Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on May 31, 2016 17:48:16 GMT -8
Trainworld had Alco S2 on sale last week and I bought one, opened it up and pulled out the jumper plug and plugged in a decoder. I put it on my NCE programing track and it read MFG and MODEL numbers just right and when I put in a long address I could see the drive train jump like it was taking the information. I then put it on the track, the head and tail light, LEDS, came on just fine. I acquired the loco address and throttled up..........waiting and waiting and nothing happened, zip, zero, nada.....so....I located another decoder sitting in a box and plugged it in, addressed it and saw it tweak like before and then I put it on the track. Total repeat of the first thing. btw none of the function buttons on the controller showed any response, light was on and stayed on no matter if I hit "0" or the LIGHT button.
So, I took the little machine upstairs, fired up the soldering iron, pulled the little black covers off the power wires on the board and soldered them in place. Worked the same with both boards, would read them on program track, the lights come on but Not a damned thing happens. Also put jumper back in and put it on address zero and it buzzed like a dc unit on dcc. I spoke an epithet or three and brought it upstairs and returned it to the box, (nicely packed btw it would pass the James unboxing test with great praise, guys!)
I was contemplating do I return it to New York or Philly? 
I slept on it.
Today I decided to poke around in the layout room and found an old MRC Twin Throttle gold box, glued a 2' strip of Atlas flex to a 1x3 and went and mowed the lawn while the caulk dried. After the Green Machine was parked for the day I hooked the wires to the little gold box and fired it up, it buzzed like the neighbor lady's muscle massage machine with a fresh D cell in it. I put the S2 on the track cranked the throttle and it lit up like Christmas and zoomed off like Thomas. Next trick I guess is try a known working decoder out of something else, although the first on I tried was a brand new out of the box Loksound noisemaker.
Anyone know of any idiosyncrasies with the Bachmann board that I might try I know I had to cut a capacitor off the Shay I put sound in 2 weeks ago? Would a hard wire, still in my limited skill set, be better? I know it's a Bachmann what do I expect for $40. I know it does run on dc so no point in bothering Trainworld or Bachmann about it.
So, I took the little machine upstairs, fired up the soldering iron, pulled the little black covers off the power wires on the board and soldered them in place. Worked the same with both boards, would read them on program track, the lights come on but Not a damned thing happens. Also put jumper back in and put it on address zero and it buzzed like a dc unit on dcc. I spoke an epithet or three and brought it upstairs and returned it to the box, (nicely packed btw it would pass the James unboxing test with great praise, guys!)
I was contemplating do I return it to New York or Philly? 
I slept on it. Today I decided to poke around in the layout room and found an old MRC Twin Throttle gold box, glued a 2' strip of Atlas flex to a 1x3 and went and mowed the lawn while the caulk dried. After the Green Machine was parked for the day I hooked the wires to the little gold box and fired it up, it buzzed like the neighbor lady's muscle massage machine with a fresh D cell in it. I put the S2 on the track cranked the throttle and it lit up like Christmas and zoomed off like Thomas. Next trick I guess is try a known working decoder out of something else, although the first on I tried was a brand new out of the box Loksound noisemaker.
Anyone know of any idiosyncrasies with the Bachmann board that I might try I know I had to cut a capacitor off the Shay I put sound in 2 weeks ago? Would a hard wire, still in my limited skill set, be better? I know it's a Bachmann what do I expect for $40. I know it does run on dc so no point in bothering Trainworld or Bachmann about it.
