Having retired, I want to get back into model railroading. I have several N gage locomotives that have been packed away since 1978. I am not sure if they work, but assuming they do... can I convert them to run with a DCC Controller? I guess I do not know if the DCC systems require a different type of electric motors than the simple 12 volt motors seen in the 1970s
I am reading as many things as I can find, but have not found the answer to this question.
Some DCC systems will run ONE non-decoder equipped engine on address 0 using a trick called zero stretching, but the motors can overheat from this.
At this point in time you basically have two choices -- stick with DC control by purchasing an MRC power pack or run DCC and put decoders into your older engines or buy new ones that are already DCC equipped.
There's no difference in the motors between the older models and today's products, but there is a significant difference in quality and how they are controlled.
Jim,
DCC does not require different electric motors than DC. You will just need to fit an appropriate decoder and you will be able to run your locos on DCC.
Joe
First thing I would do is run them on DC to see if they still work. If they don't run on DC after 30+ years in storage, there's no point in converting them to DCC. Once you verify they operate SMOOTHLY in DC, you SHOULD be able to convert them to DCC.
A motor that runs poorly in DC will only be compounded in DCC. DCC track power is the same as DC. The computer board in the loco interprets the electronic signal from the command station thru the rails and tells the motor what to do.
Anyway, yes, DC motors can be converted to DCC.
Oh, aboard, hope you enjoy the ride!
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There are some considerations when converting older locomotives.
1. Current draw of the motor. Older locos tend to have higher current draw from the motor. Most run-of-the-mill decoders can handle up to an amp in stall conditions for short periods. It is worth getting an multimeter and seeing what level of current draw the motor is pulling. With N scale this is not likely to be an issue.
2. Electrical pick up. Older locos often have fewer wheels picking up the power from the rails. For example it is not unusual to see one side of one truck being the pick up from one rail and the other side of the other truck being the other. This can lead to problems in DCC as operations are generally less tolerant of electrical pick up issues.
3. Motor isolation. The motor needs to be completely isolated. This can be an issue if the chassis was designed as one of the current paths from the rails. Many older N scale use split frames with both halves acting as the conduction path.
4. Decoder location. It will clearly be a hard wire solder job to install the decoder, but is there even a place to put it? Older locos generally are not designed with consideration for adding something else inside. N scale can be really tough in this regard, requiring you to mill the frame to make space.
None of the above are insurmountable, but it may be a time consuming complex installation.
My recommendation would be to run the loco on DC for a while and be sure you are happy with its operating characteristics. If it runs poorly on DC it is more than likely not going to get better with DCC. However if it is a cherished loco that you really want to run then it may well be worth the effort to tackle the issues.
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
jim_rousey Having retired, I want to get back into model railroading. I have several N gage locomotives that have been packed away since 1978. I am not sure if they work, but assuming they do... can I convert them to run with a DCC Controller? I guess I do not know if the DCC systems require a different type of electric motors than the simple 12 volt motors seen in the 1970s I am reading as many things as I can find, but have not found the answer to this question.
I was in the same situation in 2007 as you. I finally had room for a layout and thought about installing DCC decoders in the N-scale engines I had from the mid 1970's. It turned out to be not even close to practical after I tried it on 2 of them.
Compared to newer engines these were never going to work well. Trying to isolate the motors and wire the decoder was just to much of a pain. Also none of the 5 were even close to performance of newer engines. So I tossed them or gave them away and never looked back
I bought 2 new Atlas GP38-2's, to start off with. One with a decoder and one with out which I learned to install a decoder into after much frustration as it was the first one I had ever done. Wow, the difference was like night and day compared to the older engines even with just strait DC.
I now have done many installations on my Atlas and Kato engines so it is easy to do. Kato engines are very easy to do a decoder install as you just slide out the DC board and slide in the DCC decoder board.
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
jim_rousey I have several N gage locomotives that have been packed away since 1978.... can I convert them to run with a DCC Controller?
Thank you cacole and all the other repliers. I really want to do this right... and it seems that realism may be sacrificed by sticking to the older prime movers. I will probably enjoy them parked in a yard. Again, thanks to all the repliers.
If you still wnat your DC locos from the 70's, run them like on a Christmas tree DC only layout.
The problems that plague conversions are listed above.
They may draw more amps that the DC version when converted to run adequately.
They may have stiffened some requiring even more power draw{DC or DCC} to run.
They may not have the space available in them to put in a DCC decoder, let alone adding sound if you desire.
you have to isolate the motor from the frame.
Just because ANY loco can be converted doesn't mean the end results will be similar to the new DCC equipped models.
The DCC controllers are limited in amps {unless you pay for boosters} and the older ones draw more amps to run effectively compared to newer models.
If you want to try, go ahead, but don't be surprised if the results are less than desired. Buy and try a new DCC equipped model for comparison to determine if it is worth it.
We have some old N scale DC stuff from the 70s that run under the tree on DC. ANy new N scale we get {My Other HAlf is into N scale while I do HO} we have now decided to buy new and DCC equipped! AS we love the ease of my HO DCC equipped locos! We will sell most of the old N scale DC stuff..maybe at a a train show around here to get some value out of them. Also now we only buy N scle with knuckle couplers. not Rapido couplers.
Just my thoughts and ideas
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
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After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.