I just purchased an HO GP35 from Athearn, which has a 9-pin plug for quick plug-play decoder.
However, I'm not sure which decoder I should get from Digitrax. Here are the two options I think will work with my unit.
DH163D
DH163AT
Which one would be the best to go with?
Craig
GoleyC
Craig,
What you have is not a 'Plug & Play' replacement board situation. The Athearn 'Quick Plug' has a 9 pin JST connector on it. The Digitrax DH163D will work just fine. Pull the small cable/JST connector off of the decoder, and the the dummy plug off of the 'Quick Plug' - just plug the decoder into the 'Quick Plug' cable! The DH163AT will work, but you are paying more. It was designed for a solder-free connection to older Athearn 'Blue Box' engines.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
If its Digitrax you want the two you listed are 9 pin JST. The DH163D would probably be a few bucks less. The DH163AT has a Athearn wire harness that you will not need. As an aside my go to decoder for the Athearns is a TCS T1. The back EMF is a great feature and lighting control is easy peasy programming.
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!
It sorta depends on the vintage. The older RTR GP35's only had a 9-pin JST socket, but the newer ones have both 9-pin JST and 8-pin NMRA medium sockets.
So either an HO-sized or smaller decoder with a 9-pin JST plug for any of them, or optionally any HO-sized decoder with an 8-pin NMRA Medium plug for the newer models with both sockets.
Doesn't the DH163AT have the back EMF option in the decoder and that's why it cost a few bucks more?
I apologize. The DH163D does have back EMF. I have not installed a Digitrax decoder in years and am not too familiar with the series 3.
The DH16x all have BEMF, the DH12x do not. I would stick witht he TCS, the motor drive is betetr and they support LEDs for lights and effects much better.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I personally went with the DH123D. I wasn't worried about future upgrades to use more than the 2 functions, but alas I'm already feeling I will regret that.
I do believe all new Digitrax has BEMF, I know my 123 does. The reason the 163 costs a little more is because it's a 6 function decoder, not a 2. However you have to look at the numbers. The 123 uses the same wiring harness as the 163, so while the 123 will have wire leads for 6 functions, only 2 will work (for the headlights naturally).
I also used a DH123D in a Proto 2000 GP18, and it works great when it works, but I'm having problems with the black pick up lead wire staying soldered to the frame. The difficulties have nothing to do with the decoder itself, just the frame. I gave up on working that one out for a while. I used the 123 here because this was my first HO loco I bought of consignment, so it's a little beat up. This is my 'learning' loco so it's a little beat up with missing and broken pieces. It's not meant to be used as a runner. I installed my first decoder in it, which happened to be a wired decoder not plug-and-play. It will probably also be my first painting and weathering project. It's, well just what I called it, my 'learning' locomotive where I can try things out on for the first time. This way if something doesn't go right, I didn't just mess up a brand new Athearn F45 with factory Tsumani sound. That's my newest baby :) Go Santa Fe!
I used an NCE D13SRJ decoder. It was a simple plug and play installation. Has all the features and was very economically priced. I had to hardwire all my other decoders, so this was really easy.
Unless they started sticking DH163 decoders in DH123 packages, the DH123 series do NOT have BEMF. It's not always needed, I have many locos with NCE D13SRJ decoders, about the least expensive decoder you can get, yet it's far superior to things like the Bachmann DCC On-Board (cheap Lenz) decoders. No BEMF but they all run smoothly and slowly. Every Digitrax BEMF decoder I've used has a 'hitch' at some point int he throttle range that no amount of tunign seems to get rid of - it's like all the error in interpolating settings across the 128SS range is stuck into one step so you get a greater jump at that one. It can be reduced but never eliminated. For the same price as the DH123 I can usually get TCS T1 decoders,w hich is what I now use in all my locos. They have an automatic BEMF that can be configured to cutout at a certain speed, so you cn have BEMF to get started but at road speed there's no 'cruise control' effect. For AThearns with the 9 pin quick plug conenction, the T1A comes with no wires, just the decoder with a 9 pin socket, and it the cheapeat of the T1 series. If you need more than 2 functions, there's the T6. TCS also has board replacement decoders for most any common format - Atlas, Kato, P2K, etc.