How old is to old for DCC

[Tim_Seawel]

I have several Athearn diesel loco's 1981 vintage that I just got out of storage, they have been put away for 23 years and put them on a test track and amazingly they all preformed well on DC. My question is are these loco's to old for DCC?

Tim

[jrbernier]

They should be no problem. Digitrax even has a special wiring harness just for Athearn 'Blue Box' engines. One upgrade I would suggest is to purchase replacement nickel/silver wheelsets(either JayBee or NWSL). The old 'sintered' iron wheelsets arc a lot and DCC packets can get scrambled before they get to the decoder. Smooth electrical pickup is something very critical for good DCC operation.

Jim Bernier

[Tim_Seawel]

Thanks Jim for the response, I will be looking into Digitraxx and the wheelsets you mentioned. I was really surprised these loco's actually moved at all after setting for 23 yrs.

Tim[:)]

[rrinker]

Those NWSL wheels are the absolute best. The trade off for improved electrical pickup is a bit of traction loss, but since most Athearn locos can haul FAR longer trains than their prototypes, it's not big deal.
Athearn locos are prtty much indestructible. Considering they were and are relatively inexpensive, the construction is actually well done. This is why for a long time model magazine recommended AGAINST getting a typical train set for a newcomer, and instead making your own 'set' with an Athearn loco. FAR FAR superior to the typical train set 'quality' locos.
As for DCC - 1981 vintage is right around the time they switched to the newer motor. If the motors in yours have flat sides with a yellowi***an color you are all set. The older motors have quite a bit higher stall current and neither of the Digitrax decoders that come with the Athearn harness are rated to handle that one. Your options are to buy the harness seperately (they do sell it that way) ad get a decoder with a 9 pin connector on it with a higher current rating, or remotor. Remotering with a purpose-built kit for the job like the Helix Humper is INCREDIBLY easy, and the payoff will be a much smoother running loco. The newer Athearn motor will plug right in as well, but I don't know the price or availability of those. My father in law has a large number of older Athearn units - the ones with the 'tan can' motors I recommended to him to leave alone, just install a decoder and swap the wheelset for the NWSL ones. With a good DCC decoder, like the DH163AT, or the TCS T1 (which is my preferred fleet decoder - high quality yet inexpensive and packed with motor control features), even the stock Athearn motor runs nicely. His older ones, with the old motors, I recommended that he remotor before going further. Stall current on some of those exceeds 2 amps, and that puts you in large scale decoder territory.

--Randy

[Tim_Seawel]

It looks like I may be in luck. All 4 of the loco's I checked had the tan colored flat sided motor you mentioned. Yippee look at me!

Thanks a bunch Tim[:D]

[Anonymous]

By tan, would you possibly mean brass or bronze (or maybe zinc) colored? I have an old PB-1 that has a motor with flat sides that appears to be plated with one of the above. My even older PA-1 has a different motor that does not have the flat sides. I suppose I should repower that one.

Now to answer the question asked in the subject line:
You're too old for DCC when you reach 126 years old!!! (at least I don't know of anyone using DCC at 126 years of age!)

[rrinker]

That sounds like the right one. The PA has the older one. If you have a meter that can read DC amps, easiest thing to do it test it out. At 12V, hold on to the flywheel to stall the motor (briefly!) and check the current reading.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

I have purchased the "newer" Athearn motor for about twelve dollars locally from my LHS and it is usually in stock, so a conversion, if you will, to the newer motor is not expensive.

[Tim_Seawel]

Jdavid, I'm only 52, I hope I can still play with trains when I am 126yrs old

Tim[:)]

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jdavid93225

Now to answer the question asked in the subject line:
You're too old for DCC when you reach 126 years old!!! (at least I don't know of anyone using DCC at 126 years of age!)

Actually, when I first saw the post in the index, that's what I imagined it to be about! I'm 58 and using DC. I figured that DCC was probably beyond my abilities. But the more people talk about it the more interested I get. Maybe if I ever start another layout it will be time to try it out.


Regards

Ed

[Anonymous]

If I make it to 126, there will be a wing in the nursing home that is nothing but trains. Bill it all to insurance as a wellness therapy.

Those Athearns are bullet proof. I have several that are old and they will run well. Either riding the sparks full bore or not very slow. I wont be converting those to DCC. There are many quaility deseils on the market today already set up for DCC.