decoder choices

[Anonymous]

Can somebody please tell me what sort of decoder i should installl in my proto 2000 sd 60 . i have no experience in decoder installation. . my control is a marklin delta system and i thought i could use a DH163 LO ot similiar but i have recently been told that these decoders wont work with the marklin delta? Any thoughts please???

[cacole]

If the decoder you have won't work with the Markin Delta, then no other NMRA compliant decoder will, either. You're going to need a decoder made by or compatible with Marklin, if such a thing exists. Practically every decoder sold in the US is designed to comply with the NMRA DCC Standards and Recommended Practices. Is the Marklin Delta a DCC system or just for block control? You can't operate a DCC locomotive if you don't have a DCC system.

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I just checked the Marklin Web site. Their blurb about the Marklin Delta makes no mention of compliance to NMRA standards, so you probably cannot use any NMRA-compliant decoder with it. The Marklin Delta appears to be a proprietary system, meaning that only Marklin products can be used with it, and their site makes no mention of decoders. From the sound of it, a decoder is going to be required, but they don't say who makes them or where they are sold. Check their Web site's list of dealers and see if anyone in the US sells decoders for that system, and then contact that dealer for help.

One place that may be worth checking out, too, is the Lenz Web site. I believe the URL is http://www.lenz.com

Lenz products are made in Giessen, Germany, and since Marklin is also a German company, Lenz may have decoders that are made specifically for the Marklin Delta system. If they are not sold in the USA, try contacting Bernd Lenz himself in Giessen about acquiring a decoder for the Markin system.

Another European manufacturer that may be able to help is Roco of Austria.