I'm working on my own decoder and I need to acquire some HO locos that can demonstrate independent control of 4 different lights (like front, rear, ditch, cab or something). I'm not working with sound at this stage. My connector is 9 pin.Can anyone please recommend a loco I might want to try this on? I might need to by a couple so I probably don't want to spend too much money.
Like I said before - just MAKE one by building or buying a decoder tester. If you want to validate an actual motor drive, then use a motor, and add as many light connections as you want. You can fully test any sort of lighting effect and any sort of control of those lights and you cna do it without worrying about track or a palce to run. Especially if you are trying to design your own decoder, the whole works can be on the same bench with your electronic equipment. Overall this would be much easier during the development process, and also less risky that a loco with a wierd fault (and there are plenty - despite the "DCC Ready" moniker) destroying your prototype decoder.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks Randy. I'm actually at the end of my "testing" phase and at the stage where I want to put a few of these in some working trains, run them, and take them around and show them to some folks. So I'm hoping for some recommendations on some affordable actual DCC-Ready locos that run 4 lights. I'm leaning towards Athearn because I'm using the 9-pin. I have been given some examples of trains with ditch lights (SD70ACe, ES44AC and SD40-2). When I go to the Athearn site and browse the "Ready to Roll" section they do have the SD40-2 in various varieties, but they don't give you any info on the detail pages about which ones have ditch lights and which don't. I appreciate you answer though - your advice on testing is good.
None of the RTR have extra lights from the factory, just basic front and rear lights.
The Genesis locos often have ditch lights, but usually need to be rewired to actually put each ditch light on its own function so they can alternate. The circuit board in those provides for it, but by default both ditch lights end up on the same function if you just plug the decoder in. This is for a Genesis series non-dound, it will have a baord similar to that in the RTR.
Some Kato locos have ditch lights, but often just usinmg light pipes so they come on with the headlight.
I can't think of a single loco that has ditch lights pre-wired to the DC lighting board in a way that simply plugging in the 9 pin decoder will allow you to set up front and rear lights plus the alternating ditch lights - probbaly because it would mean a different DC dummy plug in the 9 pin socket than the one used on every other model. Your best bet would be to pick any loco you like and add a pair of ditch lights. Existing DC circuit board, just trash it, pick up a few 9 pin to plain wire harnesses and solder the appropriate wires.
That makes sense. I imagine the RTR trains are sort of made with regular DC in mind, in which case the independent light control might never get used much of the time. I think the Kato's might be 8 pin. Are you aware if they make 9 pin JST to 8 pin medium adapters? Thanks again.
Looks like they do
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/SoundTraxx-810135-NMRA-8-Pin-to-9-Pin-Harness-p/stx-810135.htm
That's why the 9 pin is a good starting point, you can get 9 pin to wires, and 9 pin to 8 pin in many lenghts and alignments.
The problem with the 8 pin is there won;t be enough functions for front and rear lights plus two independent ditch lights. You'll be bypassing that stuff anyway. The standard calls for one pin on the 8 pin connector to be not attached to anything, so that if you plug the 8 pin in backwards (it's just a simple DIP socket, really, so there is no physical keying), nothing will be damaged - the loco will just run backwards because putting the 8 pin in backwards reverses the two motor wires. The 9 pin is physically keys, you can't put it in backwards without really breaking something.
99% of the time, I remove factory boards and hard wire everything. Why? Because then I know it's right, also 9 pin to wire decoders are usually a buck or so cheaper than ones going to 8 pin plugs. Plus most of the time I'm replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs anyway. A little bit of soldering skill goes a long way. I would say your best bet it to take one of the locos you have, add some ditch light castings, and get some SMD LEDs to light them up, and just hard wire it all to a 9 pin connector to go to your decoder. Done, and done.
Thanks Randy. I really appreciate this excellent advice.