I just purchased a used Rivarossi Big Boy 54398 (Road No 4008) that has been marked as 'Digital' on the end of the box. It runs fine on my DC (currently?) but the Arnold Digital instruction sheet that came with it says it is 'factory set at address 08. It also indicates that it won't run on conventional AC layouts. Since I don't have DCC yet, I can't test it under DCC. Does anyone know of this system and will it work with a typical US DCC system? I plan to convert to DCC soon. I hope I am making myself clear on this! (I didn't know this engine had a decoder from the factory but it works fine on DC.)
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Ifit says "Digital" they probably mean Marklin Digital format. It's a bit different from NMRA DCC, but some US systems can drive it - Digitrax being one. In Digitrax-speak you "status edit" the address of the loco to set the control signal to Motorola trinary (which is what Digital uses) instead of NMRA packets in 14 or 28/128 speed steps.
Of course if it's designed for Marklin it's probbaly set up for center stud power pickup - just see if it has sliders underneath. Definitely won;t work on 2-rail DC/DCC track then.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
If you have a box that looks like this is for US market it will run on DCC when you make the switch over. Just like many other decoders that will run on both DC & DCC. some call them dual mode decoders but i have been told by Tony's trains in Vermont that there is no such thing. All decoders will work on both DC & DCC in some cases functions such as sound, lights etc. may or may not work. I also have a Big Boy with the p/n HR2005 that does not say the word digital anywhere on the box but I confirmed it with Hornby USA that it is DCC ready. I suspect that is the only difference one comes with a decoder installed and the other is just DCC ready. In either case it should work just fine but verify it with Hornby they have great customer service and even sent me the sound files for the new big Boy with the Loksound decoders which I haven't received yet..
This looks just like the box mine is in, just a different road number. I believe mine was made in 1998 or possibly a year later. I appreciate your info and will definately contact Hornby USA to confirm it's makeup. I am anxious to get into DCC but haven't made up my mind as to which system to buy. Most likely Digitrax or CVP EasyDCC. I also have 3 other engines that are DCC equipped from the factory so I will have a few to run right out of the gate, so to speak. Thanks again for the info, I am a little more confident that this loco will work. After some additional reading (the literature is in Italian as well as several other languages) I noticed that it implied that you can reconfigure it with Digitrax or other DCC systems that use NMRA standards.
Allegheny2-6-6-6I have been told by Tony's trains in Vermont that there is no such thing. All decoders will work on both DC & DCC.
I have been told by Tony's trains in Vermont that there is no such thing. All decoders will work on both DC & DCC.
NOT TRUE! Many early decoders can be operated only on DCC. I believe it was Atlas who first offered dual-mode decoders.
Perhaps you misunderstood what Tony said or he meant to say that nearly all new decoders today support DC operation.
I think any engine that comes DCC-equipped uses a dual-mode decoder, going back to the first BLI Hudson in 2001-02. Most decoders have an option (a CV setting) that allows it to work on DC or DCC, but not all have that...though as noted it's more likely to be an issue with older decoders than more recent ones.
The first word of DCC is Digital. Do not confuse it with Direct current. A DCC decoder can be set to not operate on DC by CV29 configuration. Do not try to run a DCC decoder on AC. It will instantly smoke up a storm. Most decoder equipped locos will run on DC out of the box. If the loco was previously owned it may have DC deactivated by the owner.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Just to update everyone on my decision with the Big Boy. I started to have problems with it not wanting to run forward (on DC). It woud sit and act like a gear was slipping. I finally removed the upper body to expose all and watched as it repeated this. I removed the decoder and wired it for straight DC operation. It now runs flawlessly and even starts at a slower creep. I think the decoder may have been defective and that is why the original owner sold it. I will replace the decoder with a Digitrax one when I get my DCC system in place. Thanks again to all of you who responded to my questions. This is a great forum and I can't thank everyone enough for the fast and helpful response.