dcc ready? the good, the bad and the ugly! presented by bruce petrarca copyright 2010 © bruce...
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DCC Ready?DCC Ready?
The Good,
The Bad
and The UGLY!
Presented by Bruce Petrarca
Copyright 2010 © Bruce Petrarca, All Rights Reserved
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Litchfield StationLitchfield Station
Founded by Bruce in 2001Sold in the spring of 2010At that time, it was:
– The largest volume SoundTraxx dealer in the world
– The second largest SoundTraxx and Blackstone dealer in the world, behind Caboose Hobbies
– Second to Walthers in Digitrax volume worldwide
– The largest direct-ordering NCE dealer in the world
Mr. DCC continues…Mr. DCC continues…
Bruce still holds the tradenameThe technical data is on a new web site:
www.MrDCCU.comBruce doesn’t make anything off
Litchfield Station sales, but is available for:– DCC & layout consulting– Specialized installations– Clinics and talks
Introduction Introduction
What does “DCC Ready” mean on a loco?
How to work with what we are given
TopicsTopics
Markings and their meanings
Define Good, Bad, and Ugly
Examples of each type
The Others – some other ideas on installs
Overview Overview Your pike will
probably need different pieces of the puzzle to bring together the look you want
Bad
UGLY
Good
BadGood
Bad
Bad
Good
UGLY
I’m going to discuss a few locos I’ve worked on and how I made them “happy campers” on DCC
MarkingsMarkings
DCC logoNo standards for use
NMRA conformance warrantTested to NMRA standards
and RPs, but which ones?
What doesWhat does“DCC Ready” mean?“DCC Ready” mean?Expectation: plug in a decoder and run
Different locos from the same manufacturer can vary widely in their “readiness”
Reality: The art department at the manufacturer can spell “DCC”
The Good – my criteriaThe Good – my criteria
Plug in a decoder – multiple suppliersThe loco operates with all its featuresThe loco operates safely for a long timeSoldering preferably not neededWhat most of us expect
from the DCC logoHere we go,
in alphabetical order
Atlas C-424 HOAtlas C-424 HO
Plug in a NMRA medium (8-pin aka NEM652) decoder and go
Digitrax DN163PS decoder shown
Kato E8/9A NKato E8/9A N
LocoSpecific decoder:Digitrax DN163K0A or NCE N12K0a
Life-Like Proto 1000 DL109 HOLife-Like Proto 1000 DL109 HO
Light board replacement decoder:NCE DASR shown
Connections soldered and light replaced with Golden White LED – optional
Life-Like Proto 1000 F3 HOLife-Like Proto 1000 F3 HO
Typical of older Proto 1000 design
Three cuts and soldering needed!!Trouble free installation
DH163D decoder shown
Life-Like Proto 2000 GP & SD HOLife-Like Proto 2000 GP & SD HO
Many versions in GP 7 & 9 or SD 7 & 9The versions shown are “DCC Ready”DH163PS
in SD7
LE1024MPin SD9
Stewart FT-A HO (older)Stewart FT-A HO (older)
TCS makes a custom harness for this loco to install a JST style decoder – T1 shown
Stewart S12 HOStewart S12 HO
NMRA 8-pin plugLenz Silver-MP shownLight contacts may need wires
Stewart VO1000 HOStewart VO1000 HO
TCS makes a custom harness for this loco to install a JST style decoder – T1 shown
Light contacts may need wires
The Bad – my criteriaThe Bad – my criteria
Requires extensive talent or experience:Soldering or changing bulbsDifficult disassemblyDCC included, but difficult to useDamage to loco or decoder on some units
Here we go, in alphabetical order
Athearn Genesis or RTR Diesel:Athearn Genesis or RTR Diesel: HO CF7 Shown HO CF7 ShownDigitrax designed board – quality issuesRail to motor short can damage decoder
Athearn Genesis Diesel SoundAthearn Genesis Diesel Sound
Older units had MRC Decoder installed4-digit address cannot be programmed by
normal means.Best “work around” is to program another
loco to the desired address and read the values in CV 17 and CV 18 and copy them into the Athearn unit
Not for the beginner or faint of heart!
Athearn Genesis SD75M HOAthearn Genesis SD75M HO
1.5 volt bulbs a challenge in DCC, if you want realistic ditch lights
A6X decoder from TCS has voltage regulator
Atlas HO-scale S-2 Atlas HO-scale S-2
LocoSpecific decoder from one vendor: NCE ATL-S4
Complete kit for installation, including insulation for motor
Soldering of the LEDs needed
Atlas N-scale – GP-28 shownAtlas N-scale – GP-28 shownLocoSpecific decoder:Digitrax DN163A0NCE N12A0TCS AMD1Motor contact intermittent – add wires to fix
Kato C-44-9W HOKato C-44-9W HO
On board short for rear light blow board and decoder when “plug-in” decoder is installed
Life-Like Proto 2000Life-Like Proto 2000 GPs & SDs HO GPs & SDs HOLow voltage bulbs must be changedDH163L0 – single sourceSome GP60s had a marker bulb across
the rails, making programming difficult
The UGLY – my criteriaThe UGLY – my criteria
Entire runs of locos that damage themselves or the decoders
Design flaws which threaten the loco or decoder
Here we go, in alphabetical order
Life-LikeLife-LikeProto 2000Proto 2000S1 HOS1 HO
Life-Like Proto 2000 S1 HOLife-Like Proto 2000 S1 HO
Heavily billed as a “DCC Ready” loco . . .But it has a design flaw – orange wire to frame and low voltage bulbs
Life-Like Proto 2000 S1 HOLife-Like Proto 2000 S1 HO
First – isolate the motor from the frameand add an orange wire
Replace bulbs with Golden White LEDs
Life-Like Proto 2000 S1 HOLife-Like Proto 2000 S1 HO
Install your choice of decoder
Replace bulbs with Golden White LEDs
The UGLY – honorable mentionThe UGLY – honorable mention
Bachmann 0-4-0T – has socket, but no room for decoder – need to hard wire
MDC “Critter” first run LEDs backwards, blew decoder if plugged into socket
MDC Heisler – internal shortsProto 2000 PA circa 1995
– not sold as “DCC Ready”– Stall current above 3.5 amps
The Others . . .The Others . . .
Here are some examples of typical installations, in the style of Mr. DCC!
Only quality Kapton tape is usedWiring is routed and constrained Shrink tubing is used to secure and
insulate
Athearn “Blue Box” HO classicsAthearn “Blue Box” HO classics
Bachmann MOW HO CraneBachmann MOW HO Crane
Kato HO GP35Kato HO GP35
Kato HO NW2Kato HO NW2
Kato HO RS2Kato HO RS2