I have a few dc locos that I want to change to DCC. I know I have to get a decoder but I'm lost on how to install the decoder. I'm sure its a lot cheaper to do it yourself rather then to get someone to do it. Also I would like to keep learning hands on things. So please someone explain this process to me!!
Well, depends on what brand of locos you have. Athearn is different from Atlas and so on. Post that information and you will get the help you need. Shannon
Could you supply a little more info, please. Which scale and model, and how old is the model. For example, I believe some Athearn HO have sockets that the appropriate DCC decoder simply plugs into. There may also be some other modifications needed. If it's N scale then it would be a different approach hence needing to know the scale and model. There is a lot of installation information posted on the net. Some of this is on the decoder manufacturer's site - TCS and Digitrax have installation examples. Yes, it is cheaper to do it yourself but you need to be comfortable with soldering small wires and doing modifications to the chassis where needed. If you know anyone locally with DCC, ask them who did their installs and if you could have a look at the insides to see how it was done. That generally gives you a good idea of whether you would consider tackling the installs.
surely. I model in ho scale and they are athern blue box. They dont have the plug and play option. I am going to search the web. I just wanted to get everyones opinion on here as well. I am able to solder and things but there really isnt anyone around that is any help in my area. I asked my LHS but they are more into model planes and therefore are no help
Try the web site http://www.wiringfordcc.com/. They have a whole section on that site explaining how to retrofit decoders into DC locomotives. This is where I got my information when I took the plunge and starting converting to DCC. Here is an example write-up to convert an Athearn blue-box: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/ath_pa1.htm Good luck BNSF Fan.
Ouch. Probably not the best ones to start on. You'll need to isolate the motor from the chassis which means getting it out, soldering a wire to the bottom contact and resinstalling it with something to insulate that contact from the chassis. It'll be more obvious when you do it. At the top you just disconnect the contact from the 'busbar' that runs between the contacts on the trucks. Now you can install the decoder - one 'track' contact to the chassis (eg. drill-tap-screw), the other to the truck contacts. The motor wires to the top and bottom contacts on the motor. Test it like that before going for the light(s).
Proto 2000 GP30 I'm going to make my first install in a P2K GP9/GP20/GP30 engine. How can I tell if the motor is isolated or not? Here is a photo of the GP30 PC board before the decoder install. Thanks for the help. I just got a new soldering iron so I am up for this now!
Here is a link for what your looking for Copy and Paste its a great place to start. [nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecB9A0Z93YE&NR=1"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/nomedia]
Flash, the protos are easy and hard at the same time. in the case of your model, the frame is part of the electrical connection. your either going to have to drill a hole in the frame and then insert a screw in it to create a wire anchor, or connect the wires directly to the trucks. thats the hard part. as for everything else its nice and easy. just hook up everything else to what the wires on the decoder need to go to. the pickups that go to the board go to a certain wire on the decoder (check the decoder manual for exacts). same for the top of the motor. the red wire i think goes to the bottom of the motor but don't quote me on that. in this case, the drive train is almost identical to athearns so you might be able to get away with a digitrax athearn clip on decoder, but you will have to do some work to hook it up to the frame. once again, don't quote me lol. hope this helps!
I did check that. It is a good video. That is what I would like to do. Soldering to the trucks will give a much better electrical continuity, IMHO. Good to know the frame is a part of the connection. That means I will have to isolate the motor, I think. I still haven't had one apart, so I am not sure of any of this.
easy thing is though, theres just two prongs in the bottom of the motor that connect to a bare spot in the frame (no paint). just snip the two prongs off and put a piece of electrical tape over the bare spot. protos and athearns are really easy until you hit the frame part, thats the only really difficult thing. however that red wire has me confused. I think yours MIGHT be one of the rare ones that the bottom of the motor dosen't connect to the frame but is hard wired.
Installation and a Testing Question The motor is already isolated. I took the weight off the frame and used my ammeter to check connections. I even ran the motor on DC to check the continuity between the frame and the lower motor brush. There was no connection there so I feel sure the motor is isolated. I am using another engine as a model for this install. Here is a picture of the install in progress and the other engine in the background. I just go slowly and make sure of continuity each time I solder a series of wires. Also I make sure the shrink wrap is in place. I am using LEDs. I put a 5mm in front and a 3mm in the rear. I want to see if there is any difference. Also, I am using about 1100 ohms for the resistor. I put the resistor on the short LED lead as recommended by Litchfield Station. That is the only place I have seen any recommendation about which LED lead should have the resistance. Here are the two LEDs: Should I test this engine on DCC before I install the lights? Thanks.
Success! I did it and it works except for the LED lights which I wired backwards. Rats! I will be working on that this afternoon. Six more engines to go. My biggest problem was not cutting the wires short enough. It made it hard to get the decoder into a place where the space was at a premium.
Incorrect. The resistors are on the long terminal of the LED. My apologies. Remember, I did wire them backwards the first time. I have installed six decoders now with no problem.
I Don't Know Why As far as operation goes, I know that is true. I never could understand why Litchfield Station recommended one leg over another. Here is the quote:
