I posted a question on how to install a decoder in a Proto 2000 GP7 or 9. The info supplied did not apply to the loco and an extensive search of the internet did not provide the info. The electrical set up is similiar to Athearn. Vertical posts are used for truck electrical pickup and one wire a frame ground (?). Is this installation where you have to remove the motor and insulate it from the frame? How do I install a silent decoder for this loco?
The Ferroequinologist layoutconcepts@yahoo.com eBay store: Backshop Train & China Store Facebook: Model Trains, Train Sets, Buildings & Layout Concepts
If it is the same electrical setup as an Athearn then it will be a hard wire installation just like any Athearn.
Step one disassemble and remove the motor.
Solder the motor leads (orange and grey) to the motor terminals and be sure to fully insulate so that there is no electrical contact with the frame. I like to use Kapton tape for this.
Solder the left and right rail wires to the truck pickups. I like to remove the side frames and install the wires to directly to the truck pick ups rather than the posts. (red and black)
Reassemble the unit bringing all the wires up to the center,
Remove all the lighting
Install LED;s with 1K ohm resistors for the front and rear head light
Now using a meter make sure that there is no electrical connection between your red and black leads and your orange and grey leads. If this is all good then you can how wire in the decoder connecting the appropriate wires.
http://www.tcsdcc.com/public_html/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/HO_Scale/Athearn/F7A/Athearn_F7_T1_Hardwire_Installation.html
Here is an example of a hard wire Athearn, there are dozens of other examples on the web for Athearn installs.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
A picture of said locomotive might help, because the ONLY P2K locos I've seen with the full Athearn style clips and the motor not isolated are the very first, the BL2, and the first run FA's. I have one of the FA drives in an MDC RS-3 kit.
The first Geep was the GP18, it did not have a DCC plug but it did have a circuit board and the motor is already isolated. The only GP7's and 9's I've ever seen all have either a circuit board or the board with the DCC plug. I've seen SD7/9's with boards, never the Athearn-style top clip. The GP7/9 did not come out until the switch to the light blue box and they started making them somewhat DCC read - the plain board you need to cut traces and sodler wires to various spots. It's easier to hard wire them and rip out the board.
You've likely found PLENTY of information. Just apply it. It doesn;t matter if the loco is exactly the same as an Athearn , if the clip is slightly different, if it doesn't have the headlight post, etc. If the basic design is the same - it's the same. Don't get hung up on "the Athearn pictures don't show this weight here" or "my loco doesn't have this post on the front riveted to the frame". It's irrelevent. What matters is isolating the bottom motor clip from the frame.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Dear Sirs; Thanks Simon and rrinker for you help, it is greatly appreciated!