i was just wondering how dificult it is to wire a decoder into a non dcc locomotive? I spent six years as and Electronics tech in the Navy so i dont imagine it would be terribly difficult. could anyone provide links to a walkthrough abou it? thanks
The decoders I have tried have adequate instructions for installation. There are two kinds of difficulty (in my opinion, only): One is where to install the decoder - sometimes there is not an obvious place or enough room. Two is the wiring - you need to be sure to isolate the motor because the decoder takes the track power (square wave DC running nominally plus and minus 15 volts), and turns it into regular DC for the motor. Lights and such are additional outputs. Look at the documentation for the particular decoder you wish to try and see if that documentation doesn't answer your questions. ... JD
Welcome to TrainBoard, vvaynevv. Here're a few links Marcus DCC for Dummies All About DCC -- Part 1 http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_peco.htm Wolfgang
With that level of experience fitting sound in Z-scale shouldn't be much of a problem Though it depends a bit on whose Navy it was
thanks for the info so far. I will be doing N scale. I will just be making a small 38" by 27" layout under our glass dinning room table. I have a bunch of track from a layout that never quiet got built before our last move and a NCE powercab, but sold both of the DCC locos I had when we moved. Thought it might be worth just to put a decoder in the loco i have instead of buying a factory DCC one. Thanks again for the quick replies
