I’ve never had anything weird happen at all. Then again, I use NCE (Never a Curious Event). [:o)]
Ken remember that MRC is not DCC. As long as you stick with quality equiptment DCC should be pretty reliable and the advantages are too numerous for me to even consider building a layout with DC cab control. This is a discussion about a bad decoder and a bad manufacturer. But DCC itself is a great system and improving all the time.
The MRC decoder in the challenger IMO is really designed with DC operation in mind. If you look at the manual there are all sorts of instructions for programming and running the loco with the little remote that is included. I’m not even sure that the analog operation can be disabled because it should always run from its remote as long as it has power. Like anything else with questionable quality, I think luck has a lot to do with what trouble or lack thereof you have. Claycts, I think you have a particularly bad one, and Brunton looks like he got lucky. It seems the only real solution here is to replace the decoder, but if you choose to send it to Athearn I am interested what they have to say.
The Challenger is sitting on a DEAD SIDING, no power at all. If it makes 1 sound I have a Colt Python with hdro Shocks and I WILL cure it!!
I have sent this back to then after the 1st problem 4 months ago. They had it for 1 day and using my Fedex account NDA back to me. It worked for about a month. Now it is back to where it was. There was no letter or anything with it.
You are 100% correct that this was a DC loco to bridge the gap between DC and DCC so that they could entice people into DCC. If this was what DCC had to offer I would have run the OTHER WAY!!
I have been more than happy with DCC and Digitrax equipment. I have been very happy with the MRC Tech IV I use for alternate power. This thread is like sitting at the bar with a beer and talking to the bartender. Nothing will happen to change things but you feel better after you talk about it.