No, there never will be. The motor contacts are not isolated from the frame. Only way is a hard wire job. Mike
Guys, I realize this is an old thread, but I just acquired my first one of these, and I'm mightily confused. Here's the first page of the circular that was included in the package. Note the instructions for DCC conversion. Please tell me what I'm not understanding.
I will second that motion. I just did this for a customer and it was straightforward right down the middle. but I used a TCS MC2 Decoder. It was a flawless installation. Thanks David Epling Nevada Pacific Custom Model Trains Repair & DCC Installations Stockton, CA
There is a second option for installing a decoder in this locomotive, using a TCS CN decoder. It requires cutting two small groves in the front of the light board retainer at the same height as the other groves. Then solder and insulate the motor wires and finish the installation per the TCS instructions. I don't have any step by step photos, but here is the finished product. I know it's only a minor difference, but with the TCS decoders the LED's are already a part of the decoder. Again just another option for this locomotive for those who might be a little intimidated trying to install a DZ decoder.
Supposedly the next production run (announced last summer) will be more DCC-Ready than the previous release. Cheers, -Mark
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There is enough room in these to put in the wired decoder and use the existing board for all the connections and the LED’s. When I did mine back in 08 I made up a tutorial. Here’s the link http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/search/label/Loco: Walthers GP38-2 Brad Myers Peninsula Ntrak / AsiaNrail My Blogs: http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/ http://www.palisadecanyonrr.blogspot.com/ http://tokyo-in-nscale.blogspot.com/
I have 6 of these locos that I really do not want to sell. So I'm taking 2 of them and will do an install like Brad Myers shows in his blog and one like pastoolio (Mike) shows in page one of this thread. Now off to order the necessary decoders....
Thanks for this. I just tried my first real wired decoder install (Digitrax DZ-126) on my Walthers/Life-Like GP38-2. It was the last thing I bought from a local hobby shop that closed down several years ago, I thought it would be a good project to add a decoder to. I FAILED MISERABLY. I blame no one; the tutorial was actually helpful, an entire evening dedicated to a nice wired decoder install turned into a night of much frustration and cursing. I'm just a total klutz when it comes to these kinds of things. I think I'll avoid wired decoder installations from now on.
Hey we all fail miserably from time to time. If we haven't we aren't putting ourselves out there. What gave you problems? My later installs where much easier than the first one or two and since I haven't done one in a while I expect the next one to go slower. The decoder is under $30 so if it is bad not a big investment is needed to try again. Sumner
See Spookshow"s review of all three issues of this locomotive. Go here: Walthers/Life-Like (China) EMD GP38-2 (spookshow.net) You got the third issue (2015)
Just realized I responded to an old post from 2013 but how did he get a locomotive in 2013 when Spookshow says it wasn't issued until 2015???
Since this is a old revived thread (with very helpful instructions)..... one change that happened since this thread was started is that Atlas bought Life Like. So we can assume that Atlas will one day re-release this loco as decoder and even sound ready. As I write this, Atlas has slated an RS-2 for this year. Still a lot of Life Like locos to go.
Thanks. Actually, all is well now. I just needed to clear my head overnight and start fresh. Basically the problem was, despite wiring everything carefully and testing the loco with the shell off (everything worked fine), once the shell got on (which was a very tight fit, and the dynamic brake piece was starting to pop up from the shell), I got no power. I believe the analog board (which I only used for power pickup) got slid loose due to the accumulation of wires and the headlight LED resistor. Long story short, I solved it by taping down the decoder and all the wires down onto the chassis with Kapton tape (previously I just had them loose on top of everything). Now it works and I finally speed-matched it, and the loco is now a full-fledged running member of my power fleet! It wasn't a clean install though - I botched the analog board rewiring bit so it only acted as a pad to solder my pickup wires (I cut a hole in the middle to accommodate my LED resistor). I also thought I lost the cab font window shield piece that goes in front of the LED - until I found it crushed on the floor in 3 pieces - I had to haphazardly glue it back together. And I gave up on wiring the rear headlight because it was already getting too crowded inside with wires, and locos rarely ever use their rear headlights (unless it's a switcher, a DPU or a Norfolk Southern locomotive). So I snipped the yellow decoder wire and the extension to the blue common positive wire. So, lessons learned: Don't rush things and always, ALWAYS tape down your wires in a wired DCC install, no matter how much space you think your shell has. (Yeah I know the cab looks like a tanning salon inside - I might just paint the windows black on the inside to block the light (I'm using an 0612 SMD LED so a heatshrink tube jacket around the light won't be of any use).
Instead of painting the windows, try painting the SMD LED. Using a thin layer of black, the brightness will come through.
I actually want the light to shine bright through the headlight lens, but not though anything else. The SMD gives off a big glow from a tiny source, so I don't know how painting it would help.
