I am considering buying an Atheran RS3 engine, Having mostly Atlas engines on my layout, I am not to familiar with Athearn. Can any one out there tell me if the Atheran RS3 is a good quality engine, and if so, what DCC decoader will best fit in this DCC ready engine.
Good detail and a smooth running engine. This is the up graded MDC shell. That said I found they did not have the pulling power of the Atlas. On DC power they MU with Atlas fine.
The Athearn RS-3, while the most accurate plastic RS-3 model available, is not at the same level as Atlas as far as the drive goes. It’s still a good drive, just not a great drive. It’s louder, and doesn’t pull as much as any Atlas model. If you buy one expecting Atlas-like performance, you will be disappointed.
Having said that, I was able to move 20 cars on the flat with mine, and you can do the usual Athearn “tricks” or “tune ups” to get it to quiet down a tad (putting powdered toothpaste or lapping compound in the gear boxes to smooth them out…just make sure to rinse them off!).
The Athearn RS-3 is still an improvement over the older “blue box” drive, but it’s just not as good as Atlas.
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
Didn’t these come with decoders? Also, I thought the drive was somewhat improved.
Brad
It has a 9 pin JST connector.
Digitrax, NCE, Lenz, TCS and others have suitable decoders, pick a SMALL one with features that you want.
No, these don’t come with a decoder. A Digitrax DH123D works just fine, and fits into a small “tray” inside the body made just for this purpose.
And unless you need a working beacon or ditch lights, a simple motor & headlight decoder will do the job (like the DH123).
Just be careful taking the shell off. Mine was a little tricky due to the excess glue that had almost bonded the body to the frame. I was able to pry it off with a small screw driver…no damage to the model (thankfully).
Paul A. Cutler III
Weather Or No Go New Haven
I picked up a B&M RS-3 at a train show from the B&M historical socieity. I had this same exact problem, it took a bit of care and patience to get the shell off but once done I was able to install the decoder, in this case a Digitrax 123D as listed above without issues.