A DCC question


R

RIRRfan

Member
Not entirely sure where to post this but...

My rail road is not DCC.

If I bought a DCC ready loco. How would it preform on a non DCC layout?

(Doubtful I'll buy one but just in case)
 
I don't operate on DCC and probably never will. However I have 3 Bachman engines that are DCC equipped and they run on DC just fine. The key point seems to be the engine is equipped with a dual mode decoder that will allow it to run either way. Both MR & MRN have engine test reports in every issue and report the results in both DC and DCC modes. Reading through a few of those should give you an idea of what to expect from an engine with a dual mode decoder.

DCC ready is basically a DC only engine with a circuit board that will take a DCC decoder. I have 5 Atlas DCC ready jobs, they run extremely well. DCC ready can mean almost anything but my Atlas's run constant brilliance / directional lights off the DCC ready circuit board. So still a DC only unit, it has the headlight features already installed which is a big plus from back in the good old days when you had to build a circuit and wire it up yourself.
 
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Ok great info. Thank you.


I was wondering what DCC ready actually ment. Seems like the model is built to accept DCC decoders making it a faster process to being fully DCC capable.
 
You should be set
DCC ready means that you have a DC loco that can be converted to DCC.
There is no circuitry in the LOCO to support DCC, but as a minimum your motor is isolated and the wiring will support it.
 
Yes, DCC Ready means all that and that there is most likely an NMRA standard plug with a jumper in it in the loco. If you want to convert, you remove the jumper, replace it with your choice of decoder and you are ready to begin working with DCC.
 
Ok thanks guys.

I'll have a single lay out so Dcc isn't a priority at this time. If space comes available I can always upgrade.
 
Gus, if it works at all, it must be a problem with settings. The general rule with DC/DCC engines is that if they run okay on DC, they should be just as well or better on DCC, but with more do-dads. If they don't run well in DC, they'll probably be entirely crappy in DCC.

So, if you have a decoder in a B'mann engine, and you are vexed, it suggests to me that the various CV's that control movement need some spanking. Figuring out which, and how many swacks, is the puzzle. It generally means getting into the manual for the decoder and pondering your next best guess. Try dither, torque compensation, V-Start, and so on.

-Crandell
 
Crandell, I plan to spend a few hours (I hope) tonight messing around with it. Hopefully I'll get it working properly....:(
 
It's a bachmann engine meaning that the circuit board has capacitors. The capacitors need to be removed for proper DCC operation
 
DiB...Remove the capacitors even though it came equipped with the decoder..?? I would presume that the decoder would be "compatible" with the board it's plugged into....But then, you never know with these Chinese....:D

I know that with the first B'mann engine I bought (DCC ready), I had to remove the capacitors after installing a D'trax decoder in it....After that it worked fine...
 
The capacitors are there because of some European electromagnetic interference standards. They will cause DCC operation to be erratic and unreliable.

Bachmann knows that the capacitors cause problems. Removing the capapcitor is part of the instructions that come with the loco.
 
I popped the tender open last night with the very malicious intent of cutting the capacitors off....Look Ma...No capacitors..!! At least none that I could recognize (little yellow saucers...). All the components are surface mounted, and they consist of rectangular chips with several soldering pads.....Nothing that looks like a capacitor, induction coil, resistor...anywhere. Sooooo....
I should'a taken a picture...but the "joy" was so overwhelming, I just buttoned it back up...:mad:
 
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Update....Here's a pic of the offending board...Could those widgets labeled C1, C2, etc...in the upper left hand quadrant be the capacitors..??
 
All I see is a Google Earth photo of a refinery complex with some huge hoses sticking up out of it. :rolleyes:
 
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