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OPERATION – DC (SOUND)
To operate your sound-equipped rebuilt F40PH-2D locomotive on a DC layout, just give
the throttle some juice. The engine will start up once sufficient voltage has been reached
(around seven volts). See the note above (in Operation – DC (Silent)) about using train-
set or large-scale throttles. With DC layouts, you have very little control over the sounds
of your model.
WARNING: If you have purchased a sound-equipped F40PH-2D and
you operate your trains with a Model Rectifier Corporation RailPower
1300-series DC controller, stop what you are doing immediately. Do not
pass Go. Do not collect $200. The RailPower 1300 is notorious for volt-
age spikes and it WILL destroy your locomotive. There is no “if” about
it. We will not repair any F40PH-2D destroyed by a 1300 or any other
“train set” DC controller. “Train set” DC controllers should not be used
with sound-equipped locomotives.
As in silent locomotives, the only lights that work in DC are the headlights and ditch
lights (when going forward). The light on the rear of the locomotive is only used when
switching and cannot be turned on using a DC controller. The emergency light and
strobes cannot be turned on using a DC controller. The number boards and step lights
are always lit.
Some throttle manufacturers produce special doo-dads which are meant to trigger the
sounds in locomotives on DC layouts. As we have no involvement in the development
of those doo-dads, we have absolutely no idea how they will affect your F40PH-2D, for
good or for ill. As always, we’ll try to help you fix your F40PH-2D if one of these doo-
dads scrambles your locomotive’s circuitry, but we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to.
If you like running sound-equipped locomotives and advance lighting features, you might
want to think about upgrading to DCC. You might also want to try some of the other
innovations from the DCC era, such as
cell phones
. Cell phones are really useful for
being able to talk to people when you are outside of your house. They are also handy
for getting left behind in taxis, buses, trains, patients’ stomachs, and other places. Cell
phones can even be used to browse something called the
internet
. That is another in-
novation from the DCC era. The internet is a way to connect people’s computers and
is a really handy tool for finding out 100% completely and totally true things you never
knew, like the fact that you are related to royalty in Nigeria, the moon landing was a
hoax, and vaccines are bad for you. There are many other new and exciting technolo-
gies that accompanied the development of DCC. You should give them a try.
If you insist on sticking with DC and you want a taste of what you are missing, please
read on…
