I just received this response from Athearn asking about an inexpensive upgrade path from MRC decoders to Tsunamis in the Genesis models (especially steam in my case…) Here’s what they answered. I pointed them to the threads/search engine on this forum (they refer to that). PLEASE write/email, call them to let them know that an INEXPENSIVE (free?) upgrade path is GREATLY DESIRED by many many Genesis owners. If you’ve purchased a Genesis Big Boy or Challenger in the last year you’ll be in the same club as me. ALSO please spread the word to other forums you participate in? The faster we get the desire for this upgrade path communicated to Athearn, the more responsive they may likely to be. The MRC decoders have a long and vast history of being extremely unreliable (for newbies to this subject) and many of us chose Genesis for the excellent detail at the price point while “gritting our teeth over the MRC decoders, installed”. Thanks. Please report any communications you may receive or if you see any announcements in the Athearn newsletter, etc. Capt. Grimek/ Here’s Athearn’s email response to me: ***Thank-you for your inquiry. Please note that we have taken note of the postings that you referred to and that we are listening to the comments regarding these issues. We are actively considering the possibility of some sort of program but it takes some time to come up with a program that will work for all concerned. Note too that no final decisions have been one way or the other on this issue. We appreciate your patience in this matter. If we do decide to initiate a program of some sort we will announce the details in our on-line newsletter, The Athearn News. If you have not done so already please subscribe to our free on-line newsletter, “The Athearn News,” to get the latest information about what we are and will be producing as well as the latest release dates on new products. To sign up just go to the Home Page of our web site (www.athearn.com), click on Athearn News, follow the instructions a
Sure, I could use a few free Tsunami decoders. Don’t forget MRC decoders were installed in Roundhouse engines as well as Genesis steam and diesels.
Not to be a pain in the neck but why only Genesis? What about the rest of us? Are we left out in the cold? I have a MRC / Athearn Roundhouse 4-4-0 that I bought only a year ago. Maybe I didn’t spend the $300 or so for a Genesis, but are the rest of us simply screwed? I did spend $150 on my 4-4-0. I’ve got the same issues on my small 4-4-0 that the rest of you have in your Big Boys and Challengers. What the heck?
Guys,
Not trying to sound like a rusty door hinge on a newer model automobile…but is expecting a “free upgrade” from Athearn reasonable? If I’m not mistaken, the cost to Athearn could amount to one thick chunk of change.
Just putting the thought out and am not saying I’m right but let’s think about this.
- For the many modelers that are forum members, including this one, it has been common knowledge that there have been ongoing issues with MRC Sound decoders. Post after post after post on the MRR, Atlas, Yahoo, and other forums have pointed this out.[:O][B)] Yet, knowledgeable modelers chose to purchase MRC equipped Genesis units anyway. Some of you probably remember the thread I posted in which my LHS cancelled a $3,000 order to Horizon for sound equipped Genesis units… The MRC’s infamous reputation continued gaining momentum. [:o)]
For those customers that were not aware of the MRC sound decoder issues, but encountered the frustrating problems; there was still the option of returning the locomotive and acquiring a “non-sound” version.
Having had a management type position before, I’m trying to look at it as if I were an Athearn manager.
Let’s see: [4:-)]
I was obligated by contract (courtesy of Horizon) to market and sell Genesis locomotives equpped with MRC sound systems, knowing that many of these units were headaches waiting to occur not long after the customers put the locomotives on the track and cracked open the throttle. .[V]
Now my small company, Athearn, has reached the end of its contract with MRC.&n
You bought a Roundhouse 4-4-0 with sound for $150.00 - Where did you get such a great deal É
I bought a Roundhouse 4-4-0 when they first came out. yes, the decoder was not the best. Right away I got some Cheese to go with my Whine and everything was ok. I bought a Micro-Tsunami and removed the MRC. No big deal. Just stopped texting on my cell phone for the extra cash. There is always a way to get the cash. Did not have to waste bandwidth Ranting on MR forums.
My two 2-6-0s and one 2-8-0 were DCC ready. Both got the Micro. Cannot see any reason for all the Rants. Raises blood pressure but makes the Ranter feel better I guess.
Rich
I don’t own an Athearn locomotive, so forgive me for my ignorance, but why can’t you buy a Tsunami (or QSI or Lok-Sound for that matter) and just hard wire it in? Is there something different about Athearn locos that makes it more difficult? It’s pretty easy on Atlas or P2K, so I can’t imagine that it is that different with Athearn. Someone enlighten me, please.
Probably could, but I think the idea is to trade the MRC decoder for a Tsunami, possibly in a style similar to Bachmann’s replacement policy. (Small fee, engine goes in)
It is just as easy maybe easier to install sound into a Genesis unit as any other. The point of this thread was Athearn’s response to people trying to get upgrades from the pathetic MRC sound to the Tsunami for cheap or free.
Personally, I agree with a prior poster. Anyone who did any research before buying a sound equipped Genesis knew what they were buying. There is no excuse. There is no reason to expect Athearn to provide Tsunami upgrades for free. If they feel generous I would expect them to offer upgrades at slightly over their cost which might be higher than people think. I already upgraded my 4-6-6-4 and boycotted Athearn for about three years (until this Tsunami announcent) because of it.
I purchased my Roundhouse 4-4-0 about a year ago at wholesaletrains.com. I’m not saying that I SHOULD get a replacement decoder. I was new at the hobby and simply did not know anything that I was getting into. Right, wrong, or indifferent. All I’m saying is that if you do get the new decoder for one engine, why not the whole Athearn line? Certainly Athearn knew what they were getting themselves into, right? Why would they exclude some parts of their line?
When it was announced that the Genesis 4-6-2`s were being re-released under the Roundhouse brand name some of the owners of these earlier Genesis models immediately requested a trade in program. That idea fell on deaf ears, I would imagine the same for an exchange program for the MRC sound units.
I agree…I think its wrong to even think of a free upgrade…
That would cost Athearn thousands of dollars.
Then the few dishonest folk would claim they own a Genesis in order to get a free DCC/Sound decoder.
Recall that the MRC sound works quite well in the DC mode but,not in the DCC mode…
I agree with TexasZephyr and sparkyjay31. Athearn should not be obligated to hand out Tsunami decoders at less than their cost. However should they decide to do so then it would only be fair to include Roundhouse brand products.
That was one of the reasons why Walthers quit giving out free P2K wheelsets.
I don’t think free would really happen, it would cost Athearn alot even if the MRC decoders were sold for parts. If anything, maybe some fee associated with an upgrade to a Tsunami on a returned unit with MRC. That way, it’d be impossible for someone to lie about it to get free sound decoders; since they’d have to send in the unit for the swap. If the owner doesn’t want to pay the upgrade fee, they would probably get a working MRC in it.
At least if Athearn does do an SD40-2 in the genesis line, it’ll have Tsunami instead of MRC (needs an acronym based on the fact it’s crap)
Packer has hit the nail on the head. I don’t know why everyone has seized only on the “free” thing. (That was mostly pie in the sky hopeful…) BUT I think that a reasonable (as in not gouging) upgrade path is the ethically right thing to do and a good business move on Athearn’s part. The MRC decoders were known to be a defective product by thousands of people via the internet forums and clubs all over the U.S. and internationally. Athearn, whether or not they were tied to a contract with MRC, as far as I’ve been able to determine has never publicly acknowledged this defect and now that they are switching to a superior product/version, should fix this known problem for warantee holders if no one else. Sure, I and others chose to go with a Genesis (or Roundhouse) product because in order to have that locomotive (Big Boy for example) that was nicely detailed and otherwise a good runner, at all, due to it’s price point, that was the only viable choice. Did I expect that i’d have to change out the decoder eventually? Yes. But if my product is still under warantee and upgrade paths at discounted pricing is VERY common with other products such as software, computer hardware, etc. I’ve seen this over and over again in the music recording gear market. Every time a new version is offered, that product is “supported” and you may upgrade at a cheaper than over the counter price. Not everyone knew what they were getting going in. Not everyone owns a computer and spends time in forums. Not everyone heard about the faulty decoder(s). In THIS case, I feel that Athearn’s silence concerning the MRC decoder issue or at least it’s non-responsiveness has cost them many tens of thousands of dollars in purchases from customers who WOULD have purchased a Genesis (or other) product from them except for the commonly known MRC defects. I believe that they would benefit more from the reputation that they stand behind these products and will benefit in increased sales far beyond what they’d cost to replace them. I’m really not asking
Then let’s look closely at this.Again the MRC sound decoder works well in the DC mode…The problem was with DCC usage…Shouldn’t MRC replace the decoders? After all MRC says they work…I know a guy that uses 'em with no problems-he just doesn’t fool with the CV settings.Others rue the the day they bought the MRC decoders…Guys that use the MRC Sound decoders with DC has no problems.
Then this type of review from a leading and well trusted DCC dealer doesn’t help the “freebie” replacement folk…
Nice memo, and certainly realistic in today’s business world. Key in your memo is selling units knowing that there would be problems, instead of holding up for a new supplier. I have a hard time believing anyone at Athearn did any heavy duty testing of the product.
I bought one early Genesis diesel with sound that didn’t, I stripped out the sound and made it mute but operational. I really don’t get my jollies from sound diesels anyway, but about 1 out of every 10 diesels on my layout have sound.
So, hearing, reading some early negative comments about the MRC/Athearn shortcomings, I simply bought the units without sound and installed my own decoders. But I certainly wasn’t dumb enough to just keep buying the faulty ones.
Bob
Capt. I think this sentence says it all. The Genesis price point was good, and part of that surely was due to using lower cost electronics? Had they used Tsunami from the get-go, the likelihood is that the price point would have been higher. If I were in Athearn’s shoes I would offer a nice pre-packaged upgrade kit with full instructions to allow existing owners to upgrade should they choose. This should most certainly be charged for and would represent the difference in cost between cheap and nasty MRC sound and high quality Tsunami sound.
Personally, I am not invested in this, because I refused to purchase a loco with MRC sound pre-installed. As of right now, I have one surviving MRC decoder on my layout. The others I foolishly purchased and installed are now in a landfill somewhere.
Simon, I hope you won’t mind me saying this, but I think I would quibble over your self-deprecation. I would never characterize you as foolish, and would not be pleased to see you label yourself that way. In fact, since we have met, I would object strenuously if someone else were to call you foolish.
Instead, and I think this is the genesis (ahem) of the issue, a customer is entitled to some respect and deference in the world of capitalism. If the customer is always right, why are the customers, you included, so irate over the outcomes of so many of your MRC purchases!? Could it be that you were hoodwinked, liberated from some of your money, even if for an attractive price, but in exchange for an execrable item where others offered on the market perform flawlessly? Is it foolish to have to go back to Ford, Panasonic, Electrolux, or Sony, hat in hand, and request that your faulty item be exchanged for one that actually delivers the service that you had intended for yourself when you exchanged money for it? I don’t think so. And I don’t think it was foolish of people to purchase MRC decoders at the time they did prior to all the nause we read about on forums all across the hobby. Some less than charitable personalities might say anyone who purchased a MRC decoder after 2007 might rank with the foolish, but I would argue that it would be the case, only possibly, if they were also active on forums such as this one where the sirens and alarms sounded.
Sorry, but I am going to side with all those who feel disappointed and used. Athearn deserves full credit for all the good tooling and the variety of products they have marketed. They have kept up, even advanced in many respects over their competitors. But the one fly in the oinment, and it’s a stinker, is the MRC decoder. Walthers would have launched a replacement campaign…they have done so with gears and with traction tires on th
I don’t expect Athearn to offer any free upgrades for the MRC sound decoders. the MRC quality or lack of it was known by most purchasers after the first one was tested and I myself considered the Challengers and Big Boys worth the money and continued to purchase them with the knowledge the units could not be run without some changes. After the first one that I received, I realized the decoder was not useable and continued to purchase more models knowing I would have to replace the electronics to run the models on a layout. How could I blame Athearn for that decision. I did start an email action to request Athearn to offer the non sound models and they did start that about a year ago.
With this in mind, Athearn might consider offering one replacement to each of us who purchased the Athearn sound models, but even that offer would be very costly.
CZ