Good morning all and happy veterans day. My lhs has an athearn f3 diesel w/sound and dcc that I really like. Are these good reliable engines ? the price seems pretty good for a sound equipped loco. Just wanted some honest advise from some experts before making the purchase. Thanks Dave
Dave, I’ve been using Athearn Locomotives of all types since 1981 and almost all of them were good dependable runners. Athearn’s can be a bit noisy but other than that they are solid and ruggedly dependable as well as relatively easy to work on.
Dave,
That F3 is an Athearn ‘Genesis’ line engine. The drive is very good, smooth and quiet. The sound decoder is MRC, not ‘top end’ but not too bad either. I have several Genesis F units and they are excellent running engines, with great detail and paint.
Jim
Well if it’s available at the LHS it’s available on bay-e, take a look and see what they’re selling for there, should at least give you a ballpark figure. Could also check www.trainworld.com, as often as not they have the best price on an item in my experience anyway.
Not a bad price at all, Dave. Trainworld wants $189.99 for them. I’d say go for it unless you can find it for less.
Nelson
[Edit] Spoke too soon. I found them for $150 on eBay: Mark Twain Hobby Center
This is part of the mentality that is hurting the LHS’s and putting some out of business. About 8 years ago I helped out a friend who finally closed his shop - I saw too many “persons” look at a loco at his shop & come back a few days later & have the nerve to brag about how they got it on the internet/e bay for X $ less!! Many of the internet & e-bay guys work out of their homes & don’t have rent to pay & usually don’t pay taxes on what they earn! If theydo have any help it’s probably illegals working for cheap!! If the guy at the LHS was good enough to show & demo the loco, why not help him pay his rent.
Lou my feelings exactly. The owner not only gave me a decent price but programmed the loco for me. plus if I have a problem he is just around the corner. Thanks Dave
Buyer beware! Are the units dcc with sound that are for sale at the e-bay store? It’s possible, but should be checked out. They may be dcc ready, not equipped with dcc/sound. But to add to the positives, Genesis F-7 or F-3 are some of the best detailed and best runners on my railroad. I put NCE decoders in mine about a year ago and they perform perfectly. They consist with no problem. In the new F units the dcc/sound decoders are MRC and came in an SD45-2 I purchased recently and I am pleased with it too. The volume had to be turned down, but then I felt the sound was great and with some adjustment to the start speed [cv2] it to consist well. So go ahead and buy and be the frist to write a review. DL&W brakeman
The eBay price will be $162 with shipping, just an $18 difference with no support and about a week’s wait. Might not be worth it. The LHS is cheaper than Trainworld anyway.
Nelson
When I was living in darkest rural Eastern Oklahoma, and the nearest hobby shop was a 4 hour round trip, I used the internet for all my MRR purchases.
Since I’m living in sunny Central Florida now and my LHS (Colonial Photo & Hobby in Orlando. ) is a 5 minute drive from my workplace I haven’t bought anything off the internet.
I would deal with internet sellers if I needed something that I couldn’t get locally, but to tell the truth my LHS has had everything I want and is willing to order anything else I might need - at a good discount. So, I’m more than happy to pay their prices.
Mark Gosdin
Body dimensions and detailing is top of the line.
Sound system: imho, on the low end. Loud? Yes but qualitywise, it pales in comparison to QSI, Soundtraxx’s DSX, and Lok Sound. The horn sounds are synthesized and have a “disjointed” rather than a smooth trailoff when activated.
Modelers that have been around prototype locomotives or own sound equipped HO locomotives from the above mentioned brands may notice the quality differences almost immedietly.
But apparantly a business decision was reached that binded Athearn to go with MRC.
The price is pretty good from your LHS. That guy at the LHS is sharp, he sets up the decoder address and adjusts the CV’s for you as well? That is service and makes any small savings via mail order a moot point. On the other hand, many shops do not even have a DCC setup/test track. Then they complain that they got undercut by a discounter! The key to retailing in the LHS is service; many times they cannot even buy the product for the price the discounter is selling it for, so they cannot compete on price alone. I was in a LHS this past summer while on business. A guy was purchasing a DCC/Sound engine for full MSRP and wanted the dealer to program the engine. All the dealer had set up was a Bachmann starter set command station!
Jim
The Genesis F series is the best in fidelity to the prototype you can purchase.
My local hobby shop has always seemed to go the extra mile. He will try to locate an item from other shops or dealers before ordering it. I definitely dont mind paying a little extra for that kind of service and peace of mind. Thanks for all the info. on the F3. Dave
I got my F3’s on line from Standard Hobby for 1/2 price! Admittedly, though, my logo is Frisco and I’m sure the units hadn’t moved, hence the reduced price. Two things to say about this: LHS in town doesn’t carry Frisco anyway, and can’t (or don’t) ususally come close to internet prices. I’m a newbie, just starting out, have too many things to purchase not to make price the major consideration, and most of the internet sites are repudable, and the one’s that aren’t I know about from being on this forum frequently.
The F3’s I got were pre Athearn DCC ready, hence I’ll need to put in decoders and replace the circuit board(evidentally fairly easy–brief article in MRR in June describes how to do it)–but even if the units I got had a DCC plug, I think I’d buy them without the MRC decoder and get a Loksound instead because of quality issues that have been discussed on other threads.
Jim
I have one of the SF Warbonnet F3s, and it is the best looking engine I own.[:D] I did a review of it earlier this year that covers most of everything (except prototype info and sound) that might help.[:)]
I will have to chime in about the Athearn Genesis “Fs” being the best on the market. The Highliner shells are the best representation of a F unit to be manufactured to this point. The only thing that I don’t care for are the side grills heating up and popping off, but a bit of ACC can fix that. For someone new to sound and DCC (such as myself) I think they sound just fine.
Also, as noted above, the drives are excellent. I can barely hear mine running unless I put my ear right up to it.
I bought a Athearn Genesis F3 AB unit and they are both powered with sound. Both run good. They are quiet running. Athearn uses an MRC decoder that is fair in sound compaired to the QSI sound decoder.
You can find them at Dicount Trains Online for $140.38. for an F3A unit.
Bill