Hello fellows, I going to buy a Proto 1000 R17 Subway set.
I don't think it's DCC ready. Does anyone know if a DCC decoder can be added to it?
It's a HO scale by-the-way. Thanks guys.
I've added decoders to both of my sets. The first one was the first decoder I ever installed. They don't have decoder plugs, but it's pretty easy to add a wired-in decoder. All the wires in the car come to the light board anyway, and it's pretty easy to trace the circuits on the board. I attached the power wires (red and black) to the board in place of the motor wires. Then I connected the gray and orange leads from the decoder to the motor leads which I'd removed from the board. I also rewired the headlights, but that was pretty much a waste of time, since they are so puny anyway.
Since there is so much room inside, this one is a piece of cake.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
That's great to know. I'll copy your instructions, since it'll be my first time doing this, but tell me, what kind of decoder can I use, and where can I get it (on-line) ?
Thanks for your help.
I used a Digitrax DH-123 for each of my subway trains. These are simple "wire-in" decoders, without plugs. I bought them at my LHS, but lots of places have them. I guess I'd go with www.tonystrains.com if I were buying on line.
Any simple decoder will do, though. You might want to pick up a TCS T-1. TCS has a "no-goof" guarantee. Even if you mess up the wiring and toast a perfectly good decoder on your own, they'll replace it.
This is what my installation looks like. (You see how much I'll do for my fellow subway modelers?)