I have installed 8 of the new TCS Diesel Wow decoders over the last few weeks and I have begun to notice something a little concerning. When running a locomotive at the club or at home on my test bench, I am noticing that the actual decoder is getting hot, really hot!. I have yet to see one of these TCS Wow decoders go into "thermal protection shutdown" like the Tsunami does though. My clubs system is running at 14.8 volts and my DCS51 at home is putting out slightly less power.
Why are these TCS Diesel Wow decoders getting so hot and should I be concerned?
Computer chips generate heat. It's the nature of the beast. My Tsunamis also get quite hot, and I'm not surprised that the TCS ones do, too.
You can help by making sure they have some ventilation, and they aren't in direct contact with plastic engine shell parts. If your engine has rooftop fans, consider replacing them with real metal mesh detail parts to open the top to airflow.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I read somewhere that the Keep Alive and the resistors were producing too much heat on the WOW decoder, so TCS revised the decoder board and removed the Keep Alive and some of the resistors.
Rich
Alton Junction