Athearn SD70ACe review and comparison


J

julienjj

Noodle is good
ok, finaly got the hand on my sd70ace from athearn, here is a quick review, I also own an sd70m-2 from mth, and I have done some benchworking/measuring with them, result will follow soon.

The Unit come in the standart size Genesis box, but is dark blue, and has many manuals inside, one is a very very very detailled exploded diagram of about 18 pages of exploded view of the details part, mechanism, electronic, and lubing detail, in all possible Athearn variation for the m-2 or ace. I read the manual and I can confirm you that athearn has made the mold for a high mounted headlight with a whisper cab ( with the black gasket ).
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Unboxing

Unit is packaged in a RTR like fashion, two piece of molded plastic hold it from top and bottom and are slided in a plastic rectangle. Handrail are protected with foarm and the pressure point of the package are covered with a soft plastic sheet to prevent damage to the paint.
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The Cab camera is supplied as a separate parts, and must be glued, it is located in a slot over the locomotive. many people complained about the part missing, but finaly found it under the outer foam insert ( the slot goes all thru the foam).
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Overview

The details on the unit are very precise, and for exemple, the wipers are of an aftermarket detail part grade with precise molding and no bur. The side handrail are straight, but the front and rear are in a funny position due to the way they where molded. To be replaced in a near future
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Truck detail level is really high and even the emd logo was molded on. Decals warning are numerous and for the most part can be read with a magnifier.
Most of the frame details are glued on. The only mistake on my unit is the slighly angled jack pad

Cab detail is extremely precise, side window are "frosted-glazed" to simulate window tint. Control stand is detailled with all the handle and button, even the coffee holder is present. Not really essential is you ask me, but the roof make it easy to change the headlight. A really stupid thing would be to glue it, since the only way the cab interior can be removed is pulling it out from the top. glue it and no acces to the headlight anymore. When properly closed, the top do not look like openable.
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See-thru grills are present on this unit and the chicago blower inside is screwed on the frame. the blower is positioned too much to the rear(vs proto), but has been done to allow the truck tower to come out. Works for me. Unfortunatly the camera isnt able to see thru them:(. grills are etched metal and not painted on transparent plastic. Exhaust is also see-thru, as well as a little acces trap on front of it.
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Next post will be about ride quality and sound related stuff.

Athearn trailling with the MTH
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Higher resolution and more pictures on my flicker : SD70ACE and M-2
 
Too bad you didn't have a lighter colored MTH unit for the photo comparison. That black swallows up detail in photos. From what I've seen in your pics though, it looks like Athearn did a nicer job on the trucks and surrounding detail. Their handrails are also a bit finer than MTH's, though MTH's are more durable. Keep the photos coming. Fan detail on both would be interesting. Going to dirty them up? That's when the detail really comes out, especially on the black models!
 
to me the biggest thing I like over the MTH is the ditch lights. MTH has those gynormous boxes on them, while the athearn looks realistic.
 
I dont know how others mth work, but now the athearn, with much less run time <30mn than the mth is able to take off much slower, 2 time slower in facts, like a switcher. I attribute this to the fact that she is much lighter. Traction test was interesting. I used a billboard pin between the rail to hold an elastic that was also put into the coupler and alowed me to compare traction of the mth and the athearn. I also took out the nmra gauge to check the wheels

Results : final size of the elastic
Static, No wheel spin
Athearn: 12cm
Mth: 13cm

Dynamic, wheel spin allowed
Athearn: 12.3cm
Mth: 14.5cm

Conclusion : Biased test ! The athearn has 2 wheels no contacting properly the rail. Paper sheet test detected that. Will need to fix and redo



NMRA gauge check :

all 6 athearn axle are a go

the mth has one undergauged axle

I also have a DB meter. I will compare how loud the sound output. For now all I can say is that the athearn use the same speakers : AHD Dream 1.10" 8ohms .25W I have fixed the openning in the athearn baffle also
 
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julienjj said:
I have fixed the openning in the athearn baffle also
Click to expand...

If you wouldnt mind, could you please post a picture of how you fixed it and maybe a simple explanation or how to for this. My Athearn ACe every now and then sounds as if the shell is vibrating making the sound very crackly. Wondering if maybe its just a baffle issue. To be honest, I was afraid to take the shell off this one.

Im not sure if the BNSF units were supposed to come with the camera or not, but I definitely did not get one in my box. :confused:

Anyways, great looking ACe's you have!
 
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Here's a difference in the detail that most people miss. You see that large fan in the rear? On the MTH, it's a fan. On the Athearn, it's not a fan. That is because on the prototype, theres no fan there. Theres a dynamic brake grid under that grill.
 
Odd that the camera was not installed. My BNSF unit came with it installed (though a number board had fallen off.

I have an issue with the lead truck derailing while backing (I guess it would be the trailing truck, but the forward truck on the unit, when it is second over the points) over Micro Engineering switch points. It picks the points.

If I turn the unit around, the rear truck does not do the same. The wheels are in gauge...

Reading your post, I think it might be an issue with the wheels not touching the rails fully.

Time to experiment with cutting up the power buss on the trucks, and replacing it with #32 magnet wire, soldered in between the contact bushings.

Also, to note, my sound levels were fine, actually quite loud. I cut the master volume in half. Though the DB sounds will get drowned out by an BLI unit's (since you cannot adjust the BLI dynamic brake sound level, it is quite loud). I noticed when I removed the shell to weather the unit, the sanding lines lost most of their paint. They're now yellow (ick).
 
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From what I have read on other forums, is that the Union Pacific sd70aces that Athearn has released were some of the first ordered by the UP and came before the on-board cameras were installed, so they can actually fit 2 prototypes, as modern as can be, as well as pre-2005 or whenever the cameras were truly installed. Either way, a little dab of glue and you can catch all of those pesky derailments, etc...Hopefully that answers your question Josh and any others.......Either way I personally cannot wait to get my Athearn sd70aces for christmas, and thanks Julienjj for the pics and quick review.
 
I mesured the db level : 72db @ 15cm is the average max i get with the sound set at 225 ( default) ON IDLE, i lowered the bell cv to 90 to do not get nuts, and still the bell kicks at 74 db @ 15 cm. The MTH is actualy louder, with a blazing 84db @ 15 cm, but she has two speaker (same model than the athearn), and when rpm is high, sounding the horn saturate a little the speaker.

I will start playing with the equalizer ont the tsunami to try to squeeze the max of it, and I will upload the JMRI config here.
On a side note, has anyone tried to use jmri(with pr3) with the athearn ? mine doesent read too well, write ok thought.

diburning said:
Here's a difference in the detail that most people miss. You see that large fan in the rear? On the MTH, it's a fan. On the Athearn, it's not a fan. That is because on the prototype, theres no fan there. Theres a dynamic brake grid under that grill.
Click to expand...

Of course, why would they put the chicago blower under it if they had put a fan, they use a blower because air resistance is really high due to the tight resistor grid. On the MTH the see thru is not really see thru in the back, because it is obstrued by the engine weight and the grills is painted red, dosent bother me much since my CN unit is red and black, but would annoy me on a CSX or UP unit.

Other difference i noticed, the mth has sharp cab edge, but the athearn has a radius on them.

-josh, my sanding line where fine after opening the shell.
 
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julienjj said:
-josh, my sanding line where fine after opening the shell.
Click to expand...
Weird, maybe it's the silver paint they used for the BNSF units?

I'm going to touch them up when I know I'm really done touching it... Which means, after I figure out the front truck's issues.

Also, when I weathered mine, I noticed a ton of free space in the sides of the fuel tank, I filled it with BB's and gained .4 ounces on the weight, slightly better traction...
 
I asked athearn and they gave me some indication for the truck :

Thank-you for your inquiry. We regret to hear about the problem that you
have encountered with your locomotive. Please note that there are some
options for you to consider in order to correct the problem with the
trucks. There is a technique to fix the problem but it is difficult to
explain it in this format. First you must remove the trucks from the
engine. Place the trucks on a flat surface. (A piece of glass is the
best thing to use for this.) Look to see if all the wheels are touching
the surface. If they are not then it is a matter of twisting the truck
to bring all the wheels into proper alignment. Put each end of the truck
in between your thumb and index finger (of each hand) and gently
twist/tweak the truck with one hand going one way while the other one
goes the other way. Then check to see if all the wheels are touching the
surface of the glass. If not try it again with slightly more pressure.
Click to expand...

I will try it tonight

Ulrich Models has also announced they will sell an upgrade kit for the Ace, wich will include a styrene piece to fix the speaker baffle, a 0-ring to seal the speaker and LEDs to replace the ditch lights & headlight
 
That to me is just truly pathetic that an engine with that price point has to be repaired/upgraded right out of the box. If I owned one of these, I would send it back to Athearn and insist that they fix the sound baffling issue. I would also make it be known that the hand rails be upgraded and the lights improved on future models before I purchased another Athearn model.

I know this issue has been discussed ad nauseum on this and other forums, and I dont have a dog in this fight, but thats just what I would do if I took it out of the box and was as dissatisfied as some seem to be.
 
jbaakko said:
Weird, maybe it's the silver paint they used for the BNSF units?

I'm going to touch them up when I know I'm really done touching it... Which means, after I figure out the front truck's issues.
Click to expand...

My local Hobby Shop got 3 BNSF ACe and returned them to Horizon do to the paint coming off the sanding hoses. Also one came delivered with number boards missing and another one came without one ditch light. I was truly interested in these when they were announced, but now I'm not sure. The word in my area is to be cautious of the quality of these units.
 
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bigB said:
That to me is just truly pathetic that an engine with that price point has to be repaired/upgraded right out of the box. If I owned one of these, I would send it back to Athearn and insist that they fix the sound baffling issue. I would also make it be known that the hand rails be upgraded and the lights improved on future models before I purchased another Athearn model.

I know this issue has been discussed ad nauseum on this and other forums, and I dont have a dog in this fight, but thats just what I would do if I took it out of the box and was as dissatisfied as some seem to be.
Click to expand...

I agree about the baffling issue, but the handrails are nothing new. Athearn has been using the same handrails since the dawn of their RTR line.
 
looks like for the most part, only the bnsf units are problematic. maybe they where rushed out of factory too quick. Only a slight twist on the truck has resolved my wheel problem, I think the truck problem is caused by the way the box hold the unit, if there is an impact, the energy is transfered to the gearbox and twist it a bit.

Its not as perfect as its look on mth side too, mine had front ditch light not parrallel, slightly curved handrail, coupler boxes cannot accept regular kadee with cooper spring & is a DCC nightmare.

mth has to respect the NMRA RP and athearn has to respect their customers.

Who will learn faster ? time will tell...
 
julienjj said:
looks like for the most part, only the bnsf units are problematic. maybe they where rushed out of factory too quick. Only a slight twist on the truck has resolved my wheel problem, I think the truck problem is caused by the way the box hold the unit, if there is an impact, the energy is transfered to the gearbox and twist it a bit.
Click to expand...

I would agree on BNSF ACe. I saw a UP one and it seemed not to have problems, but then again I did not see it test run.
 
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