Intermountain New release with ESU

[oakcreekco]

I've already composed (and deleted) two rants about how IM does things. I think they're crippling the hobby at this point by declaring a stake in certain models which in turn discourages other manufacturers from producing, and then delivering next to nothing, including cancelling offerings made while the market was interested. Supposed IM models I ordered five years ago are still "taking reservations". Bah. They'll never happen.

Helluva business model.

Yet people still get "the vapors" over their junk.

[peteski]

The off-white connector at the far end of the model clearly looks like Next18 socket to me.  I also see "ESU" lettering on the front LED board, but I assume that it is produced by IM as part of the locos electrical circuitry, not by ESU.  ESU has not used black solder mask on their PC boards so far.  Not sure why there is such a rats-nest of wires there, since with custom made top and front PC boards, they could have made the connections much much cleaner. 

[C855B]

The off-white connector at the far end of the model clearly looks like Next18 socket to me. ...

You're right. I should've counted pins. The Next18 sockets I've seen have the PCB contacts not quite as obvious.

[squirrelhunter]

Did anyone ask if old shells would be backwards compatible? Or if the new chassis will only fit under the upcoming run of F7's?

[kiwi_al]

I was trying very hard not to comment but...... The thing that really gets me with the picture of the mechanism is all that loose wiring on top, it makes me think back to the old Mehano loco's decades ago. If we are going to be paying $200.00 to $300.00 USD for these surely they could tidy up the wiring!!! 

[peteski]

I was trying very hard not to comment but...... The thing that really gets me with the picture of the mechanism is all that loose wiring on top, it makes me think back to the old Mehano loco's decades ago. If we are going to be paying $200.00 to $300.00 USD for these surely they could tidy up the wiring!!! 

Yup, rat's nest of wires.     With 2 custom made PC boards (the top and front ones), why didn't they designed them for shorter wire runs?

[kiwi_al]

Yup, rat's nest of wires.     With 2 custom made PC boards (the top and front ones), why didn't they designed them for shorter wire runs?

Exactly, I'm gobsmacked at that picture eh! Shall I be charitable and say that it is a preproduction sample and that the production run will be better? Nah it'll be the same.

[GhengisKong]

Did anyone ask if old shells would be backwards compatible? Or if the new chassis will only fit under the upcoming run of F7's?

If the redesign is supposed to correct the ride height issue, I'll be interested to see as well. We'll probably know in 5 years, though.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I am hoping the wiring is just a pre-production job. Why, why are we not using the flat ribbon cable for LEDS that have been used in cell phones and laptops for more than a decade?

Does anyone have a full list of announcements from Springfield?

[drgw0579]

Since I wanted a couple of these, I checked with IMR.  The wiring is completely Pre-production.   Won't be in the production models.  Everybody can relax.  It's not 1970 afterall.

And Yes, the old shells will fit on the new drive.

Bill Kepner

[squirrelhunter]

Thanks Bill! I've got a pair of T&P F7A's that need sound, so I guess I'll get on the waiting list for a couple.

[learmoia]

Since I wanted a couple of these, I checked with IMR.  The wiring is completely Pre-production.   Won't be in the production models.  Everybody can relax.  It's not 1970 afterall.

And Yes, the old shells will fit on the new drive.

Bill Kepner

Production models will have colored wires

[EspeeGoldenState]

Since I wanted a couple of these, I checked with IMR.  The wiring is completely Pre-production.   Won't be in the production models.  Everybody can relax.  It's not 1970 afterall.

And Yes, the old shells will fit on the new drive.

Bill Kepner

Well that's a plus. But not sure if buying a trio to swap chassis for my KCS units would be worth it. Wish manufacturer's would offer just DC chassis for sell sometimes.

[drgw0579]

they show DC, DCC, and DCC sound on their website.

[peteski]

they show DC, DCC, and DCC sound on their website.

That seems logical since the loco's "motherboard" with Next18 connector will readily accept a dummy DC plug, or any Next18 decoder (with or without sound). You can buy the DC model, then install a decoder of your choice.  I wish BLI did this too.