I'm thinking of getting my first dual mode DC/DCC locomotive for my DC layout. Does anyone have this locomotive running under DC, and if so how well does it perform? Do the headlights come on before it starts moving, as it should. Is the throttle responsive? How's the sound (I'm deaf)? And anything else you could comment on would be appreciated. Thanks John
I have five BLI dual mode engines (paragon 2 and 3) that I run on my DC only layout. I love them for their sound. You need to purchase the DC master analog control module from BLI (about $45.00) in order to activate the bell and whistle. This device also enables you to change cv's which I found I had to do to enhance performance because out of the box performance was not good. Playing with the minimum and maximum voltages made all the difference in eliminating start and stop issues with these engines. My track work is far from perfect and I now have these engines running great. For us old time DC guys the joy of adding sound has really added pleasure to my model railroading experience.
Thanks for your response. I got the unit and frankly was disappointed to see it run in DC mode. It would move forward, then stop and the annoying cab light would come on while the headlights remained on. Sometimes when coming to a stop the reverse headlights would come on even though I hadn't changed direction on my handheld. After a half hour or so I returned it and got a P2K unit which runs very well after I modified the lights so the numberboards are on all the time, and headlights bi-directional. Nowhere in the instructions did it talk about the DC master control module; if I had known about it I might have tried that.
