hobby shop on the test track. It was sitting in front of an HO steam loco making HO-sized diesel sounds. Really confusing, and very impressive. It runs great on our DCC club layout, and the sounds are rich and impressive. The dummy couplers are a little disappointing, but most Athearn units are that way. I still give it a 5-Star rating.

I have found that it is nearly impossible to install couplers in this locomotive and it requires a lot of maintenance but it runs very smoothly. I have purchased the Milwaukee Road version and the detail is high and is a very sturdy locomotive.

I have found that it is nearly impossible to install couplers in this locomotive and it requires a lot of maintenance but it runs very smoothly. I have purchased the Milwaukee Road version and the detail is high and is a very sturdy locomotive.