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 Posted - October 23 2013 : 08:04:06 AM
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All excited, I took my brand new BLI J engine of N&W livery down to my club layout last night. Carefully removed it from the box, set it up on a side track, got it all hooked up. Sync'ed up my DT402 with it, hit the sound button, WOOT! Hit the bell, DING! Nice! Fired up the engine, and rolled it down the track slowly. Hit the first switch, a curved Shinnahara or however it's spelled, tender came off, shorted the track. Hmm. Pulled it back, set it up again, ran it backwards, went through another switch on the straight side, tender derailed, Digitrax system beeped, short. Yikes. Pulled it up set it back down again, rolled it forward to the other end again, another derail, another short. Sigh. Getting old already. Went backwards again, back through the other switch, derail, short, then POOF! I saw a tiny puff of smoke out the side of the tender, and that was it. She was a full on runaway after that, No more bell or whistle, no control. I sadly packed it up a bit later, after another club member tried his throttle on it, too. Fastest $200 I've ever seen mis-spent. What decoders does BLI use, Lenz ? Are they THAT sensitive to shorts? My club has an articulated that can make it around this layout, a few hiccups here and there, but I couldn't even get this J off one section of track without it derailing! I did let it run free without control around the layout once, and it derailed twice, both times going through switches straight, at the tender. I think the wiring pigtail was forcing it off, it was twisted a bit, but geez. Tender seems light to me. Will take it back to my train shop, hopefully the warranty will be in effect. Not a happy moment, I was looking forward to taking it to the TImonium show this weekend and running it. Guess not.   . So much for my first sound-equipped loco. BIG disappointment.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 10:20:22 AM
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Jerry,
What a bummer! That is sad. It seems the prices go up and the quality goes down. Have you contacted BLI?
Regards, John *************************
Everything happens to me. Now I'm shot by a child. <> Tom Chaney - True Grit
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 10:47:29 AM
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Given how easily one could have a short circuit, it seems irresponsible that the decoder was not designed to protect itself from that problem.
I saw that same puff of smoke from a diesel cab window at an open house once, and that reaffirmed my home-layout practice of doing analog DC with rheostat control. It's a pity that choice is ruled out in the club world.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 4:33:25 PM
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Jerry,
That sucks! I've had issues with BLI now 3 times, and probably will not EVER buy another one again.....Reason? EVERY ONE, has had a short and killed the whole DCC system in the loco's, AND because they were new ought to have had a warranty right? NOPE they were "new" OLD stock, no longer covered! AND now, I got 3 nice size loco's that have no sound, no DCC and don't run till I either hard wire then Analog, OR pay $300 plus to get the new electronics for inside them.....As that "short" as fast as you can be, your not fast enough! And the old stuff used in them, is no longer carried and have to "upgrade" to whats being used, now.....in their new releases.....
Hopefully, you can return that model and get your money back, OR replaced with an exact model of the one you have!
~John
Many have tried to, and failed, ya just can't repair stupid... 
Do NOT try to Idiot-Proof anything!!!! God, will simply create a better......IDIOT!
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 5:20:27 PM
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It is covered, it's not directly through BLI, but another company reselling them, but my boss at the Train shop said it would be 100% covered, as it IS brand new, just overstock/end of stock deal.
And as far as DC rheostat control, you can't have multiple engines running unless you do the (now) unwieldy process of block wiring. And what about the sound effects? DCC has revolutionized the model railroading hobby, allowing many trains to run at one time on the same rails. It made modular railroading possible for club members, and public displays possible. With block wiring, that would be a non-starter, too much work to do for a display. WHile there are drawbacks with some DCC systems, I'd say it's limited to the manufacturer who makes the mistakes.
One repair guy I talked to at the shop today when I took my J in, said that BLI has the wires coated now, not truly insulated, so they can be rubbed bare and then short. I was reading on the Model Railroader Magazine website about BLI engines, one guy was asking Am I the only one? in regards to quality, and many chimed in, saying the older Blue line Paragon engines were fine, made in Korea, the newer ones are made in China, Paragon 2's, and those are the ones having major problems now. Mine is a 2. Shame I only got to use it 5 minutes. But I saved $195 on the purchase price!!!  
EM-1, I don't know why they didn't cover yours, BLI has a sterling reputation ( so far ) of fixing any engine they sold, if they're under warranty. Not sure what your situation is regarding that, age, etc. but no one trashed their repair service, just about all of the posters said that BLI went out of their way to fix them. Obviously any over 1 year old might be out of warranty, depending how long you had it. And since the new China made ones took over from the Korean made ones, and they're designed differently, you're right, they can't get the parts for the older ones anymore. Other people said they put different decoders in them themselves, that the originals had problems, etc. Long as mine is fixed ( and I just got it last week ), my Train shop boss said it is covered, I'll take his word on it for now. Whoever he deals with apparently is good at covering the repairs for him, he did say I may not get that road number exactly, but long as I get a J that works, I"ll be happy. Too bad it won't be in time for this weekend's show. 
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 6:21:03 PM
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Jerry,
Well the serial numbers on mine, were from 2004 to 2006, they said they weren't "new" as I got them un opened boxes and was trying to charge me for the needed repairs....Sadly, I sold them, but one....Which I'll rewire to work with Tsunami sound and all so.....As they have a WAY more forgiving reputation to work! Tsunami that is....
I've had them for less then a week or so when this all happened BUT they at that time were 3 or so years old, but new un-opened boxes when I got them so.....But, that has led me to try and steer clear a bit from BLI due to their old stock not having the parts for a replacement....and directed to spend more money to buy the same part of newer design for in the loco. As they no longer stocked the old parts for warranty repairs!
~John
Many have tried to, and failed, ya just can't repair stupid...
Do NOT try to Idiot-Proof anything!!!! God, will simply create a better......IDIOT!
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 6:40:33 PM
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quote:Given how easily one could have a short circuit, it seems irresponsible that the decoder was not designed to protect itself from that problem.
I saw that same puff of smoke from a diesel cab window at an open house once, and that reaffirmed my home-layout practice of doing analog DC with rheostat control. It's a pity that choice is ruled out in the club world.
Originally posted by scsshaggy - October 23 2013 : 10:47:29 AM
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Amen to that! That's how I got my name!
"S"tring boB
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 7:03:18 PM
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quote:| And as far as DC rheostat control, you can't have multiple engines running unless you do the (now) unwieldy process of block wiring. |
My LOTW, this week, is 42 years old. Your engine lasted 5 minutes. The one I saw emit the puff of white smoke was also brand new. For that difference, I'll do block wiring.
quote:| And what about the sound effects?. |
Having heard a pair of Big Boys laboring upgrade with stack talk that sounded, to me, like "pffft pffft pffft pffft" and not "CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF," I'm not disturbed by the absence.
quote:| DCC has revolutionized the model railroading hobby, allowing many trains to run at one time on the same rails. |
I realize this, and I don't mean to start any kind of flame fight or anything, but as for me and my household, we choose DC.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 23 2013 : 9:47:25 PM
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I had 3 BLI J's and every one would not run well on my layout. They did not like switches. I ended up selling all of them on ebay. I do have a BLI Mikado that runs extremely well on my layout as well as the diesel BLI's I have.
It seems to be hit or miss. BLI said they would tske a look at my j's but it was easier to sell them off. No complaints from the buyers.
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Posted - October 24 2013 : 08:59:46 AM
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My dad bought the Hudson that first came out and ended up with three of them. One of the main rod screws kept coming out, and finally it got lost, resulting in replacement #1, which did the same thing, resulting in replacement #2, which he had me sell on eBay for him and that was that.
I had one of their E7s for a while, got it cheap, ran it to test it and it ran fine and then I sold it too. As someone who grew up without the sound, I don't need it or want it.
And I had a Bachmann On30 Forney blow up the decoder on me once, too, I don't know what was wrong with it but when it let go it darn near caught on fire, I checked it with the fuel bunker shell off and it glowed white hot. I made them replace that one.
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Posted - November 12 2013 : 11:03:10 PM
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2nd outing with BLI J unit - My club was having an engine pull contest tonight, so I had my repaired J unit back now for over a week, so I decided to take it to the club layout and try it out. Got there about midway through the pull contest, a couple other people ran theirs, not very successfully, and then I was asked if I was joining in....Yup!  I pulled out the BLI Paragon II J engine, still awesome looking despite it's first flunked debut a month ago. Got it set up on the track, powered up my throttle, and it came alive. Honked the horn, blew the whistle, and backed it up to the string of cars. I pulled 45 to start. Got it going, and it did fine, pulled them up the grade to the finish point, then backed it back down. Wanna try more, they said? I said sure, what was the last longest pull? 61, so I said put 62 on it. :D Restarted again, and it was huffing this time, but kept going. I kept it at about 45 mph scale, and it slowly made its way around the 2% loop, pulling the longer string. Chuff, chuff, chuff...up it went. Got past the first finish point, had to pull the 16 other cars up onto the grade, so kept going....slowly....stopped, had to back up slightly, get some slack, then took off again, pulled another 4-5 feet, stopped, I backed up a few inches to get more slack, then a slight running start, it kept pulling, didn't really slip, but it was right at that point. Success! I was told the last car had made grade, so it was a success. Yay!  Put'er in reverse, and was backing it back down the grade, no load really, then....stop...dead silence. Ah, no. Nuthin'. Engine was dead (again). Had lasted twice as long as last time ( 10 minutes vs 5 before ). Waited a few minutes, tried again...still dead. Darn it! Well, at least it completed the contest ! So the judges conferred, and handed out 3rd and 2nd places, then ...I won 1st place! Prize was a $50 gift certificate from <wait for it...> BLI. Kinda ironic. My first engine pull, with my first sound-equipped engine, a BLI, and it wins, but dies.  at the same time. Anyway, I helped clean up, and then go home, I pull it out of the box, and set it up for DC operation. Hit the throttle, and it , huh?, powers up, sound comes on, and runs. Ok, so maybe it was just a bit overheated from the pull. Will try it with DCC at my Hobby store job Thursday, see if it works as well again on DCC. I don't have my DCC at home set up yet. So a rather bittersweet night, would have liked to have run the J more, but oh well. Hopeful it was just over-exerted a bit, and will be fine. I'm still not sure about BLI quality right now, the 2nd place guy had a BLI A engine, but his was 6 years old, probably Korean made, not Chinese. He said he's not had any problems with his at all. I just hope they got the repairs right on mine, and I won't have any normal running problems with it. Need to get my home DCC set up so I can test run it and break it in. I really stressed it tonight, but for a $400 engine, it SHOULD be able to handle an engine pull contest.
Well, at least it's not totally dead, I can run it DC if nothing else. Hopefully DCC will be working again when I take it to work on Thursday.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - November 15 2013 : 07:48:46 AM
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Well, I'm happy to report that the DCC function still works. Took it to the Hobby job Thursday, and using the Digitrax Zephyr system, I checked it out, and reprogrammed the address to 613, and it does all it's supposed to do...WHEW. Was worried I'd burned out another decoder with the heavy usage and Engine Pull contest. Guess it just needed to cool down. I won't stress it that way again for a long time.  I just wanna pull some N&W passenger cars with it now. Got a show this weekend, but don't think I'll get them ready by then. But I may run the engine a bit on Sunday. Anyway, all's well that ends well, I suppose, and my first sound-equipped engine is OK right now, so I'm . Last to report on this engine for now.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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