Uninstall DCC

[jkyu55]

Bought a locomotive (Kato) with DCC, nice engine for my 9 yr old son. I'm sure one day all his engines will be DCC but for now they are not. Was wondering how hard is it to un-install the dcc ??? Stone

 

[Cjcrescent]

Most, if not all DCC decoders are dual mode. This means that the locomotives will run just fine on DC, with no reason to remove the decoder.

 

[bnsf971]

Bought a locomotive (Kato) with DCC, nice engine for my 9 yr old son. I'm sure one day all his engines will be DCC but for now they are not. Was wondering how hard is it to un-install the dcc ??? Stone

It depends on whether it's HO of N scale. HO usually has an 8 pin plug to be removed, and the jumper plug that came with the locomotive re-installed.
N scale will require replacing the circuit board, unless it's a non-DCC ready unit. In that case, it's pretty involved.

 

[BRS Hobbies]

Stone,

Please let us know which Kato locomotive that you purchased. We can then let you know if it will also run in DC.

Best regards,
Brian

 

[jkyu55]

Sorry about the lack of details guys.. its a Kato GP35 H.O scale. The decoder shows to be a digitrax. I put it on the track and nothing, I disconnected the connector (unplugged it) and still nothing.. Building a Southern Highhood GP35 #2695 in the tuxedo scheme for my sons local switcher... Stone

 

[BRS Hobbies]

Stone,

Can you find a model number on the Digitrax decoder? Not sure if it is the case, but some decoders like those from NCE, need a CV change to put the decoder in dual mode if the decoder supports analog DC.

Best regards,
Brian

 

[jkyu55]

A note in the box the loco came in says

decoder 83fx and Digitrax DH140

I'm going to eventually make all his motors Dcc when I learn more about it. I use to be in the hobby then stopped. Now I'm a locomotive engineer in real life and decided to build him a decent 24 X 18 layout in my basement. My son lives in Texas, I'm in Virginia so he can only play with it for two weeks during Christmas and again in June July and August when he comes to spend that time with me. It's his motivation for staying out of trouble and getting good grades. He's 9, so he doesn't really care very much about little details.. he just wants to run a couple of trains on his mainline and maybe do some switching in his city, and wants a little street running.. He hsa like 40 motors, UP SP and BNSF and like 100 freight cars.. a few of his motors were damaged after last years earthquake and I'm epairing them one at a time.. long process.

Stone

 

[BRS Hobbies]

Stone,

Thanks for the information.

Digitrax has made a DH83FX and a DH140 decoder. If you remove the shell, you should be able to determine which decoder is installed in your locomotive based on the information printed on it.

If the decoder does support DC (analog) operation, the locomotive will not move until the voltage is above 5 to 6 Volts DC. When operating decoder equipped locos on DC power, increase the voltage quickly from zero to five volts for best operation.

Decoders that use the Digitrax 9 Pin Decoder Interface can be easily removed from the loco and replaced with a Digitrax DHDP Dummy Plug (purchased separately). If your locomotive has a Digitrax 9 Pin harness, than this would be the way to go to get the best analog operation.

Best regards,
Brian