I just purchased the DBX-900 wiring kit to re-wire and old HO Scale Mantua 4-6-2 team engine.
The Soundtraxx instructions
The only thing I see is numbers on the sheet clockwise 1 through 9, but no other instructions on which wire goes to what part of loc or what type of decoder is used?
I just want to add that I wish all of these electronics companies would stop assuming that we are all Wiz kids with electronics! I am not, I can do basic wiring if the proper intructions are provided!
If you're going to wire a loco for DCC, you need to know and understand what each wire does. Given there are literally thousands of different locos out there, it's impossible for a mfg to do more than what's likely available in the instructions. You need to think through where electricity flows and what it does to avoid open circuits, as well as insulating various things to prevent short circuits.
The very first thing with a DCC install is that the motor MUST be insulated so that it gets its power ONLY via the decoder or you may fry the decoder. Your recent install will go up in smoke and you don't want to go to all that trouble only to have that happen. Most older DC locos have hald the circuit through the frame from one rail with only the return path insulated back to the other rail. That's your first step in figuring this out.
Beyond that, there are literally thousands of variations on how you can do the wiring depending on which loco you have. Once you understand what you're doing here, though, you'll feel much less initimated by future installs. Try to do the first without understanding these basics and you'll frustrate yourself and it will likely be the last one when things go poof.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Hi Mike ,
Thanks for your input.
I tried to see if anyone on Youtube had a DIY on that Kit, no such luck. I also checked Soundtrxx for how to, same thing.
I just figured that maybe Soundtraxx could have included better instructions. instead of and I Quote" NINE NUMBERED PADS CORREPOND TO THE NINE WIRES OF THE HARNESS TO BE USED FOR MOTOR, LIGHTS, TRACK PICK UPS AND/OR CAM"
Well, that's fine but which number goes to what pad?
Is it the motor or lights?
They could have included intructions such as for example, motor wire goes to number 1 pad.
Track wire goes to number 2 pad and so on.
No clarity, a picture is worth a thousand words, would have helped here!
It's to vague, the way they wrote it!
They don't tell you what wires are for what because it is entirely arbitrary which wire you connect to each pin on that connector. It's a simple plug and socket - you can use whatever wire for whatever purpose you want.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Randy I wish that I could paste a picture of the wiring kit, but don't know how to do it on this forum.
There is a male harness with 9 black wires and a female connector shaped like a horse shoe.
The connector has nine pin holes numbered 1 through to 9 clockwise.
I am assuming that the harness goes in the Loco and the female connector in the Tender.
Also, if that is the way to install it, what type of sound decoder is compatible with this unit?
https://soundtraxx.com/accessories/installation-accessories/wiring-aids/dbx-9000-locomotive-to-tender-wiring-kit/
Hawks was posting, while I was getting links If it is to ultimately connect to a 9 pin decoder, maybe the diagram half way down this page will help.
I don't understand which end goes in the loco, I would guess the end with all the wires. You then wire what ever decoder fits in your tender to the round thingy. You won't have to remember what how you wired the harness if you use the standard shown above.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I tried to paste a picture, but it failed
Failed? no such word.
Hello Henry, Thanks for the picture. Now that eveyone can see it, it might be clearer as to how each part goes where and what decoder is compatible with it.
I don't know the Soundtraxx decoder line. TCS has one for the Mantua
https://tcsdcc.com/installation/ho-scale/1440
The question is which decoder is compatible with your engine and your desire for sound or not. Unless you are going to connect it to a 9 pin connectors, the wires can be soldered to any decoder.
I would prefer a SOUND DECODER
Early on I wired all of my locomotives to the standard 8 pin NMRA connector.I also use the Digitrax harness with my Digitrax decoders, DHWH. 9 Pin prewired.You can also make your own 9 pin harnesses, JST 9 pin ZH Series connectors (1.5mm spacing).
You can also buy the harnesses off eBay, the wire colors don’t match the Digitrax (NMRA) Standard. I pull the pin connectors and reinstall them in the proper hole.
The 9 Pin wiring harness doesn't include the speaker wires, the sound wires are seperate from the 9 pin connector. This is a remotored Model Power E7 with a Digitrax decoder with a eBay harness.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Once again - stop overthinking this. It does not matter which wire you run to what to use this. It is simply a plug and socket connection. You can make 1 the motor +, 2 the headlight -, 3 the left rail, 4 the motor -, 5 the headlight +, 6 the right rail.
Or any other combination you can think of. It doesn't matter. What matters is that if you use pin 1 for the motor + in the loco, then on the other end you need to connect the orange wire from the decoder to pin 1.
The easiest thing would probably be to follow the NMRA standard for the 9 pin plug, but again, you don't have to. The ONLY way this would ever matter is if you used this connector on multiple locos and you wanted to swap the tenders around - you'd need them all to be wired the same way. But that 'way' is completely arbitrary.
The pads in a circle are in the same order as the wires going across - so all you need to do is make sure that whatever you solder to the pad for pin 1, the wire coming from pin 1 on the other end goes to whatever that is - it can be a track pickup, motor wire, headlight wire, whatever.
Hang in there, you're getting good advice here. It's clear you're just getting started with the basics, but continue patiently learning and you'll be able to get this.
You have one of several wiring devices that Soundtraxx offers. It's used for scratchbuilding a decoder harness to fit a specific need. Figuring that part out is up to you. Here, this item is the most basic thing needed in wiring a standard steam loco with tender with a decoder - a way to get the wiring between the two halves, the engine and the tender.
You usually don't have enough room for the decoder and speaker in the engine (although this can be done with enough skill and expensive tiny parts,, but this isn't a thing a beginner wants to jump into usually) but you have at least one set of pickups (but preferably from both rails), another set of leads to the motor from the decoder, and at least a headlight. This all connects back through this wiring to the decoder in the tender. Or you could have extra lighting up front that needed controls. Depending on your needs, you may not need every circuit that could be made here with this item, so don't think in terms of every terminal absolutely needing a line to it, especially in a steamer.
Hope this helps you conceptualize how you plan to do this. Please keep asking questions, you'll get answers here.
I’d more than happy to help through email, if your interested drop me a PM with your email address.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Thanks Mel,
So far it appears that I am ok with wiring and if I run into any dificulties, I will most certainly email you.
Many thanks to everyone for their input and assistance!
If you DO want to put a speaker in the loco - there's a fairly easy way to do it now. Streamlined Backshop has some nifty curved speaker housings with sugar cube speakers that are sided to fit in boilers, or in a slightly different form, up in the cab roof. Larry Puckett, the DCC Guy, talks about them in his video on adding sound to an Atlas diesel switcher (yes, you can use these speakers for steam or diesel). They sound good, and are very unobtrusive - in his install, you have to get down below track level and look up into the windows to catch a glimpse of this speaker sitting up there. Only place these might not work are in a smaller steam loco where the motor nearly fills the cab.
If I ever upgrade the decoders in my PCM 4-8-4s, I am definitely looking in to putting speakers in the loco, where the sound is supposed to come from, instead of the stock speakers in the tender.