The TCS site is back up and they have installation instructions and a nice series of photos of a Z2 installation on an AZL GP7. I think it will be the ticket for the GP7 and the SDs. John
I was talking with the ECU Soundtraxx guys at their booth at the GTE show in Del Mar today. Guess what they had... Z2's! Bought two of them and they are tiny! I may try to install one in one of my AZL SD70i's tomorrow before the show starts and get one of my AZLs running DCC.
John, I'm trying tomorrow. I printed the GP7 installation from TCS. I will take pictures. Taking my time to "do it right".
In the Z2 installation, they say to remove one of the pads on the bottom of the PCB to prevent shorts. I wonder if this is something we should do on the SD70/75 boards as well? I have CT decoders in two SD75s and I didn't remove the pad, so far no problems..... John
Hi Gang, Some Important information regarding AZL and the new TCS Decoder. Some of the instructions have a misprint. Please go to www.americanzline.com for more information. Thanks, -Robert
John, I dont think so. I didnt have to do it with the Uhlebrock. The pcb on the GP9 is different, which makes me think. If they had the same pcb, maybe TCS would have come with a drop in instead of a hardwire decoder.
Question Rob A. I don't have the new Z2 decoders yet. But I noticed from your drawing on the americanzline site that the direction lamp wires are reversed in relationship with the DZ125 decoders. In other words yellow wire is where my white wire is, and white is where the yellow wire is. Can anyone confirm this point before installation. Thanks, Mike
Hi Mike, For my CT Elektroniks DCX75s, I used the following: 1=orange 2=gray 3=red 4=black 5=white 6=yellow Yellow and white are reversed from the drawing on the AZL page. John
Just do a quick program test after install to verify headlights match forward and reverse. White and Yellow would have to be swapped if the headlights operate backwards. Also there is probably a CV change that will let you swap front and back headlights, but that is a bit more work, as soldering these wires takes but seconds.
You are 100% correct. I was so worried about people harming their locomotives and decoders that I completely forgot to check the headlight directions. A new drawing is on the web site. Thanks for the catch. Best, -Robert
Installed the Z2 at the trainshow today. I had printed the GP7 instructions and had them with me. I looked at the PCB of the SD70i and the picture of the GP7 PCB and they were exactly the same. So I just copied the wire positions. Worked perfect first time. Ran the engine on the DCC track and it can run a lot faster than it did in DC mode (pre-DCC install). Pictures to follow...
David, great soldering job. I wish my soldering look that good. The decoder looks like a perfect fit.
