Newly arrived Atlas Dash 8-40BW

[peteski]

I tried to order some of the ESU 54650's direct from ESU for the hobby shop I work at earlier this week and was told directly by ESU that it was discontinued with no replacement at this time.

That is true.  That LokPilot V4 decoder was simply a "neutered" version of their LokSound decoders.  They were discontinued when they finally started producing the LokSound 5 version of that board (couple of years ago), and they didn't produce the non-sound version of the new board.  Not sure why. Maybe the 54650 didn't sell well enough.  All V4 decoders are discontinued do to lack of availability of the discontinued microprocessor chip used on those boards. At least that was how ESU explained it,

[peteski]

The Atlas Dash 8-40B, Dash 8-40BW and Dash 8-32BHW mechanisms were completely redesigned to support DCC Sound and this is the first production run of said redesign.

I'm going to pull the speaker out and run it around for a while, see if it still cleans the track.

-Mark

Or you can just take straight piece of Unitrak place the loco on it, lift it up to your eyes and look to check how much clearance there is between the rail head and the tank. If you happen to still have the previous release of Dash 8-40BW, you could compare the gap.

[kiwi_bnsf]

All my other Atlas locos with factory ESU Loksound do have speakers that protrude slightly into the fuel tank area.

The new fuel tanks have a negative space to allow for the speaker, and I've had to mill out a similar space when swapping fuel tanks from older shells. Some of the Atlas fuel tanks look like they had been milled from existing stock, and some were new mouldings.

I wonder if the Atlas factory has forgotten to modify the fuel tanks in this Dash 8 run?

My two Dash 8-40BWs with ditch lights are scheduled to arrive next week, and I'm looking forward to exploring what is possible with shell swaps from the original release and where a custom speaker and capacitor can be best fitted.

I suspect that I'll be firing up the milling machine!

[spookshow]

I ran mine without the speaker for a few hours and didn't get any skid marks, so I put it back in and.... skid marks!

You can actually see the gap between the sidesill and the fuel tank when the speaker is installed -



Speaker removed -



It's not much, but it's enough.

-Mark

[Steveruger45]

Are there any molded ridges inside the fuel tank that could be shaved off with a #17 blade for example?

[spookshow]

No, nothing like that. It's just flat.

-Mark

[crrcoal]

Anyone know if Atlas is aware of this issue and if they intend to address it?

[spookshow]

Dunno, does anyone from Atlas still hang out here?

-Mark

[kiwi_bnsf]

No, nothing like that. It's just flat.

-Mark

Okay, so Atlas definitely forgot to put the recesses in these fuel tanks.

All the ones in my factory ESU sound fitted have recesses like this one in my GP35:



I've milled recesses in older fuel tanks with good success. For those wanting a factory fix, I would get in contact with Atlas support and I'm sure they will come up with replacement/swap option.

[MK]

  [placeholder] UNABLE TO UPLOAD PHOTO DUE TO TRW UPLOAD FOLDER BEING FULL  [placeholder]

Tim, upload to your Gallery directly first and don't add to a post.  Then copy the URL of your gallery picture and paste into your post (at creation or as an update later).  I don't know if this is a temporary bug (uploading while in message posting) or that's the new way of doing things.

[Southern1970]

Okay, so Atlas definitely forgot to put the recesses in these fuel tanks.

All the ones in my factory ESU sound fitted have recesses like this one in my GP35:

  [placeholder] UNABLE TO UPLOAD PHOTO DUE TO TRW UPLOAD FOLDER BEING FULL  [placeholder]

I've milled recesses in older fuel tanks with good success. For those wanting a factory fix, I would get in contact with Atlas support and I'm sure they will come up with replacement/swap option.

Hi Tim, what are you using to mill the inside of the fuel tank?  I’m limited to a dremel at the moment.  I ended up repainting the fuel tanks to match the shell I’m swapping for the atlas factory speaker equiped frames I have.

Cheers
Allan

[kiwi_bnsf]

Tim, upload to your Gallery directly first and don't add to a post.  Then copy the URL of your gallery picture and paste into your post (at creation or as an update later).  I don't know if this is a temporary bug (uploading while in message posting) or that's the new way of doing things.

Thanks for the tip! I was able to update my post

[kiwi_bnsf]

Hi Tim, what are you using to mill the inside of the fuel tank?  I’m limited to a dremel at the moment.  I ended up repainting the fuel tanks to match the shell I’m swapping for the atlas factory speaker equiped frames I have.

Cheers
Allan

I use a Proxxon MF70 micro mill. I clamp the fuel tank in a micro vise and run the mill at more than 12k rpm for good control.

I have been suprised how often I end up milling plastic shells — it's very handy.

Apologies for the old phone pic — but here's a finished fuel tank:

[mdltrn]

I tried to order some of the ESU 54650's direct from ESU for the hobby shop I work at earlier this week and was told directly by ESU that it was discontinued with no replacement at this time.

FWIW, the Digitrax DN166I3 does work in this locomotive and works great. I setup 5 locomotives in about 30 minutes, including programming. I programmed all decoders with CV2 = 2, CV6 = 100, CV5 = 200 which provided a good starting point for speed adjustment. There is also a setting that allows the speed to be cut in half for protypical switch operations. The locomotives run smoother and quieter than the previous run.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

So there is no DCC only board for newer Atlas/IM engines from ESU? At least it appears NCE has a board that will fit. I have been using them with good effect. I really dislike Digitrax