34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I was very happy with the 36-554 (and similar 36-553) for centre motor twin bogie drives. The basic drive is a good smooth one with such large flywheel equipped motors, and the CV3 and 4 range just about sufficient for lightly loaded diesel traction. When available at £10 this was a good deal in my book for a drive matching the Lenz Silver21, even though only suited to some chassis. TheF3 shunt speed and F4 inertia kill matching Lenz a welcome feature. Not suitable for steam locos for my taste, not nearly smooth enough with small motors even with the BEMF constants optimised, insufficient CV3 and 4 range for the slow accelerations of steam, inability to access the speed curve a real drawback for many steam chassis. (Never had the slightest trouble with address loss, neither system on/off or occasional short circuit trips have ever caused trouble on my Lenz 100 system.) Have tried an example of the 36-557. The basic drive is inferior, noticeably slightly more granuiar over the low speed steps. For me that's a killer; I look for a glacially smooth creep into motion and a smooth glide to rest. What's more there was often some graunchy noise to go with the visible speed variation at dead slow, so this one is a non-starter for me. Much more adjustment in the way of speed curves and CV3 and 4 range for anyone for whom the granularity is no obstacle, no trouble with address loss or any other trouble after a few induced short circuit trips and system on/off cycles. I'll stick with the Lenz Silver21 for the drive refinement it delivers. Will keep looking for a budget decoder to match the 36-554. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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