Another Atlas GP30 Question

[peteski]

Oh the wires are terrible. I broke a set swapping out a set of truck frames. Luckily I was able to just substitute the traditional wipers. Really wish they would go back to the wipers.

Not a fan either.  IMO, huge step backwards.  Back to the Mehano/Model-Power/Life-like days.     Yes I know,, these are somewhat improved over the old stiff wires, but the concept is the  same.  Hopefully Kato doesn't choose to go with the same design (I doubt they would).

[Iain]

Sounds like I should avoid buying new Atlas locos.

[peteski]

Sounds like I should avoid buying new Atlas locos.

I think Athearn is dong that too now. Not sure about Scale Trains.

[squirrelhunter]

Sounds like I should avoid buying new Atlas locos.

No, just have a few sets of the old pickup wipers on hand. It's easy to snip the wires off the truck pickups and the plugs on the other end of the wires aren't hard to push out from the inside of the frame.

I mean to buy a GP38-2, a loksound decoder and speaker, you're pretty much in for as much cash as just buying a factory version with sound. And that is before factoring in the time to do the install.

[Iain]

I also have zero interest in sound.

I am curious if the non-sound GP30s are coming with the hollow fuel tank; this can be an advantage because that'd be a place to shove a slug of tungsten.

[kscessandriver]

I also have zero interest in sound.

I am curious if the non-sound GP30s are coming with the hollow fuel tank; this can be an advantage because that'd be a place to shove a slug of tungsten.

My understanding is they all come with a speaker now, in the fuel tank, regardless of if you buy a Silver or Gold version.

[spookshow]

I'm definitely not a fan of the wires, but I'm not going to freak out about it until it actually becomes a problem. I've gone the hand-wringing route with similar things in the past and the chickens never did come home to roost.

-Mark

[Steveruger45]

I also have zero interest in sound.

I am curious if the non-sound GP30s are coming with the hollow fuel tank; this can be an advantage because that'd be a place to shove a slug of tungsten.

Iain,
Quote from Atlas as follows,
N EMD GP30 LOCOMOTIVE PHASE 1
Built in the 1960s by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, the GP-30 Locomotives were four-wheel truck road switchers that were used in heavy-haul freight services throughout the country.

Features:

Golden-White LEDs
Directional lighting
Dual brass flywheels
Low-friction mechanism
Factory-installed AccuMate® magnetic knuckle couplers
Accurate painting and lettering
Atlas Master® Silver version is Sound Ready and equipped with speaker for easy conversion to DCC sound.
Unquote.

So the non sound locos appear to come with a speaker anyways.  Just pop it out, insulate and “fill er up” with tungsten.

WRT to the truck wires.  I am not that bothered by them but ...  Removing a truck now means pulling the loco completely apart and pressing out the wire ferrules from the inside of the frame.

[tehachapifan]

What would be the point of going back to wires vs. the pickup strips? I've had virtually zero problems with the strips over the past 20 years or so.

[Steveruger45]

What would be the point of going back to wires vs. the pickup strips? I've had virtually zero problems with the strips over the past 20 years or so.

Hi Russ,
I can only surmise it’s because they stick the speaker in the tank and those contact strips, we are all so familiar with, would get in the way of that by reducing the depth and/or width of the recess they could make for the speaker.

[spookshow]

You could be right, Steve. But my theory is that DCC-Sound decoders are a lot more finicky when it comes to having constant current conductivity and the wires help in that regard.

-Mark

[peteski]

You could be right, Steve. But my theory is that DCC-Sound decoders are a lot more finicky when it comes to having constant current conductivity and the wires help in that regard.

-Mark

I don't know. Tehachapifan runs sound decoders and stated that he has no problems with the conventional pickup strips. Neither do I, or others I know who run sound-equipped models.  Pickup strips in my experience are quite reliable.  Steve's hypothesis for the pickup scheme change makes sense to me.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I don't know. Tehachapifan runs sound decoders and stated that he has no problems with the conventional pickup strips. Neither do I, or others I know who run sound-equipped models.  Pickup strips in my experience are quite reliable.  Steve's hypothesis for the pickup scheme change makes sense to me.

But we, as a group, are really focused on maintaining our equipment. We polish those contacts and pickup points. The average Joe is going to run this until the contacts oxidized and wonder why the sound is so crappy. Sure contacts work, but are a bit more prone to minor contact loss.

[peteski]

But we, as a group, are really focused on maintaining our equipment. We polish those contacts and pickup points. The average Joe is going to run this until the contacts oxidized and wonder why the sound is so crappy. Sure contacts work, but are a bit more prone to minor contact loss.

I disagree.  Plenty of the NTRAK folks in my club don't maintain those strips and they are pretty reliable.  And even if one does start misbehaving, it is  still easier to clean it than it is to resolder a broken wire. And they make servicing a breeze - the trucks just drop out.

Like I said, one member's loco had holes in the bearing cups worn by the axles, but the pickup strips were fine.  Those locos had hundreds of hours of running time (the guy runs them entire day of the show on a loop on his module. He has done that for years without any loco servicing). 

[CBQ Fan]

I just hope DCC and sound aren’t counterproductive on DC products.