I have had some advice that has been very helpful about trying to match loco speeds. I have had to adjust my digi. decoder in my Kato to match the stock Lenz in my Atlas (which I don’t care for… I don’t think I’ll buy an Atlas with the Lenz “pre-equipped” again). Anyway, I have almost matched speeds. I tried a consist with the two about 6" apart. After a lap around, they were about 2 feet apart. I reversed direction and went back around. Now they were about 3 feet apart! Is there something in loco/decoder design that makes the loco have two different speeds for forward and reverse with the same throttle setting?
Yes, it’s sometimes normal for a model to run at different speeds in forward and reverse. It’s usually not related to a decoder as much as it is something in the motor or gears.
It sounds like you now have your two locomotive close enough to run them together as a consist. You will probably not be able to get them to run at exactly the same speed no matter how much you diddle around with the CVs, even if they were the same brand.
i second your comments on lenz decoders and i haven’t purchased a loco with factory equiped decoders in quite a while. i prefer digitrax decoders probably because my system is digitrax. i do mu digitrax, lenz and mrc equiped locos with no problems. as long as you match the speeds as close as you can you should be ok.
Wow! I have had very little trouble with the Lenz units that I have installed. All are hard wired into both steam and diesel N scale units. Work very nice.[:)]
From what I here, Lenz makes excellent decoders, but the ones that come pre-installed in the Atlas engines are low-end decoders and not nearly as nice as their hard wired decoders.
i don,t know if the decoders installed at the factory are a lower quality than their other decoders. the locos that i bought with decoders ran well when i first put them on the track. but after replacing them with digitrax decoders there is a difference in operation and they seem to be easier to program. also they do not cause the loco to buzz at low speed. by the way i’m talking about n scale. my ho atlas locos are all ok. has anyone given any thought about the posibility of lead in the paint?
How did the subject of decoders suddenly veer off into talking about lead in paint?
Unless you’re going to be chewing on the locomotives, why worry about the paint? Lead paint is not dangerous unless it peels off (or is sanded off) and is ingested or inhaled.
And there’s probably more lead in the solder of a decoder than would be in the paint on the shell; but again, unless you eat it there’s no danger.