John, to reverse your lights, program CV49 to a value of 16 and program CV50 to a value of zero. This will make the white wire now be the "reverse light" wire, and the yellow now becomes the "forward light" wire. There is another way, but try this for now. -Mike
Thanks Mike, your the Man. Will do this tonight or tomorrow, but right now the wife is teasing me and inviting me into the spa. See ya.
How where the instructions regarding how to install the decoder? I have tried the links on the TCS website but for some reason I am unable to get a page to load. I have been considering DCC for some time but have not gone ahead because of the milling I would have to do on the many older atlas locos that I am running.
the directions should be right in the pack... or don't you have the decoder yet? Otherwise, here's the link to their PDF: http://www.tcsdcc.com/pdf/NScale/TCS_Book_of_Classic_N_Installations.pdf I had trouble loading directly from their site too.. so try right-click, and save as...
Uh...their site is totally gone right now....I wonder what's up. Anyway, here's my question (for when the site comes back, or for those who saved the PDF)... Step 8, tightening the wires, looks all magical in this instruction manual. Are you just supposed to de-solder the wires from their connections to the decoder and then trim and re-attach? I was thinking these would be easier to wire than other decoders, but the more I look at these, the more it seems like avoiding milling is the only significant advantage.
No, you don't do any desoldering.. The decoder comes in two parts.. front and back. The front has all wires. I usually start with the two motor wires, put the frame halves back together, then run the other three, cut to length and solder. here are more pics of a couple of my installs: GN_624 Directory List NP_555 Directory List in my opinion, it's WAY easier than standard wired decoders.
TCS Downtime Frequently Asked Questions What we do at TCS for fun! Submit your installation pictures and get a free decoder Learn about our Goof-Proof Warranty LED link Train Control Systems is dedicated to providing high quality Digital Command Control decoders and harnesses to the DCC industry. We manufacture a wide range of decoders for HO, N, and Z scale. Website Downtime: Our websites server is being physically moved by our webhost today which may result in a period of down time. We ask you to bear with us, and keep an eye out for updates along the way.
I've sent in quite a few pictures.. but have yet to see them show up, or any response whatsoever... :tb-wacky:
I installed the CN into an Atlas Classic RS3. Being the first time I worked on a "non-DCC" ready engine, I found the instructions to be a bit wanting. The installation went fine according to the instructions, but it was clear that I had shorted the decoder when it did not work and found that the motor can was touching both sides of the frame, as it was just slightly out of position. The newer DCC ready engines have a plastic cage surrounding the motor that makes this kind of mistake unlikely, this engine had very tight clearances between the metal motor housing and the frame. You have to have a perfect fit. And basically the entire engine has to be disassembled, so you really have to watch how those bearing blocks were set in originally. And the spacers holding the motor to the frame. Well, I sadly sent it back to TCS and they sent me a new decoder, no questions asked. This time I was extra careful about reassembling the mechanism and testing for shorts ( I don't think a 1.5V continuity tester could possibly harm a decoder). I still managed to install the motor upside down, even though it seemed to look like the instruction photos. This was easily remedied by changing the normal direction of travel CV. It always amazes me how exacting one has to be with N scale and DCC when installing decoders. Also, the older engines which don't have the plastic cage protecting them from the frame require extra careful re-installation. It looks like there is barely a half millimeter or less gap between the motor and frame and if the metal motor housing touches both halves of the frame, you will get a short. I think I wrapped the housing in clear tape before installation just to be sure. I'm quite willing to admit to being a klutz and a moron when doing things for the first time, but I learned some lessons, and was grateful for the TCS warranty and am extremely happy with the operation of the engine. On a different note, I installed a wired in NCE 14SR 4 function decoder into a Kato SD40-2 mid production instead of using the DN163K1C because I was unhappy with the dim lighting. I used the OEM light board for power pickup and was able to fit a full size LED to the ditch lights and a SM LED to the headlight, allowing for prototypically bright lighting, instead of the always unimpressive lights you get with the Digitrax PNP decoder. This was much easier because the engine did not have to be disassembled to install the decoder.
Thanks for the pictures. I note that you are NOT following the steps in the TCS guide, though. Frankly, your way seems a lot easier.
If you submitted photos for a loco that already has an install on the site, even if your way is different, then you've missed the boat if they are happy with the method already published on their site. Besides- they do make these statements: TCS reserves the right to decide what is published on the web site. We will send you one free TCS decoder of your choice if your pictures are used on the TCS web site. Requirements: * Text should include sufficient information to address special considerations or techniques needed for installation. Your pictures seem to meet their suggested requirements, but maybe the explanation is where it was lacking, or maybe someone beat you to the draw and submitted an installation that wasn't yet published when you submitted yours. Try contacting them and asking if there's something extra you need to do.
One was for a bachmann F7B, and the other was for an older LL GP-18. Both are missing from their install photos.. I'm thinking maybe they're just busy.. and don't update it that often.
