Precision Craft Models F3 ABA

[amadeus]

I just purchased a new set off ebay. Does anyone out there own one of these? How exactly do you run an ABA set, i mean is programming required? Or will it just run straight out of the box?

 

[DeaconKC]

Welcome to the place.

 

[trailrider]

I just purchased a new set off ebay. Does anyone out there own one of these? How exactly do you run an ABA set, i mean is programming required? Or will it just run straight out of the box?

Is it DC or DCC? If you are asking how an ABA set runs, the A units generally face in opposite directions, with the B-unit sandwiched in between. That is so the locomotives don't have to be run around a wye or turned around somehow to run in the opposite direction. If DC, it should run in reverse just fine. If the set is in DCC, most likely, it should be programmed already to run in either direction just as is.

Let us know if you have any questions.

 

[amadeus]

Thanks. It is dcc. Do you know what this vertical socket is for?

 

[bnsf971]

Thanks. It is dcc. Do you know what this vertical socket is for? View attachment 274134

That’s for plugging one engine to the other.

 

[amadeus]

That’s for plugging one engine to the other.

Thats what I thought but the guy selling it says there are no wires and its brand new.

 

[migalyto]

That’s for plugging one engine to the other.

Would there then only be 1 decoder in the A unit and the other 2 would run off of the A unit decoder via the plug?

Or did all three have a separate decoder?

 

[trailrider]

If you are already set up for DCC, I would place each one on the track separately, and try to run them individually. Not sure what address you would use. You might have to do a reset on them. If one A unit runs backward and the other two run forward with the same setting, they are programmed to run A-B-A together. If two of them don't run at all, they may not have decoders, or they need that jumper to run from the decoder on the lead A. Do the other two have the plug? It might be the B-unit would need to have a plug with male connections at one end and female at the other, or both the same. Push comes to shove, you might have to get inside and jumper around the plugs.

 

[bnsf971]

Thats what I thought but the guy selling it says there are no wires and its brand new.

Here's a pic I found on the 'net of the wires:

It's possible the male plug is stuck inside, and will need to be fished out so you can plug it in. And yes, they will almost certainly need to be plugged in to each other in order to work correctly.

 

[amadeus]

Here's a pic I found on the 'net of the wires:
View attachment 274160
It's possible the male plug is stuck inside, and will need to be fished out so you can plug it in. And yes, they will almost certainly need to be plugged in to each other in order to work correctly.

Thank you very much. That makes sense.

 

[Iron Horseman]

I just purchased a new set off ebay. Does anyone out there own one of these? How exactly do you run an ABA set, i mean is programming required? Or will it just run straight out of the box?

Yes, I have that set but not looked at them for 20 years. But what the others have guessed is true. The "A" unit has the decoder and the "B" just has motor and speaker. "B" will not work unless plugged in. I don't remember how the second "A" is configured. I only ran them once when I first got them (20 years ago).

Precision Craft is really Broadway Limited, they used the Precision Craft name during the MTH lawsuit era to get around the "back emf" issue that MTH claimed to own.