As the title pretty much says. When it says : "Equipped with Quick Plug DCC technology" on the Athearn website does that mean that they are uppgraded with a 8 pin decoder or what?
Magnus
It just means that that they have a decoder socket in them. Some of the other manufacturers use the term DCC Ready to mean the same thing. Most, if not all, Athearn Gemesis locomotives use the 9-pin JST socket, not the 8-pin.
cacole wrote: It just means that that they have a decoder socket in them. Some of the other manufacturers use the term DCC Ready to mean the same thing. Most, if not all, Athearn Gemesis locomotives use the 9-pin JST socket, not the 8-pin.
Thanks, but which kind? It's like proto 1K which need a different kind. I do wish there was a standard way of expressing this.
It's the standard white JST 9-pin socket that decoders plug into. It is a standard among decoder manufacturers that provide removable harnesses for their decoders.
Digitrax, TCS, SoundTraxx, and others all use the JST headers on many of their decoders today. On the decoder shown in this link on the Digitrax web site, the wiring harness can be unplugged from the decoder because it is a JST header and plug-in harness.
http://www.digitrax.com/prd_mobdec_dh123d.php
The latest Athearn RTR's I got are GP40X's. They are DCC ready and the board has BOTH the 9 pin JST and 8 pin standard socket.
Tilden
Here is a Quick Plug board, in a SD40-2. The resistors for the 1.5 volt lights are built in. The dummy plug is still in the 9-pin receptacle. A 9-pin decoder plugs in, after removing the dummy plug. The 8-pin plug can be used instead, if you prefer. The MP15AC is similar, just much less room to fit everything back in. If the engine has a strobe, a 9-pin decoder will allow control of it, on F1. I don't believe a 8-pin decoder will be able to control it.
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
I just bought the AC4400 and it came with the 9 pin and 8 pin socket. the 9 pin had the jumper plug and the 8 pin was empty.
Did the lights blow useing the 8 pin socket? I folowed the traces on the Athearn board and found that the 9 pin is resistored where the 8 pin seems to bypass the resistors. But then my eyes arent what they used to be. I may have overlooked a trace or two. My decoder had a short harness and the JST header. So i figured why use the harness and used the 9 pin JST instead. All is well and runs good. but wish I stuffed some lead inside the body for more pulling power.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
The 8 pin needs resistors