I am working on a proto 2000 FA & FB1 they have a board of some type in them now will a decoder attach to that board or do I remove the board. The wires that are attached one off the bottom and one off the top of the motor, one from trucks and a ground to the fram. There is three open slots on the board. The way it is wired I guess that could mean the motor to be isolated. I didn't remove the motor when I seen this board all wired up I stopped. I can not fine anywhere that would indicate that they are dcc ready. I guess all I need to know is take out the board and wire in a decoder. Will I need to replace the light bulb.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
If the model is DCC Ready there should be a small rectangular board on the larger board. The small board can be pulled straight up and off of the larger board exposing an 8 pin socket. A decoder with an 8 pin plug can be plugged into this socket.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Is the below what you have?
http://www.dccwiki.com/Proto_2000_with_Tsunami
The user say the PC board in his is a light board, not a decoder.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Since you are new to DCC, take a picture of what you have. That can help others understand what you really have. I learned many years ago, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Many times, not all, a 8 pin connector or nine pin connector will be a DCC ready loco.
Some come with the eight pin connector with a jumper plugged into it which confuses some. They have no idea that they have to remove the adapter to see that there is a connector.
If they are a newer version, the ones WITHOUT the rubber band driving the cooling fan, they should have an 8 pin plug on the board to accept a decoder.
Assuming HO
One of the best resources for how to fit decoders is the TCS installation pictures section: http://www.tcsdcc.com/public_html/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/HO_Scale/HO_Search/search.html
Find your loco, see how they did it. You can use any decoder that is the same form factor as the TCS ones used in the examples, but TCS are some of the best motor (non sound) decoders.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
yes thats it.
george
thanks for your help it a light board now i can start changing it over. didn,t want to start taking things apart to fine out it would cost me more to put back together.
Thanks again