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Help with older Athearn SD40 -2 is it suitable for DCC ?

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  • Member since
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  • From: UNITED KINGDOM
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Posted by iomtt on Thursday, October 30, 2008 6:31 AM

 

 Smile    Got  it sorted  using a TCS M4  i  had  spare, the ditch  lights  need  glueing in the  body and  reference pictures sought to  superdetail  the  loco.

I am building  a  small layout  to  use  for techniques and display and  so  need  a  few  locos  to provide  some switching  up  and  down,  the  NCE  powercab was spare.


  • Member since
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  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 9:26 AM

 It would help if your links worked. I assume you're talking HO here. I have some Athearn SD40-2's (Blue Box) and they're no more difficult to convert to DCC than any other BB Athearn loco. Assuming use of a Digitrax DH163D decoder. Properly isolate the motor, solder the decoder motor leads to the motor (gray=bottom, orange=top), solder pickup leads to the pickups (red=top of contact arm of front truck, solder jumper wire to front and rear truck contact arms, black=base of headlight bracket), The blue wire is a constant positive (+) for the remaining wires (white=front light, yellow=rear light, green=additional function F1, violet=additional function F2). I don't mess with ditch lights and such things but there are others here who can explain that.

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  • Member since
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  • From: UNITED KINGDOM
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Help with older Athearn SD40 -2 is it suitable for DCC ?
Posted by iomtt on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 8:11 AM

 Hi All,  

 I have  an Athearn SD40-2  i  bought  recently  and  need  to  know  if  its  DCC  compatible the  motor is fine as  i  can  isolate it  from the  chassis, is  there a  site where  wiring of it  is  shown the model has 4225 on the  end of  the box  and  heres  is  a  picture of  it 

http://tinyurl.com/6qmjrp

 I  would  like  to  add  ditch  lights as here with over  cab lighting

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7he-WuGJrw

weather and superdetail  it,  so  for front / rear  and  ditch  lights  would  a  three/four fuction decoder  be  needed i  prefer  Digitrax decoders  for  their  smooth  running so  any  suggestions  as  to  model  numbers for a  decoder would  be  welcome.

Many  thanks  in advance.

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