So I went and picked up my NS Gevo today with dcc and sound. I have so far mixed feelings about it. The model detail is great and it runs well but there are some issues. One is that the ditch lights DO NOT ALTERNATE like the real thing when the horn is blown. They either flash together or dont flash at all. Second thing is that there is a light leak coming from the edges of the front and rear walkway when the ditch lights are on. I can live with these problems but I have to ask, why intermountain cant make the ditch lights flash. Seems simple enough right? Heres a video of the thing:
That is a good looking loco in the NS scheme,the LHS only had pre orders only so i got left out,plenty of BNSF and CN ones.
I got my first 2 of 6 (BNSF) yesterday. The detail and finish is absolutely incredible. Ditto on the light under the cab, maybe someone knows of a black paint we can use on the bulbs to avoid disassembly. I found 1 small part rattling around and the gas tank covers were not snapped together in the back on both, and I had to squeeze them hard.
Hi guys…
There’s a fix for the Ditchlight flash rate and alternate time - its a CV change and if you contact Richard at Intermountain ,they can probably walk you through it over the phone in a minute- I don’t have my CV list so i can’t offer it to you at this time. If all else fails, just call Goerge at Soundtrax and he’ll give you the CV’s to change i beleive there are 5 CV’s to adjust. Easy stuff.
The light leak has been a ongoing issue with the chassis assembly and can be remedied with some black tape. Still, its annoying.
I’ve got mine fixed with the tape procedure but it has to do with the light pipes fit inside the shell.
Good luck with your models… they are a great addition to any fleet and I look forward to adding more to mine in the future.
Sorry to say but the issue with the ditch lights is a decoder limitation. Theres a note in the box from intermountain that says due to soundtrax not making a decoder with more than 4 functions they wont have flashing ditch lights. Very disappointing that soundtrax cant put the effort into making a more than 4 function decoder. If MTH can do it with their own proto 3 system then it just shows soundtrax isnt making any effort here.
Wait, I’m confused. The latest IM GEVO’s don’t have alternating ditch lights? The first AC units did and they used a special Soundtraxx board.
Wow, all of mine from the first run, had alternating ditch lights and could be adjusted by the user via CV’s.
Only the Eastern Roads that operate in the NORAC operating rules are still using the Alternating Ditch light flasher feature that I know of: None of the western roads utilize this feature and haven’t for many years now.
I would say that it isn’t Soundtraxx that’s the problem -that decision to cut that feature out of the capabilites of the factory installed board would fall on IMRC’s hands -probably to minimize costs.
I have all 4 UP road numbers
all four KCS, two Ferromex and two CP Rail -All had default alteranting ditchlights out of the box.
I just got two of the CN units that were just reelased and they have constant burn lights - i didn’t think much of it because i didn’t have to change anything.
If what you’re saying is true, Then the only way around that is to replace the decoder board with a factory Soundtraxx version - something I’ve decided to do anyway on all my subsequent GEVO aquisitions because the horn and sound fidelity of the Tsunami is better and the Horn is much better.
So mine are going to be DCC only from now on.
Good luck with that.
Wow…
IMRC must have changed the board outputs to save some money - all of the previous run models I have ALL came out of the box with Slternating Ditchlights and none of my roads utilize the flashing feature anyomre, based on prototype practices.
I was easily able to change the CV’s to correct the issue. I just got two of the new CN models and it didn’t have flashing ditch lights and i didn’t think anything about it as I assumed IMRC set it up that way because of the CN practices.
I’m going with DCC only units moving forward, beginning with the CN’s as I like the HORN and other sound files of the FUll blown Tsunami from Soundtraxx much better.
You could add a function only decoder like a TCS FL2
Guys,
Only the NS model is affected by the non-flashing ditch lights. It is because the model has both front and rear ditch lights and is limited by the 4 function decoder. The model has the same decoder as the last run, its just that they have all the ditch lights hooked up to 1 of those 4 functions.
I will probably add a TCS FL2 to mine after some consideration. Another option may be to wire the rear ditch lights to the rear headlight to burn constantly when its in reverse or the rear headlight is selected. You could then hook up the front headlights on separate functions so they can flash.
tallcapt - Welcome to Trains.com! [C):-)]
Received mine the other day. I love the way it runs and the sound is spot on for a GEVO. I would like to tone down the brake squealing feature though and it would be nice to hear the air compressor kick on once in a while. (Maybe I just haven’t figured it out yet). The ditch light flashing problem will have to be fixed if this is going to be running as a lead unit. I plan on purchasing a UP ES44AC to run with this one. If I have to I’ll just make it the lead unit. This is my first Intermountain unit and other than the decoder issues I am very pleased with this product.
Tim
BTW - I’m lucky… I get to play with the real NS ES40DC units when I’m not modeling!
Thanks!!!
I recently purchased a Intermountain GEVO at the National Train Show and it came with alternating ditch lights which I want to change. I reviewed the Soundtraxx manual on Hyperlight effects and using various CV’s have managed to change one light to constant and the other alternating!! You mentioned in your post that you changed the ditch lights to constant. I would greatly appreciate it if you would give me the CV’s that you used to effect this change.
Thanks
Changing the sound board won’t change the sound. What you need to do is change the speaker, which is easily done. I used a Railmaster bass reflex model. Plenty of room and all you have to do is remove the rear radiator to change. Here’s a link to solve some of the lighting problems.
http://www.railfanreading.com/Layout/Prototype/CP8705/CP8705.htm