Good Day Folks!
I am sure this has been discussed before, but my search did not turn up anything. I have an old Athearn Blue Box Locomotive, I am looking for recommendations on converting it to DCC. I am completly new to DCC, and I just started my layout (Finally). I have decided to go with digitrax zephyr.
Any help, or article suggestions, is greatly appreciated.
-Steven
Go to the Train Control Systems web site and find your type of locomotive in their installation pictures.
I've been modeling trains for many years, but I'm also kind of new to DCC. I have a Digitrax Super Empire Builder. Having a large collection of Athearn engines, I took the advice from many hours of reading post in a large variety of forums, and started with the engines that ran the best, and the easiest. I didn't have any voltage gauges, I just used the engines that responded best to the throttle on the power pack, and ran the best in slow switching speed.
Go to the Digitrax web site. They have a great "drop down" selector for finding the decoders that work with the "blue box" engines. They used to have a decoder that was all set up for Athearn, for installing without any soldering, but I think they discontinued it. They have instructions you can follow, and I think a few video tutorials. It's easy to do, and some soldering skills will be needed. After you do a couple, you'll be an "old hand" and be ready to add LED directional lighting.
Also, do a search. You'll find tons of articles on decoder installs. There is a great Athearn tutorial out there, but I don't have the address handy, and not sure if I can post it.
Possitively, the best thing about DCC is running multiple trains on the same track, without all the block controls we used in "cab control"
It's endless what can be done with DCC train and infrastucture control once you catch on to the technology I'm still along way from all of that. I do run both DC and DCC, as I still have a lot of engines I haven't converted yet. When I use DC, I totally disconect the DCC power supply from the track, and even unplug it. The same when I switch over to DCC, I totally disconnect the DC power pack from the track, and unplug the unit. You NEVER want to run both at the same time. I have my control panel wired as such. DCC on the left, DC on the right. NO wiring connects the track to the power supply I'm NOT using.
Have fun !
Mike.
My You Tube
How old is old, and how well does the engine run on DC?
When I came back to the hobby after a 40-year absence, I had a bunch of engines from the 1960s, including Athearns. I tried installing decoders, but the engines just weren't worth it. I have two of them running, but as dummy engines with sound decoders.
On the other hand, newer engines can run just fine, But, DCC will not make them run better, so consider how good they are before you invest in a decoder.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The same thing I discovered. I found that the older Athearn motors that were the dark blueish grey color weren't worth the effort, but the newer brass colored motors with the brass flywheels were the best candidates for DCC.
Here's a link for tuning up the Athearn, something you can do before you install the decoder:
The Care, Feeding and Growth of your Athearn Driven Power .
Not sure if I did the link right.
Digitrax used to have a conversion kit for Athearn Blue Box locos. BTW, some of their RTR mechanisms are the same as Blue Box.
Richard
Thanks all for the wealth of information! It is greatly appreciated. Looks like I will need to do some research on my locomotive, and see if it's worth doing.
I don't have it within reach so can't recall the exact name, but the first Kalmbach/MR book on DCC includes a chapter on installing a decoder in an Athearn bluebox engine. It takes you thru it step by step.