I am getting ready to replace the non dcc light board in my athearn genesis f3 a and b units, does anyone have any tips from past experience? I plan to use the digitrax dh165a0.
My preference would be a TCS A4X or A6X depending upon how many functions you need/want. I prefer TCS decoders due to their generally superior back EMF.
No matter which board replacement decoder you use, solder the connections. The trash can is where those little black clips go. I guarantee they will fit there just fine.
Good luck.
The TCS "A-Series" has on board 1000 ohm resistors to protect LED lighting.
Rich
Alton Junction
It may be a stupid question, but do all genesis locomotives have led's from the factory?
Most of them still have 1.5V light bulbs. The DH165A0 has current limited outputs for the headlight functions. The additional functions (F1 and up) are not limited and need resistors, though in an F unit you probbaly only have a headlight anyway.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker Most of them still have 1.5V light bulbs.
Most of them still have 1.5V light bulbs.
Rich, the locomotive does have 1.5v bulbs, it does have a red mars light as well (red bulb and yellow bulb). If I use the digitrax 165a0 decoder what is your suggested resistor size and do I need them in line with every light or just those being soldered to f1, f2, etc.? The 165a0 states that it has built in resistors to the basic directional lighting, but should I go ahead and add one? Sorry, first time I have done this!
The diagram on page 6 of the instructions shows two alternative pads labeled F1+ and F2+ which are voltage regulated. Any 1.5v bulbs connected to the four unregulated function pads should have a resistor (one per pad). I would start with 1,000 ohms. If you want a brighter light lower the resistor rating a step or two. 470 is probably as low as you should go.
I would use the TCS A4X or A6X decoder combined with their 1.5 volt regulator ....
http://tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Products/Decoders/VoltageRegulator/VoltageRegulator.htm
Using resistors to control bulbs is never a really good idea. Any slight fluctuation in track voltage will still vary the output voltage slightly, and you don't have much breathing room in going above the rated 1.5 volts of the bulbs. Another factor is voltage spikes, which can occur quite regularly. I've found over time, guys who regularly burn out bulbs in their Genesis engines are running their DCC track voltage too high. The TCS 1.5 volt regulator will garantee your bulbs will only see the required 1.5 volts regardless of fluctuations in track voltages.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Or, better yet, dump the Athearn incandescents and install surface mount LEDs.
The Athearn incandescents will burn out in short order anyway.