BNSF_AC4400CW_Russelli have collected ho trains most are Kato....all are DCC my question is....Are the kato's all ready hve the DCC in them or do you have to by a chip or something
#2 is will my Bachman work with Kato or no
if so can someone explain how to use DCC
what the right stuff is i need to make it work
well like i said im new to this...but every unit says DCC on the box....but i here things like a "decoder" i dont know what that is...if its built in...something sold seprate or what ...and the Bachman controler did come with directions....i did what the instructions said....like i here the loco make some funny noises when i program it but it wont run and if i put it to regular DC it works fine....im not good with instructions...better when someone explains it to me
While it is not an absolute, if the box says "DCC ready" it usually means that it has a plug for the easy addition of a decoder, if the box says "DCC on board" or "DCC equipped" or similar, it usually has the decoder factory installed. Most decoders are factory set to address 3. The address is easily changed, though the Bachmann system can only use addresses 1 through 9.
Decoder equipped engines can be operated on either DCC or DC, thought the DC capability can be turned off by changing a CV setting. A DC engine will only work on DC power, but many DCC systems can use "zero stretching" to make their signal asymetric enough to run one DC engine. Over all, that is not good for the DC engine so I wouldn't do it long term.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
heck myCN 6256 SD40-2 wont even run on 0 and but the others will???? this thing has me baffeled. If i pop the shell off there is a circut boar with little metal jumpers....is that DCC ready or equipped???
Now if you could tell us what scale you are in and the brand of your locos, I know some but not all are Kato, this will direct us towards the type of equipment you are running and towards some solutions.
If you are into HO, none of the Kato produced thus far are DCC equiped, one must purchase and install a decoder into each unit.
Jack W.
jalajoie If you are into HO, none of the Kato produced thus far are DCC equiped, one must purchase and install a decoder into each unit.
No N Scale Kato engines have been produced with decoders installed.
They have plenty that are "DCC ready".
HO scale...i only have one thats not kato i think its atlas....i know its DCC "ready" too but what i dont understan is why that the SD40-2 and the GP40 CSX dont even run on regular DC
You need a decoder (any brand) with an 8 pin harness on it. Should cost about $15.
Just plug it into the plug on the engine then change the address from 3 to another address.
well it has thiese little jumper metal pieaces in there do i take them out???
If there is a dummy plug in the engine with jumpers it will obviously have to come out in order to plug the decoder in. But the manual that came with the engine will have the instructions for installing the decoder.
Yes you have to take them out, these are for DC operation. Do you happen to have first release SD80 and SD90, there is a possibility to short the decoder on these. If you do I will provide a link to Tony's site for a work around.
That SD40-2 is it a first production release ? If so there is a pickup problem with those, you have to hard wire the trucks pickup on these units.
Nope that SD40-2 is the latest release from Kato does not need any fixing. Unless there is something I am not aware of.