the plastic center part. The original wheels will pull off the defec-
tive shafts and fit straight onto the Athearn gears.
I soldered wires to both sides of the truck power pick-up,
and guided these to the DCC decoder. The LifeLike drive is
an updated clone of the old Athearn blue-box, and for all its
strengths, it does rely on the chassis for power pick-up. This is
fine when everything is new, but over time dirt and grime will
get into these places, and then problems start. The wires bypass
this all together and give a much more reliable pick-up.
For a decoder, I used a ESU Loksound Select Direct, with their
recently released GP9 sound files which sound fantastic. Also,
the Loksound decoders have some of the best motor control on
the market, so to have both in one decoder was an added bonus.
For me, motor control is most important. I love very slow crawls
and being able to pull away smoothly or stop without a notice-
able “yerk.” With this motor control, I can run this loco so
11
11. Masking tape removed.
