What DCC System are people running


That Amperage draw, especially at Stall is very important to the decoder you select. You will need to either meter that or possible look for a newer motor with less draw. I have seen some decoders rated around 2 amps. Also since the engine is all metal, grounding the decoder is going to be a big concern.
 
That's what I was afraid of. So in other words, those of us with older stuff may have a heck of a time trying to convert them to DCC.
 
unfortunately, the older equipment justs takes you out of the plug and play that is designed into the new engines. The Wiring discussion, about which wires go where, that i had earlier in this thread with Willis becomes more of a norm. so the install takes a little bit longer.

The real concern is to make sure none of the decoder touches an metal. which will mean some kind of insulated plate to mount the decoder on to prevent dead shorts or "flying clip disease" as we used to call it in the Dynatrol days.
 
Thanks for the explaination Bill, I'll definately not want old stock decoders , now with all my out of the Blue Box Athearns, and I forgot about the Trainline, all I have to do is either buy a mating recepticle, or cut the plug off a P&P decoder and hardwire it. With a new decoder are there references for the wiring on the plugs?

Cheers Willis
 
Willis,

Several suppliers sell the Harnesses separately. Instructions for wiring should be in the package, but shouldn't change from what i gave you earlier.

Bob A.
 
Most decoder manufacturers sell their decoders with different harnesses; one is for the NMRA 8-pin, one has no plugs at all; these are the ones that are hardwired. Of course, some are made to fit a specific loco (like a Kato).

I had a handfull of no-plug ones: I sent a few to my pusher who put a NMRA 8-pin on them, so now I have an assortment of harnesses to fit whatever situation I run into.

And, this is important to me, because when I grab a loco to do an install, the last thing I want is to not have a part or item to complete the task. When that happens, usually I lose interest in completing it, and it adds to the locomotive dead line. As in, locos disassembled, parts lost, no decoder, lost track of what needs to be done, etc., etc. Waste of time and money.

Kennedy
 
Most of the new generation of decoders have an ultrasonic-type function. from post #59
Thanks Bill good info I'll keep in mind before I order anything. I plan to get decoders first so that when I purchase a command station I'll be ready to run all the locos on DCC, also the command stn. will have the latest software or whatever, the big drawback is I won't know if the decoders are servicable till then :( The layout is easily manageable with one walk around and one of the double Tech II's I have, but let's face it one handheld that will do it all is pretty hard to beat.

Cheers Willis
 
locos disassembled, parts lost, no decoder
Hi Kennedy, kind of curious, you have a good point there about the plug ins. Is there a supplier of mating recepticles that one could install in (his/her) locos?
Cheers Willis
 
Some vendors sell the male/female 8pin plugs, but you'll need to do the soldering on the dinky little pins for all of the different wires. And, we're only talking about 8 of the 9 wires (I think the purple one doesn't get a pin, but can't be sure).

I usually have the males put on the harnesses, which allows me to use other decoders in locos that already have the female plug installed.

Kennedy
 
Thank's Kennedy, hmm pretty near lost this thread. Soldering is no problem, seems I've spent a lot of my life doing just that. When I order it will be decoders with plugs, hope they are the female end. Sounds like you have a good system setup.

Cheers Willis
 
I'm lazy, I usually collect all the unused harnesses, cut them to various lengths and then put them all into an envelope and send them to the guy I buy most of my decoders from and have him do it. Eyesight is a limiting factor in my situation; I'm having some problems with soldering tiny stuff. He charges me a nominal fee, which is usually a lot less than the handful of decoders I'm buying at the same time....

:D

Kennedy
 
Eyesight is a limiting factor in my situation; I'm having some problems with soldering tiny stuff.
Hmm! come to think of it them plugs and pins could be mighty small and the irons I can see could be pretty big. Maybe you have another good idea there.
Cheers Willis
 
HaggisKennedy said:
And, you didn't have to program in Hexidecimal (which Digitrax still requires). That was what sold me.

Kennedy

On our Super Chief, you can click the right throttle knob (DT300 & 400) while programing to change into normal decimal mode.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I started out in DCC using a SUPER Chief. One of the reasons I choose this system was its expandability and it came with a DT-400 throttle. As someone incorrectly stated earlier Digitraxx high end throttles CAN be prog using Dec or Hex. Nice for me so I don't have to do any converting in my head or on paper just hit the right throttle knob and it will toggle back and forth between the two. (as stated by LGM). ANother neat thing about the DT300/400 throttle is when you use four digit addressing all you have to do is set one CV and it will ask you if you want to set the other two and it does it all for you. Very simple so I use four digit addresses on all my loco. I am very biased because Digitraxx is all I know but I am very happy with it..
Terry and WILMA
 
I am using a Lenz with a 100 cab plus a Lenz 90 cab. About an even mix (10) of Digitrax and Lenz decoders. Have been very happy with the Lenz. This gives me both pushbutton and knob speed control cabs. I use their USB computer interface with DecoderPro for easy programming of the decoders. One of the reasons for going with Lenz is they use the RS485 network protocol. Having recently retired with 42 years in the computer field, I felt very comfortable with their choice of protocol. My scale is HO.
 
I am just starting out with model railroading again after a break of 25 years.I decided that DCC was the way to go.I am building my railroad in the United Kingdom.I am buying all my equipment when I am in the USA which is about 3 times a year.
I decided on Digitrax,I have bought much more than I will ever need so I will sell excess items on Ebay in the UK where it is very expensive and in short supply.
So far I have.1 Zephyr 2x DSC100 2xDB150 1xDT400 1xDT300 1xUT4R 2xDT100R 1xUR91 2xUP5 1xUP3 1xDS64 1xSE8C 1xPS515 1xPS315 2xPS12 4xSIGNAL DRIVERS 3x EDGE MOUNTINGS 2x TERMINAL STRIP KITS 3XSIGNAL MOUNTING KITS DECODER WIRE.
I am looking forward to getting back to the UK so I can start on my DCC adventure.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am just starting out with model railroading again after a break of 25 years.I decided that DCC was the way to go.I am building my railroad in the United Kingdom.I am buying all my equipment when I am in the USA which is about 3 times a year.
I decided on Digitrax,I have bought much more than I will ever need so I will sell excess items on Ebay in the UK where it is very expensive and in short supply.
So far I have.1 Zephyr 2x DSC100 2xDB150 1xDT400 1xDT300 1xUT4R 2xDT100R 1xUR91 2xUP5 1xUP3 1xDS64 1xSE8C 1xPS515 1xPS315 2xPS12 4xSIGNAL DRIVERS 3x EDGE MOUNTINGS 2x TERMINAL STRIP KITS 3XSIGNAL MOUNTING KITS DECODER WIRE.
I am looking forward to getting back to the UK so I can start on my DCC adventure.
After much thought I decided to go with NCE and I have never looked back,NCE is so simple to use.I recomend it to anyone,
 



Back
Top