NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
To me, DCC Ready means you can install a decoder without fear that the motor is somehow grounded to the frame.
As far as the lights are concerned, you always need to be concerned about the possible need for a resistor. Does the manual mention anything about resistors?
Whenever a manufacturer produces the same loco in DCC and DCC Ready, a DC user will choose DCC Ready because that is all it is, a DC loco that is ready to be converted to DCC with the installation of a decoder.
Rich
Alton Junction
NP2626Obviously, the resisters for the lights were a part of the circuit board which I removed to make room for my Digitrax Decoder. I did not find an 8 pin socket, per the description above.
Eh? You removed the board? The plug you were looking for should have been on the board you removed. DCC ready means that they used a standard board on all of their equipment, and then on the DCC version added the DCC module to that board. If you did not see the DCC plug on the module you removed, that likely means that it had a jumper across it that had to be removed before you could attach the DCC chip to it.
If DCC would not fin in your equipment with that mother board in there, then you needed to buy a small DCC unit.
Now the LION, on the other hand, does get rid of all of those boards, but puts all different lighting and powering systems into his equipment. And, ho, him not use DCC!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
There was no DCC plug.
The expression 'DCC Ready' is now an established note in the catalogue against many Bachmann locomotives.
It means that the locomotive has space for a DCC decoder and a standard NMRA socket to plug it into.
DCC - digital command control - is a control system for the model railway where a decoder onboard the locomotive is used to provide control of speed and direction of the motor. The instructions are passed from the 'throttle' to the decoder by means of digital signals that are superimposed over a constant track voltage. Put simply, you control the locomotive and not the track.
As well as output to power the motor, many decoders also have a number of auxiliary outputs that can power other functions: lights or smoke for example, and really fancy decoders also have sound.
As there is always voltage at the track these functions are not related to train speed as happens with lights on direct current (DC) controlled trains.
There are also decoders that will power stationary operations - points, signals, etc. - all from the same handset as you run your locomotive.
====================================
NP2626 There was no DCC plug.
No plug-in socket?
Here's a link to a photo of the Bachmann S2/S4 PCB. The 8-pin plug is right in the middle, between the axial resistors and the SMD's. You just unplug the jumper and plug in the decoder:
http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=4100
Here's a link to the exploded diagram for the DCC-ready S4, which also shows the PCB with the socket/jumper:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/HO_ALCO_S4_(DCC_READY).pdf
The good news is that they have a listing for the LED's, so you should be able to get replacements:
http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_68_573&products_id=7118
Not sure how much room is in the loco, but if I had one I'd probably look at something like a Digitrax DZ126PS for it.
So if there no DCC plug or socket, how did you install the Digitrax DCC decoder? Solder wires to the circuit board?
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
NP2626 I purchased a Bachmann Alco S-4 switcher which was termed as "DCC Ready", specifically and per the ad (Bachmann is pleased to offer the S4 in this DCC-ready model with factory-installed 8-pin socket for the DCC decoder installation of your choice). I installed a Digitrax DH123-D decoder and promptly burned out the head and reverse light! Obviously, the resisters for the lights were a part of the circuit board which I removed to make room for my Digitrax Decoder. I did not find an 8 pin socket, per the description above. So, I do not consider this to have been a "DCC Ready" locomotive. I also don't understand why Bachmann produces some of these locos (Alco S-4s) with DCC/Sound and some supposedly DCC Ready?
I have seen a similar question before. Here is the link to the DCC Ready PC board. Some did not know the plugged in DC adapter was removable.
http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_68_573&products_id=4100
You would do good to join the Bachmann forums where there are forums for different scales and all other kinds of info along with Bachmann reps.
Many seem to resist joining more than one forum.
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.
I have a DCC ready Bachmann 0-6-0T. But it doesn't have a socket Was it does have it soldering pads to connect the decoder too.Technically speaking it is DCC ready because all you have to do is attach the decoder to the existing circuit board. But it sure isn't convenient.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
NP2626I also don't understand why Bachmann produces some of these locos (Alco S-4s) with DCC/Sound and some supposedly DCC Ready?
Because some people want them with sound and some people want them without.
"DCC Ready" means a lot of things, depending on how the seller decided to define DCC Ready.
It can mean the motor is isolated from the frame, or it can mean that you just need to plug in a decoder (with the correct plug) to the locomotive interface. Depends again on how the term is defined by the manufacturer offering the product.
Remember the olden days when you saw "Digital Ready" on speakers and headphones? Same issue.
Not that I saw, Richhotrain. In fact, I just remembered that the red & black wires (track power) was reveresed on the Bachmann S-4.
richg1998 NP2626 I purchased a Bachmann Alco S-4 switcher which was termed as "DCC Ready", specifically and per the ad (Bachmann is pleased to offer the S4 in this DCC-ready model with factory-installed 8-pin socket for the DCC decoder installation of your choice). I installed a Digitrax DH123-D decoder and promptly burned out the head and reverse light! Obviously, the resisters for the lights were a part of the circuit board which I removed to make room for my Digitrax Decoder. I did not find an 8 pin socket, per the description above. So, I do not consider this to have been a "DCC Ready" locomotive. I also don't understand why Bachmann produces some of these locos (Alco S-4s) with DCC/Sound and some supposedly DCC Ready? I have seen a similar question before. Here is the link to the DCC Ready PC board. Some did not know the plugged in DC adapter was removable. http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_68_573&products_id=4100 You would do good to join the Bachmann forums where there are forums for different scales and all other kinds of info along with Bachmann reps. Many seem to resist joining more than one forum. Rich
I am a member of Bachmann's forum. Suggesting that we all go there with our Bachmann questions, is your pet come back, Rich. Maybe you can find good information there; but I find far more reliable and pertainenet information right here, Thank you very much!
CSX Robert NP2626 I also don't understand why Bachmann produces some of these locos (Alco S-4s) with DCC/Sound and some supposedly DCC Ready? Because some people want them with sound and some people want them without.
NP2626 I also don't understand why Bachmann produces some of these locos (Alco S-4s) with DCC/Sound and some supposedly DCC Ready?
davidmbedardDCC ready means the motor is electrically isolated from the rails....nothing more.
I would have thought it means much more than this; however, I think I'm going to go with your definition!
I would think that the NMRA would have some input on what "DCC Ready" should mean?
Interesting.
I did a decoder install in a Bachmann S4, it had an 8 pin dummy plug that I just removed and hooked the decoder up there. In fact, I did two of them, one for myself and one for a friend, both have the plug. Every Bachmann engine I've bought in the last 3-4 years that were advertised as DCC-Ready were 8-pin equipped.
Transition Era Santa Fe/C&S on the Joint Line.
I did this installation in November of last year. I no longer have the circuit board that I removed from the S-4 and do not recall it having any type of plug on it. Certainley, I have installed enough decoders in locomotives to feel I would have recognized a plug, should there have been one! However, I was 64 at the time I did this and it is possible my feeble mind did not catch that there was!
Is the plug shown in the exploded view of the loco, with the plans supplied? Tell me where the plug is in the exploded view provided in this link:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/HO_ALCO_S2_DCC_READY.pdf
NP2626 davidmbedard DCC ready means the motor is electrically isolated from the rails....nothing more. I would have thought it means much more than this...
davidmbedard DCC ready means the motor is electrically isolated from the rails....nothing more.
I would have thought it means much more than this...
When manufacturers first started using this term, it wasn't uncommon for locomotives to use the frame as one side of the circuit from the wheels to the motor, with the motor and contact for one brush attached directly to the frame. In some locos, the hardest part of the decoder install was isolating the motor from the frame and/or the frame from the wheels. In the early days, "DCC Ready" was coined to refer to a locomotive with the motor isolated from the wheels, thus eliminating the hardest part of some installs.
NP2626... I would think that the NMRA would have some input on what "DCC Ready" should mean?
Well, "DCC Ready" was coined by manufacturers, not the NMRA, so it would be tough for the NMRA to come in after the fact and say what it should mean.
NP2626 Is the plug shown in the exploded view of the loco, with the plans supplied? Tell me where the plug is in the exploded view provided in this link: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/HO_ALCO_S2_DCC_READY.pdf
NP2626Is the plug shown in the exploded view of the loco, with the plans supplied? Tell me where the plug is in the exploded view provided in this link: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/HO_ALCO_S2_DCC_READY.pdf
It appears to me that the socket for an eight pin plug is shown in the upper right, under where it is printed CT004.00P01.8.
I don't know if it makes a difference, but the link you provided says it is for a S-2. I think in the original posts it was said that the loco is an S-4.
Bob Schuknecht NP2626 Is the plug shown in the exploded view of the loco, with the plans supplied? Tell me where the plug is in the exploded view provided in this link: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/HO_ALCO_S2_DCC_READY.pdf Isn't the plug the raised piece right in the center of the circuit board?
Isn't the plug the raised piece right in the center of the circuit board?
Yes. Just pull off the top part to expose the socket.
Joe
Bachmann wants 35.00 for that PCB for S2/S4 replacement.
Take Care!
Frank
"DCC ready" is a cruel joke and just a selling feature. I just bought two Bachmann GP38-2s, that are "DCC Ready". Sure, they have the 8 pin socket, but not much room for anything on top of the motor, except maybe a small silent decoder. The frame weight is two piece, and the top piece has no holes in it. So a speaker firing down will not be heard. And the fan grills are not see through, so a speaker firing up in the back will also not be heard.Not much room in the cab for a speaker either. And not much room for a sound decoder on top of the factory light board. So, it looks like I'm going to be doing some or maybe a lot of grinding on the weights and doing a hard wire job on them. Might be room for a speaker in the fuel tank area, but will require drilling a dozen small holes for the sound to get out. So it might be "DCC Ready", but it sure ain't DCC and sound ready! I've done plenty of sound installs, but frankly, I'm tired of drilling and grinding and hard wiring.
hobo9941 "DCC ready" is a cruel joke and just a selling feature. I just bought two Bachmann GP38-2s, that are "DCC Ready". Sure, they have the 8 pin socket, but not much room for anything on top of the motor, except maybe a small silent decoder. So it might be "DCC Ready", but it sure ain't DCC and sound ready!
"DCC ready" is a cruel joke and just a selling feature. I just bought two Bachmann GP38-2s, that are "DCC Ready". Sure, they have the 8 pin socket, but not much room for anything on top of the motor, except maybe a small silent decoder.
So it might be "DCC Ready", but it sure ain't DCC and sound ready!
I don't have the model in question so I will defer to others as to exactly how the circuit board is set up, but in general most Bachmann locos do have an 8 pin socket with a jumper pluged into it as shown in the photo posted somewhere above.
Plugging a decoder direcly into that plug yields a working setup, lights and all, no other mods needed.
Or, in the case of the locos labeled "DCC Onboard" by Bachmann, there is already a DCC decoder pluged into that 8 pin socket - AND the jumper is included to allow removal of the decoder for the best possible DC operation.
Why does Bachmann make locos both ways, or really two out of three possible ways?
Easy - they know how many DC users are still out there, they understand their pricing position in the market, and they understand that not all DCC users want sound.
Many people are quick to say "but the DCC decoders work on DC" - well not really, or I should say not really well.
DCC decoder equiped locos do not work on my DC system. They do not like the Pulse Width modulated DC output of the Aristo Train Engineer throttles. Kind of ironic considering the motor control of a decoder is Pulse Width Modulated DC?
It seems unusual that this loco did not have a 8 pin socket, but not unheard of.
The DCC Onboard versions of the Bachmann GE 70T loco have a decoder made right into the circuit board - a little bit of a nuisance to convert to straight DC, but I figured it out.
I have removed the decoders from dozens of Bachmann locos (and a few other brands), so I am thankful that Bachmann sees the value in total cross compatiblity.
Sheldon
hobo9941 "DCC ready" is a cruel joke and just a selling feature. ....... So it might be "DCC Ready", but it sure ain't DCC and sound ready! I've done plenty of sound installs, but frankly, I'm tired of drilling and grinding and hard wiring.
"DCC ready" is a cruel joke and just a selling feature. ....... So it might be "DCC Ready", but it sure ain't DCC and sound ready! I've done plenty of sound installs, but frankly, I'm tired of drilling and grinding and hard wiring.
I don't really think it's a cruel joke. I mean, the term DCC ready seems to have been coined before sound became common, so lets be fair. Words mean things don't they? There is no "sound" in the term "DCC ready" - it has commonly meant for years that you could plug a DCC (yes, silent) decoder into an engine and control it with a DCC system.
It's been a relatively recent phenomenon that more and more loco's have had provisions in them for speakers etc. And even more recently have some companies, such as Athearn, in a limited very recent number of engines provided accomodations for speakers in their older RTR chassis such as the SD45/SD40 and such.
People shouldn't be offended when they buy a loco and find it difficult to shoe horn in sound. It's not written somewhere that it's a DCC right that if DCC is on the box there should be space for sound in there as well. Now if the box said DCC SOUND ready, then sure, I would agree, there should be space for a sound decoder and a speaker, absolutely - you'd have a right to accuse them of a cruel joke if there wasn't space.
riogrande5761 hobo9941 "DCC ready" is a cruel joke and just a selling feature. ....... So it might be "DCC Ready", but it sure ain't DCC and sound ready! I've done plenty of sound installs, but frankly, I'm tired of drilling and grinding and hard wiring. I don't really think it's a cruel joke. I mean, the term DCC ready seems to have been coined before sound became common, so lets be fair. Words mean things don't they? There is no "sound" in the term "DCC ready" - it has commonly meant for years that you could plug a DCC (yes, silent) decoder into an engine and control it with a DCC system. It's been a relatively recent phenomenon that more and more loco's have had provisions in them for speakers etc. And even more recently have some companies, such as Athearn, in a limited very recent number of engines provided accomodations for speakers in their older RTR chassis such as the SD45/SD40 and such. People shouldn't be offended when they buy a loco and find it difficult to shoe horn in sound. It's not written somewhere that it's a DCC right that if DCC is on the box there should be space for sound in there as well. Now if the box said DCC SOUND ready, then sure, I would agree, there should be space for a sound decoder and a speaker, absolutely - you'd have a right to accuse them of a cruel joke if there wasn't space.
Well said.
That's a great point. Isn't it time for manufacturers to design a loco with the space to install the decoder and sound system of your choice?
Well, many are now. BUT, As a DC non sound operator the last thing I want is to buy a DCC ready diesel loco who's weight, and thereby pulling power, has been dramiticly compromised to make room for a speaker or two.
Long before they even offered it with sound, the Bachmann Berkshire had a sound ready tender - that's fine, it makes sense to only make one tender floor no matter what DC/DCC options you offer. But if it seriously compromises loco weight - no thank you.
It is right in the middle of the circuit board. If you zoom in you can see that the rectangular box has 2 rows of 4 holes in it. That's where the 8 pins go. It comes from the factory with a jumper plugged into the socket that looks like the back of a PC board.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.