Trouble with my lionchief alien recovery set

Am I the only guy in the world that bought this set? Not even a single reply? Help!

I have one on order for my grandson but it hasn't arrived at my Local Dealer as of yet.

 

With that said I did run one in Aug at the Lionel Open House and that does not sound familiar.

Did you check with Lionel Customer Service yet?

No, something is definitely not right with it. You should not have to turn it off.

There maybe a larger underlying issue. I was at the LHS last Saturday and a couple brought in a similar diesel set.
Issues focused on a non-responsive loco or a bad remote. Not enough time to pull out and setup due to an influx of customers waiting to buy so the LHS owner was easy going and took the customers word and offered an exchange or refund.
The customer opted to exchange and upgrade to a conventional set and expressed a courteous disastification with the remote technology.
He and his wife were middle age and bought the set for "him."

Obviously one or two bad apples won't upset the cart...

I did not get in contact with Lionel service, I'm going to head back to the dealer this Friday. I picked it up at trainfest and was pretty excited because I wanted a remote train for my grandson to run. I sure am glad I tested it before having him over. That would really have put a damper on things. Sommerfelds in Milwaukee has always been fantastic about taking care of any issues I have run into. Jack and Matt are top notch guys to deal with. I'll fill you guys in when this is straightened out. What a disappointment though, Lionel, C'mon, you are rolling out this new technology to attract the young families, this type of issue would really slow that down. I work in manufacturing and I can tell you that this lack of quality control is disturbing. If it would have been tested just once on a test track, this would have been picked up. Geez.

Don, of our staff, purchased an Alien set at Allentown.  We just put it on the track a few minutes ago and it's running fine. Controller knob rotates from forward to reverse smoothly, just as it's supposed to.  No need to stop and re-start or turn anything on and off.

 

I was there with Don and Allan when we ran the Alien Recovery RS-3 and the engine ran perfectly, both in forward and reverse. Plus the sounds are just neat.  Had a ball actuating them.

 

However, when I ran it later after they walked away from our test layout, I found that (blush) I needed a little pilot training before I got the Area 51 RS-3 to run smoothly.

 

Again, the sounds are just nothing but fun! Glad I ordered a set.

 

Drat, where is a 5 year old to show you how to use a remote when you really need one

 

Oh, by the way, the remote has an on/off switch.  Works better in the on position.

 

Ed Boyle

RE: These new Lion Chief sets.

 

Was looking at one online dealer's site and had a question. Anyone know why there's a ~$50 difference between the Alien and Scout sets? Both are RS-3 locos with 3 pieces of rolling stock. Same amount of Fast Track, etc.

 

What am I missing?

The two sets are not the same.  One uses the new LionChief wireless remote system  and the other is uses conventional transformer control.

 

The LionChief remote is part of a simplified command control set that provides excellent sound quality coupled with operating characteristics that make it easier to run, in my opinion, than using a conventional transformer. Thoroughly enjoyed operating the Area 51 RS-3 earlier this afternoon.

 

The Alien set has digital sounds that are just plain, great fun (see earlier post).

 

Hope this starts to answer your questions about the dollar difference between the two sets. They may look the same but they have significant differences and my vote is for the LionChief version.

 

Also, I have seen young persons react to the LionChief approach to train control and they react positively almost instantly because they are so used to working with wireless handhelds.

 

Ed Boyle

 

 

this is just a guess at the $50 price difference, but it could be the more expensive set has metal couplers, springs in the trucks....basically, slightly nicer rolling stock.  Maybe someone with the Area 51 set could comment on the trucks/couplers of that set.  To me that is worth the $50 if that is true.  Again this is just a guess

 

sorry I don't have a solid answer...

Thanks. I was thinking along those lines, too. Maybe something not easily noticeable.

 

BTW, Train World has the exact same pricing. About 50 bucks more for the Alien set.

did you check lionels web site the retail price is 100 different.

 

6-30207

http://www.lionel.com/products...1F1D&PageID=2109

 

 

6-30206

http://www.lionel.com/products...1F1D&PageID=2109

The Santa Fe Scout is definitely LionChief, not conventional.  My guess is that the price difference is because of the extra alien-themed sounds in the Area 51 set.

I have the set and it runs perfectly.  The trucks on the engine and coupler are all plastic.  The capsule car may be a bit more expensive to produce.  I also agree the extra sounds could be adding to the  cost difference because they are certainly not generic.  More like "out of this world".

Confirms what I was thinking all along. Thanks.

Likely it is due to a licensing fee to use the alien likenesses. The Martians can be difficult to deal with, especially the greys.  

JDFonz,

Are you running the train on your layout or the included FasTrack?

 

Are you using the DC wallwart that is included or AC power?

 

Here's what I found running the Thomas remote.

1. I turned the voltage down to 14v using a ZW-C to prevent my grandson from launching Thomas on the curves. He's almost 2 1/2 years old. Thomas would get finicky when he stopped. Needed a little bump to get the idle sounds and work again.

2. The layout is temporary at this point. The grandson Godzilla'd the track. Thomas began the no response. I discovered a few poor track connections and dropped in another feeder. Now Thomas is very useful again.

 

The same story as any train. Proper voltage(18v), good track connections and good power distribution keep them running well.

 

Test it on the included FasTrack loop (carpet central) with the wall wart power supply. It should work fine.

 

Tell us about where and what your running it on for more help.

 

BTW-The LionChief Polar Express ran well on the current setup.

I also have a Thomas set for my grandson and the remote all of a sudden stopped working after a year of no problems.  I took it to a local dealer to show him and then it all of a sudden started working again.  That was three weeks ago and it has been working ever since.  No explanation but probably a connectivity problem with the remote.

I initially started running the alien set with the wall wart on its small loop of track ala carpet central. The trouble started right away. I then took it down to my permanent layout to try and had the same results. I turn the remote on, go forward, it works fine. If I stop it, or reverse it, no response. In order to get the loco to move, you have to turn the remote on and off. And yes, brand new duracell batteries are in place. Horn and sounds are cool, except a bit too loud. Anyone know how to turn it down a little? if I get it to work, I may just put some tape over part of the speaker to "turn down the volume"  Like I said, tomorrow, off to Sommerfelds to see what they say. Hopefully I can exchange.

got the Peanuts set, and plugged it in,  good to go, ( 1st time),  got over excitement,

then later that night, plugged it in, and ooppps,  why isnt the light red, on track,

accidentally hit it, as I got up, and came on ,  Ok,  couple days later,  na-da, for 5 minutes.  checked everything, even email to Trainworld, and decided, what  is under the 4 screws, on operating track.   spread wires, more directional, in the connector box, screwed it together,  Not a problem since,  that has been about 3 weeks ago,

chinese operator just a little to quick making connections !!

good advice, I always do just that.

 

 

With regards to the RS-3 engine is it "dual or single motor" and is it/they "vertical or horizontal mount" ? 

There is a single can motor mounted horizontally in the truck.  Gears are also plastic, so you don't want to try pulling 25 cars.  I added 5 cars to the set and the engine seemed able to handle that without any problems.  You won't be able to pull the entire Area 51 collection of cars with the RS-3.  For that reason, I would love to see a more substantial engine produced for Area 51 enthusiasts.