A while back it was mentioned that drop-fit decoders for the AZL GP7 and SD 75 were being designed. Do we have any updates in this regard? Thanks, Ajay
Ajay, AZL is working with a manufacturer to produce a drop in for the SD70s. I don't want to give any details yet, but we have a green light to go on the project and it is moving forward. After the SD70 drop in is done, we will look at the GP7s. It should be a very nice decoder! Rob
Hi Rob, Any update to these decoders? Also, for your information, I recently installed a DZ125 into my CN SD75 and found that the diagram provided with the locomotive for where the various wire colors are to be soldered is incorrect according to the DCC standard colors.
Tim, did the DZ125 fit? The oringinal diagram for the wiring of the decoders are incorrect. I think Ztrack publish the correct diagram, but I dont know which issue. Here is the link the correct color/pcb connections. Z Scale - Forums
The new DZ125 is still WAY too wide, 9mm. Similar now though in size to the Lenz Gold Mini but the CT Electronics DCx74z @7mm or the new DCx75D at 7.2 will fit in the cab area. Still waiting on the proper PC bd design from CT. Very soon though. But 6 wires are easy to hook up. .
Jeff, I am thinking of installing the 125 vertical rather then horizontal, but I am not sure if it will fit.
i thought there was a new one: DZ145 -- that was a smaller version of the 125. where is this on the radar? anyone used it yet? dave f.
the 125 is a smaller version of the 123 but adds back emf. back emf is useless to z scalers, because the loco will never stop, with our little motors drawing so little current, they just always run, and run too fast. I just disable back emf, and all the other wierd features to get balky locos to run. I just measured the 125 a couple days ago while talking to Jeff. it is the same width as the 123, but just a bil less long. Same size as a gold mini. it will fit in an SD70 fine, if you remove the cab floor/interior part, and sit the decoder inside the cab.
Yes - it fit inside fine with the removal of the interior, but you have to remove the shrink-wrap covering over the circuit board. The little circuit board just fits inside. Be sure to add electrical tape to the top of the chassis components before inserting, including under the original board above the motor, to prevent short circuits. You can get a short from the wires pressing down on the exposed circuitry onto the chassis. Now that I got the locomotives together I am going to have to rip them apart again to make them run better - I should have read the other posts, e.g. AZL SD75i BNSF Pulling Power! - Page 2 - TrainBoard.com
Update on the SD70 drop-in decoder. We recieved our first samples. They are exceptional, but required some slight modifications. We have pushed back to the manufacturer who is correcting the few faults we found. We hope to have another sample very soon. Rob
Oooh nice, Rob. So is there a good likelihood of seeing production versions before the year end? Thanks, Ajay
Rob, will these be 2 or 4 function? I'm hoping you'll say 4 but figure 2. It would just be nice to have the extra functions to do a bit more without having to re-engineer a different solution.
john, you wouldn't like them. i've tasted some already. they taste like metalic chicken. heh heh heh dave f.
Yes, the green Beta's taste really metallic, but the blue Beta's, now those have some fight in them! Yum!
