Thank you, that worked. I was careful enough not to pull of the whole thing but as you so accurately stated, it took more than you'dda' thunk.
Other than that, this thing is just as finicky as the Centipede. It stalls even on freshly cleaned straight and level. I do not know if Keep Alive works on DC (I am not a DCC user) but if it does, perhaps I should look into that. Failing that, perhaps there is a way to wire around the decoder. I have had to do that on B-manns and MP/MRC power as the factory decoders on those do not stand up well to DC; especially the B-mann.
Thank you for the tip.
You're welcome.
The spotty electric pickup issue was well documented here when these first came out. One problem is that the front and rear trucks (which are for picking up most of the power) aren't heavy enough or have enough force applied to them for reliable contact. This will be even worse in DC since the decoder will have to reinitialize, then switch to DC mode every time there is a power dropout.
A nifty solution was a 3D printed frame
@narrowminded (Mark) created and sold. The frame was installed over those trucks and caused the trucks suspension spring to exert more pressure on the truck., It worked really well, but Mark has disappeared and so have the ability to purchase the frame. One can build a similar frame from styrene, but the 3D printed frame much more handy.
I'm not sure if keep-alive circuit would work on DC. Never tried or thought of using it that way.
Here is the entire lengthy thread (with typical OT diversion, but worth skimming through all of it)
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=53543.0And here is where Mark introduces that 3D printed retrofit:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=53543.msg735266#msg735266BTW, it is a P5a not P4a.
