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