Decoder For Atlas RS-1

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if anyone knew what decoder i need to convert my Atlas RS-1's to DCC. Thanks in advance

[Anonymous]

TCS makes a drop in. Look it up at Tony's Train exchange Website. The circuit board comes out and the decoder fits in the space......

[Anonymous]

I tried that with one of the RS-1's and it accepted the code i gave it but the engine does not function. Any ideas? Thanks

[rrinker]

Did it run ok on DC? Sounds like you have the track wires hooked up, or you wouldn't have been able to program it, but perhaps the motor wires aren't connected properly. Do the lights turn on and off when you hit F0? I haven't had any DOA decoders yet, but that could be because I haven't done enough statistically to hit one yet. I DID have a brand new (old, but never run) Atlas/Kato RS-3 that wouldn;t run, even on DC - right out of the box. The lights lit up, but it wouldn;t move. You could nudge it and it would run for alittle while but if you stopped t would never restart. I figured motor problems, and was ready to order a new motor. With nothing to loose, I pried open the tabs the hold the brush end cap and disassembled the motor. Turns out there was a spot of adhesive or something insulating one of the commutator segments. Cleaned it off and it runs just as fine as a Kato should. So if it didn't run on DC - it could be something along those lines. Pretty easy to check, run it with the shell off, and while giving it some power in forward or reverse, spin the flywheel and see if it starts up. If not, try removing the decoder and conencting some clip leads to the motor wires and runnign the motor from a DC pack. If it works then, you probably have a bad decoder, If it's the TCS, you can get it replaced free, they have a 'goof proof' warranty where even if you messed it up, the first replacement is covered. Not much you could have done wrong here though, the motor is isolated and all the wires lead up to where the decoder's tabs are, so it would take some serious work to mess up this install.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

the engine ran fine with just DC power. now it seems like it has no power or anything. positive i had the track wires connected correct because the other DCC engines run fine on the track. i will try to play around with it and see or maybe try a different decoder to see if that works

[rlandry6]

There is no drop in decoder for the Atlas RS-1, In fact, for any of the Atlas RS locos. They are all all hard-wire installations requiring frame modification for the decoder to have a place to ride. Modified frames are available at Aztec Trains and Southern Digital for about $10. If your loco does in fact use a drop in decoder, then it something else, not an RS-1.
If it uses a drop-in, check that you installed it so that the two solder pads on the decoder are contacting the little copper tabs that stick up. This is where the decoder gets it's power. The drop in decoders will fit upside down, but they won't pick up power. It will be set for address 03 by default. When you put it on the programming track, check CV1 and it should show a value of 3. That will tell you that the decoder is powered, and then if it won't run on DCC using that address, you probably have a bad decoder.

If it's a hard wire installation, a couple of things can happen to you. Trust me. The orange and grey decoder wires have to be soldered to the motor brush caps. You have to remove these or the heat from even a low wattage iron can ruin the plastic case on the motor. You have to remove them anyway, because you discard the little copper straps that would normally touch the frame. There is a small hole in the top of the brush cap/holder. Do not get solder or flux down in that hole. The result will be that the motor will not turn because the brush can't get to the commutator. Not good. There's no fix but to replace the cap. . Also if you put the cap in a small hobby vise to hold it while you solder on it, don't over-tighten the vise. If you bend the tube on the brush holder, ... same result. The brush hangs in the cap. You may be able to straighten it out, but they are pretty fragile.
That's really about all that you can screw up during an installation.. again, putting the loco on the programming track will tell you if you at least installed the decoder correctly and it is getting power. If you can program it, but you put it on the track and the light works, but it won't run, then you should look for a motor related problem, probably bad brush contact. I hope all of this helps someone. All of these thing were learned in the school of hard knocks.. LOL

[rrinker]

Well he didn't say HO or N, being in HO myself I assumed HO. In HO there ARE drop in decoders for those locos - all the Atlas RS/RSD models.

--Randy

[rlandry6]

An honest mistake, I guess. Being in N Scale and having RS-1's, I just assumed that was what he was talking about..

[Anonymous]

I apologize for not saying, i am HO scale. Sorry for the confusion.