How many prefer to buy DCC equipped vs. DCC ready?


I have two Atlas Shays that need to be dcc. They are still waiting for me to do them. I just turned 67 and my hands failed me. Not to sure but i may have screwed the pooch on one of them. The jury is still out on that one yet. My question is why don't these folks sale there engines all dcc ready or dcc'ed from the factory. Shays are not even dcc ready. Knowing how to do it and doing it are two separate things when it comes to N scale. My way is not easy but the factories could have done it easy. No options here.
Atlas said when they made the Shays there was not way to make them DCC ready or equipped. That's been some time ago, hopefully that state of the art has progressed to the point now where at least a basic decoder can be installed.
 
I'm not sure what all of the manufacturers are doing but my son just bought an Atlas Alco C-425, DCC ready. It has both the 8 pin plug, and the new 21 pin plug. The speaker is even in there, pre-wired. It's a true plug & play. Very nicely done.
 
Personally I have no issue with saving a bit of money and installing the decoder myself. Typically you save about $40-50 and the Digitrax decoders I buy from Yankeedabbler are about $25-26 dollars so I'm ahead about $15-20 or so. This buys another car or most of another decoder. I have done a few non DCC ready frames requiring hard wire but they are a PITA I usually ship those off. I'm curious as to what other people like to do when you purchase locomotives? Opt for convenience and RTR or perhaps save a bit of money? It makes no difference really its just personal preference I am just curious.

I am after sound decoder equipped locomotives now and would prefer to buy them with the sound decoder already installed. I have installed around 15; or, so non-sound decoders in many of my locos. However, I have found installing sound decoders to be more difficult to the point of feeling paying the extra cost to be worthwhile.
 
I prefer DCC equipped if new but no sound. Problem is that it is becoming hard to get a new engine (steam or diesel) that is DCC equipped but not also sound with a big jump in the price.

Rapido seems to be the instigator of only two choices. Basically they warned me not to try and DCC without sound an RDC as the non-DCC version did not have the internal setup complicated wiring to support adding a non-sound decoder. Rapido said only want to manufacture 2 versions. Non-DCC and DCC Sound which I kind of understand from a manufacturer's point of view but does not help me with a hearing disability that makes nearly all sound equipped locomotives sometimes painful. Lately Bowser and Athearn seem to support the two choices of DC and DCC sound only now. Again I am pretty sure that DCC equipped non-sound just don't sell well enough to support ordering them from the manufacturer.

I usually cave and pay the higher tariff to buy the DCC-Sound version and just use F8 to silence the locomotive if it gets painful.
 
Saw my doctors this week and they said that swelling is normal. It will get better. so they say...:( Off the meds they were giving me and i am in pain! I have to grind my meds up and put them in my soup, pudding or whatever. Can't eat anything normal that i would. I told the doctors about this and they said it will get better, it takes time....:rolleyes:o_O I just love Doctors to shreads!!!!
 
On this thread again, The place for the dcc chip is in the oil tank or in my case the wood box in the cab. The dz126 fits really good. My hardest issue is the motor. The motor sets on a flat spot with its contacts touching power rails and the fun... is getting the wires from the motor turned around fo me to solder them to the chip. The newest version did something else that was stupid. Instead of two screws holding the motor to the chassis the new model uses four clips made of plastic and makes it even harder to do the engine and chassis connections. Big Time Bummer..Bad idea atlas!!
 
I forgot to put the picture in for the last post. It's a bit blurry, but like I said shakey hands... now if I can get over this surgery and maybe get rid of the shakes I can finish both of them.
 

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I've been trying to install a digitrax decoder into my Kato E5A. Have put it in and taken it out three times. Locomotive works with the original light board installed on DC, Is completely dead with the digitrax installed and tested on dcc. I've given up. May be a faulty decoder, but I have no way of testing. Extremely frustrating. I will be sticking with pre-installed from now on. Even the process is not a "simple" "drop in" as they advertise.
 
I've been trying to install a digitrax decoder into my Kato E5A. Have put it in and taken it out three times. Locomotive works with the original light board installed on DC, Is completely dead with the digitrax installed and tested on dcc. I've given up. May be a faulty decoder, but I have no way of testing. Extremely frustrating. I will be sticking with pre-installed from now on. Even the process is not a "simple" "drop in" as they advertise.
That is one of the easier ones. You do need to make sure there is tape of some kind over the metal frame underneath where the motor outputs go, or the decoder will short, and be dead pretty much instantly.
 
The tape was used exactly as described both in the instructions and in Mike Fifer's YouTube video. Wrapped around the outside of the brass power rails, covering bottom, side and top completely where the motor connectors touch it.
 
Personally, I'll buy DCC equipped engines. I tried converting one DC/DCC ready engine once and made a mess of it so for peace of mind (knowing it is right from the outset) I buy all DCC equipped.
That's more or less why I just buy DCC equipped ones where possible. I'm not particularly anal retentive about my locomotives being completely right in the model, so it's less of an issue than it could be. That being said, if I had to have a particular model that isn't DCC, I'd consider doing it myself or more likely finding somebody to do it for me. I already have a DCC locomotive, I can afford to wait and save my money to pay for one that either has it already or for somebody to do it for me so that I don't have to worry about making a mess of it myself.
 
Depends on what it is. If it's something I want that fits my layout (another transition era modeler,) and it has DCC with sound, I'm getting it. If it has DCC w/out sound, I'll install sound. If it doesn't have DCC, I'll install it, w/sound.
 



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