This is the circuit board on a new old stock P2K FA1 loco.
The box does not say DCC ready. And this 8-pin socket on it has an 8 pin plug in making the connections.
Can I plug a NMRA plug-equipped decoder in there, or do I have to snip this board away and hard wire the decoder (which is the way I have done it in the past) ?
Thanks for any responses.
(I am going to replace the incandescent bulb with a LED+resistor assembly)
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
It's hard to tell from the photo but if you can, check that the wires going into the P2K 8 pin socket correspond to the NMRA standard pins for decoders by tracing them back to the motor, lights etc.
Most are ok, but a number of Proto models appear to have standard 8 hole sockets, but the wires leading to the pins on the decoder don't always match.
I know from experience - ah the smell of fried decoder!
Ian
Well, ianalsop you were right. I could see a few functions that the sockets on this loco were connected to, but noticed that all the wiring was not coded properly....black wires to lights etc.
Therefore I put the Soundtraxx LC decoder into the socket and tested it only on a programming track. It didn't respond with the decoder plug in either orientation.
I just snipped off the plug and hardwired the loco and all is well.....except
This Soundtraxx LC has a problem with it's sound. It is very very low. There must be a bad segment of the decoder. I tested it with more than one speaker in enclosures and switching out capacitors and all the necessary tests to determine if it was my install.
I reset the CVS. I can tell the decoder is responding somewhat because the tiny sound increases a tiny bit when I program the volume to maximum. But I mean this is unusable the way it is for sound.
Since I have had the decoder around for so long and cut off the plug, I guess I will just leave it as it as a motor/lights decoder and move on. I don't want to sink more money in a repair.
Is iT me, or has anyone had this sound problem with the LCs?
Bapou wrote:Pretty much all Soundtraxx decoders besides the Tsunami's are very quite.
Thanks.
No, this is not right.
Since that post, I have installed other Soundtraxx including a Tsunami. This one is not working. The fact that there is sound is only discernable when I place my ear almost against the speaker in its enclosure (I know that enclosures are critical).