I reciently picked up a bachmann e-z track and locomotive because i use the track for the hidden parts of my layout(ex, myblong tunnels) and the extra locomotive and cars. i was trying the locomotive but it needed more weight so i took it apart and found a computer chip and was wonder what it was for the box said nothin about dcc and i was wonderg why it was there. any ideas??? (the chip says 9/30/10 the instalation day i guess )
I don't know a whole lot about it, but I would guess that its there to monitor your movements, track your actions and report it all to the government!
I think its for the directional lighting too. A few capacitors (the tan colored ones) and what looks like a diode (the black one). The date is probably the version of the board. We date-stamp our boards too here at work to know what version it is when we get a repair.
That is not a chip. It is a PC board with a few components for directional lighting. Chips are the IC's on a decoder. Looks to be pre-DCC ready. The loco looks like the Bachmann Climax according to the Bachmann loco diagram page. The DCC ready version has a 8 pin receptacle on the PC board. I did not see a Bachmann with the PC board in the location of yours, though. Curious. Rich
Silly , Chips come in a bag with salt and sometimes ya can dip 'em in Salsa or Ranch dip or Onion dip ... sometime in cheese conqueso...
If you are very careful, quietly wrap that item in a bit of tin foil and slip it back into place. Replace the shell of the locomotive and try to pretend you don't know what you saw. They might buy it at this point, but you lose nothing if they know...the tin foil will keep them from reading your thoughts if they don't. :cute:
