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?
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.
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
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
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.
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!
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?
Because some people want them with sound and some people want them without.
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
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!
Not that I saw, Richhotrain. In fact, I just remembered that the red & black wires (track power) was reveresed on the Bachmann S-4.
"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.
NP2626I also don't understand why Bachmann produces some of these locos (Alco S-4s) with DCC/Sound and some supposedly DCC Ready?
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
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NP2626 There was no DCC plug.
There was no DCC plug.
So if there no DCC plug or socket, how did you install the Digitrax DCC decoder? Solder wires to the circuit board?
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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.
No plug-in socket?
Alton Junction
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.
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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
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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.