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Reply to "MTH enters S scale market"

Originally Posted by up148:

25 years in "O" scale 2R and 5 years (off and on) in "S" scale and IMHO the SHS locos and rolling stock are right up there with the very best of any plastic RTR products in "O" and better than many. Very quality built models. My SHS F units do have a whine while running but as Rusty stated nothing objectionable and the accuracy is outstanding. My greatest fear with the MTH takeover is they will replace the SHS horizontal drives with china drives so they can fit their electronics inside as Lionel did with their new "S" products. I really, really dislike the china drive even though its better now with all the electronics controlling it than before. My new "O" 3rd Rail E7's have a very smooth horizontal drive that I think will overshadow the china drive in "O" in the future.....or not. I really don't know how the 3R guys feel about it and they seem to control the "O" plastic RTR market.

 

Butch

Butch,

 

MTH is not Lionel. MTH has the standard horizontal drive in HO, so there's no reason to do away with it in S. MTH already has full-featured DCS in HO with DCC compatibility, so the size of the electronics is not an issue.

 

Lionel's method of "broadcasting" the TMCC signal limits how much they can presently minimize the electronics.  The receiver components are only made so small.

 

That's what delayed the U33C for so long, trying to squeeze all that stuff into a smaller, S Scale package.  Add in the DCC compatibility that Lionel is working on, and it gets even tighter.  They will have a hard time squeezing it into an even smaller locomotive.  Lionel has indicated that a smaller locomotive with all the electronics and China Drive may have to sacrifice one motor.

 

Rusty

 

 

 

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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