Atlas Quantum Engineer trouble

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

I am having trouble getting the Atlas Quantum Engineer controller to work. When any of the buttons on the controller are pressed (e.g. horn, bell, status report, etc.), the contoller makes clicking sounds, as it should, but the engine does not perform the function. Sometimes it will cause the engine to competely stop as if the throttle was turned off but almost immediately the engine will come back online making the escaping air sound. The engine does make sound, increasing with throttle position and the horn will sound if using the direction switch on the power source. I have reset the engine as instructed in the trouble shooting section of the manual but no change in symptoms. I tried another engine, thinking the trouble was with the engine, but again, the same symptoms. Both engines are Atlas, one an SD-35, the other, a GP-40.

Thinking now that the trouble must be with the controller, I swapped it out with a different controller, but again, no change in symptoms. Everything remained exactly the same right down the line. However, the second controller has the Broadway Limited logo instead of the Atlas logo. From other discussions on the forum, it would appear they are the same box with a different logo.

Any ideas on what might be the trouble?

2

Hi!

While I’m currently building a new layout with DCC, I picked up a Quantum Engineer to test out the sounds on my BLI locos. Anyway, when I tested a BLI Paragon RSD-15, it made the clicks and stuff you talked about. I ended up sending the loco back to BLI, and they found it did NOT have the sound system installed!! Talk about quality control! Anyway, the installed one and the QE worked fine.

I suggest you get a 3 ft piece of track to use as a test bed, and wire it with the QE, and then check out your locos. This would at least validate a problem or not, and you might be able to narrow it down to either the locos, the QE, or your layout.

Mobilman44

3

Thank you mobilman44 for your reply. Your suggestion on the test track showed neither the engine nor the QE were working improperly. After much difficulty, the problem was in the common wire on the layout.

4

Terry,

Glad I could help. You can imagine how frustrated I was when I couldn’t get the new BLI rsd-15 to make noise. They have a “magic wand” with them to adjust the sound and I figured I messed it up somehow. Finally, like I wrote, BLI determined that their assembly line “forgot” to put the sound system in there in the first place!

Hey, if it were all easy, anyone could do it!

Mobilman44