DCC loco on DC layout


H

hefyjefy

New Member
My layout is DC, I never went DCC hoping that someday the hobby would move into the 21st century with battery power, still waiting but that's another story.
The locos I have bought so far have been "DCC ready" meaning I suppose that they do not have a decoder. However my most recent one is DCC, according to the box it should work just fine on DC and it indeed it seems OK. My question is whether it would be better to remove completely the decoder, does it affect the running (ie more current)?
 
The motor and any lighting is what will determine the current draw in the main. Being DC/DCC compatible, or as usually known "Dual DC/DCC" would make minimal difference. The usual method in this case is for the model to have a DC lighting/motor control circuit board to control the forward/reverse functioning of the lighting, so only the appropriate one operates to match the direction the controller has been set to. The DCC decoder is usually an add-on, plugged into that board, to give it that capability also. Who is the model's maker?

DCC ready, usually indicates the presence of a lighting/motor control only board, but with either just an 8 pin socket or both an 8 pin and 9 pin. The extra pin allows for an additional function, usually a modeler installed extra light, such as a beacon, Mars or similar, powered by the DCC decoder.
 
A lot of the DCC locomotives are dual mode. My home layout is DC only and will remain DC, but my club is DCC of course. Located in the old Northern Pacific depot in Livingston, MT, it does present problems for most locomotives having a two and a half percent grade. I had been looking for Northern Pacific locomotives for the transition era that I model at home and got this Walthers F-7 A-B-A set that can handle the grades.

With a lot of the weight removed to make room for a decoder and speaker in most DCC locomotives, these F units with their wide hoods were just what I needed. I also have a two and a half percent grade on my home payout and here they are in action.


Of course running on a DC layout I have no control on the sounds, but that doesn't bother me as they were purchased to run at my club.

No harm should come to the locomotives running them on DC as they were designed for this.
 
OK many thanks that's what I had guessed I will leave well enough alone. The model is a Bachmann GP9 62809.
 
Looking at that model, they describe it as "DCC on Board", so it's possible that it has a manufacturer specific dual DC/DCC decoder. Often a manufacturer contracts a decoder maker to provide decoders built to their specifications for exclusive use in their models. Bachmann has had a long association with Soundtraxx, the makers of both silent (such as this one) and sound decoders. They also make another for Bachmann when DCC/Sound is fitted to their models under the brand name of "Sound Value", based on Sountraxx's Tsunami decoder. That decoder also supports DC operation, but with a couple of less sound functions e.g. no diesel start up or shut down sounds.

What you will find, if you should ever get any, when running sound decoders on DC, is that the sound stops, when the loco stops because there is no power being applied to the track and therefore, neither the decoder. On moving the control knob, to move the loco once more, there is a delay in the sound beginning again, until the voltage on the track, attains 6-7 volts i.e. you have to advance the control till that happens. Usually there will be no movement either until the sound returns.

A DCC/Sound fitted loco, running on DCC powered/controlled tracks, will continue to produce sound and any lighting, even when standing still, because, while the system is turned on, there is full power/voltage being supplied. Control of functions is by digital commands.
 
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