tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28232332640965784472024-03-13T13:39:59.794-07:00N Scale DCC Decoder Installsnscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-28469659030919959522019-11-18T08:38:00.001-08:002021-01-10T15:12:13.554-08:00Building a DCC sound carIt's been ages since I posted anything new on this blog. I have been busy building my layout over the last couple of years and already have decoders in nearly all of my locomotives. Here is something new that I finished recently.<br />
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I actually started this project a few years ago. I got it working but was not satisfied with the way the sound cut out whenever good electric contact between the wheels and the rails was lost. After purchasing some TCS KA1 keep alive modules and some better quality metal wheel sets I wanted to try to finish it up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwatf2QTWK41qRN8Kp85qBhDopVpAhrrBYuD4mzcFP7VMuG6sR7E4AFmez3y-wdY1JFc27Fw1fBeBAB1z5LcCPsOTNhpQHQeR0pwnS8vc_PBiOV1Yoyrjim4Tox_oOSNgW23JUCDtCHLQ/s1600/Soundcar5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwatf2QTWK41qRN8Kp85qBhDopVpAhrrBYuD4mzcFP7VMuG6sR7E4AFmez3y-wdY1JFc27Fw1fBeBAB1z5LcCPsOTNhpQHQeR0pwnS8vc_PBiOV1Yoyrjim4Tox_oOSNgW23JUCDtCHLQ/s320/Soundcar5.jpg" width="320" /></a>The car I am using for this project is an Atlas 4 bay ACF covered hopper. The decoder is an older version of Soundtraxx. I built this speaker sound box from scraps of styrene to be placed over one of the high points between the bays of the hopper. This really helps amplify the sound.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pfFZzxC2q5Q8riOzoxXn36zaD294-c5ZrL93HKT3rxdM8fE6p_iQHC3bPM2AmURiQcZcHk2n5QVB6XXnNtYg6602tiKs7ijHv3ZpVaBbaxeFayW-bO8EN4U00z67YrTKShkURItO_Xw/s1600/Soundcar6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pfFZzxC2q5Q8riOzoxXn36zaD294-c5ZrL93HKT3rxdM8fE6p_iQHC3bPM2AmURiQcZcHk2n5QVB6XXnNtYg6602tiKs7ijHv3ZpVaBbaxeFayW-bO8EN4U00z67YrTKShkURItO_Xw/s320/Soundcar6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I cut out the between bay areas on the bottom of the car, one for the speaker box and two to make room for the decoder. The axle contacts were made from .010 brass strip with brass screws used to hold the trucks in place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2ccmU8771ZCp09eocgLf8Rs9KSMkgX_bYsMlptlto-CnLUz0IGHBgCwqHXcxYOymck648FFP6Pvb_USgCgj88JO0H04xoZCg787ob2fK1s4ic1YyiOiUgeL3AodZgf97LrWtJFhDWPM/s1600/Soundcar7.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="684" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2ccmU8771ZCp09eocgLf8Rs9KSMkgX_bYsMlptlto-CnLUz0IGHBgCwqHXcxYOymck648FFP6Pvb_USgCgj88JO0H04xoZCg787ob2fK1s4ic1YyiOiUgeL3AodZgf97LrWtJFhDWPM/s320/Soundcar7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here is some detail on how I did the wheel pickups. The Atlas metal wheels were later replaced with BLMA metal wheels which worked much better.<br />
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This does not roll as freely as it would without the axle wipers but this car will be right behind the power so should be OK.<br />
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After carefully cutting and removing the heat shrink, and then removing the metal heat sink shown here on the right, I found the places to connect the Keep Alive circuit wires.<br />
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That a heat sink that needs to be put back after the wires are connected.<br />
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Here is a close up photo of the TCS KA1 Keep Alive module connections to the decoder. After soldering the wires from the KA1 to the Soundtraxx decoder, the white plastic heat shrink was re-install and secured with scotch tape.<br />
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After getting the decoder and speaker inside the car the KA1 will fit over the decoder if the 6 capacitors are bent out flat as shown in this photo.<br />
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And here is the car with everything inside. It's a tight fit but the lid will fit.<br />
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A demonstration of the sound is on this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRWqOo6k1_k&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"><b>Youtube video</b>.</a>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-18156477522624166482016-07-02T03:07:00.000-07:002016-07-14T23:16:45.407-07:00Programming routes on a Digtrax DS64Stationary decoders can used to control turnouts and other accessories on a layout. One of the most popular ones is the Digitrax DS64. On my current home layout I have two DS64's in use. One of these controls a double ended staging yard and the other a pair of cross overs. I have programmed each of these to use the inputs connected to panel push buttons to select the routes.<br />
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Prior to programming the routes, I set up the DS64 to control stall motors as I am using Tortoises and to activate all 8 inputs. This is done as Op Switch settings and was well enough explained in the Digitrax documentation that I did not have any trouble getting through it. When I got to programming the routes I found the instructions a bit confusing but eventually figured it out. I wanted to make some good notes for myself and thought this might make a good blog post in case anyone else might need some help on route programming.<br />
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First just a bit about the DS64. I had used two of the older DS54's on an old layout and they worked great. The DS64 has all the same functions but is a big improvement in mounting and connections.<br />
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This product gives you three choices for power. It can be powered from the track by connecting the track to the terminal strip connections marked "TRKA" and TRKB".<br />
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Or a 12 volt DC source with a standard power plug can be connected at the location shown in this photo.<br />
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The third power option is the one I am using.<br />
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I am running my stationary decoders and some other circuits from a main 12 volt DC power supply which is connected at the two terminals marked with AX1(-) and AX1(+) pointed out in this photo<br />
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And now on to the route programming</h4>
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I am going to use the DS64 that controls one of my staging yards as an example. In this particular project all 4 of the outputs and all 8 of the routes were used to accomplish what I wanted to do.</div>
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This is the control panel for the yard. The yard is a reverse loop with 3 sidings on one side. There are 7 turnouts including the one forming the reverse loop. 4 momentary center off double pole toggle switches allow for selection of 8 different routes. <br />
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This modified graphic from the control panel shows how the eight possible toggle switch selections relate to the 8 routes. 3 of the outputs will drive 2 turnouts each with the 4th driving just one turnout.<br />
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Part of the process of programming routes is to assign addresses to the inputs and outputs, and also a top or pseudo address for the route. Besides being activated by the inputs, the routes can also be activated by calling up their addresses on the throttle. Each individual output can also be accessed by the throttle. It is best to develop a plan and to write out all the addresses that are to be used.<br />
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This table represents the addresses I have assigned to the routes and the outputs. I used this as a guide when doing the route programming reading this across from left to right for each route.<br />
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The easiest way to program most DCC devices is to interface the Loconet to a computer and use Decoder Pro software. Unfortunately Decoder Pro does not yet have any provision to program routes on a DS64. The route programming is done with the DS64 connected to an active Digitrax command station by a Loconet cable. The routes are programmed one at a time using the button on the DS64 and a throttle. If a mistake is made on one, it won't effect the others. <br />
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Referring to the table above, I have given the routes 1 to 8 on this decoder top addresses of 21 to 28 which can also be used to activate the routes from a throttle. The outputs on this decoder are addressed 11 to 14. This all happens as the routes are programmed.<br />
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This next table shows the details of all the steps to program that first route. <br />
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This process is repeated for routes 2 to 8 with the only differences being the "C" and "T" settings. Hope you have found this helpful. Once properly programmed the DS64 has proven very reliable for me.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-25369470525207808352016-05-15T11:23:00.000-07:002016-05-15T11:23:11.473-07:00Test fixture for TCS CN type decodersFor wired decoders I used always used a test fixture of some sort in case I wanted to test it before installation or in case I had issues with it and wanted to test it separately. In the February 2011 post <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2011/02/building-decoder-tester.html"><b>Building a decoder tester</b></a> I showed how I built the one I am currently using. <br />
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Of course now there are many decoder models that have no wires. I wanted to come with with some sort of easy connections to my decoder tester to accommodate those. The first one I have done is for the TCS CN and CN-GP decoders as I use a lot of those.<br />
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<span id="goog_1942970681"></span>I drilled and tapped 2-56 holes on each half of an Atlas GP7 frame half to secure 22 gauge wires. Then mounted this to a small 1/2 inch thick piece of plywood for stability. Space for the fuel tank part of the frame was routed out of the plywood and 1/4 inch thick plywood rails on each side hold the frame in place.<br />
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The 22 gauge wires from the frame and motor wires from the decoder are connected to the decoder tester. I had included banana jacks on the decoder tester with this purpose in mind but find that the wire binding post work just fine.<br />
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This setup should also work on with the TCS MT1500 decoder.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-48167996506621017652016-04-09T16:05:00.000-07:002016-04-09T16:06:10.494-07:00TCS M1 in a Kato SD40This is another one of those installations where I am using a standard wired decoder on a model that was designed to take a specific board type decoder. In this case the model is the Kato SD40 built on a mechanism that can use either the Digitrax DN163K1B or the Train Control Systems K1D4 board type decoders. Releases of the SD40 and SD45 after 2002 use this mechanism. It can be impossible to know what you have until the body is removed exposing the mechanism.<br />
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Here is a comparison of the two mechanisms.<br />
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The upper photo is the older version and requires the frame to be modified to get any decoder into to it.<br />
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The mechanism in the lower photo is the later version which accepts a board type decoder.<br />
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Sometimes it happens that someone gets the wrong decoder because they are mistaken about which version they have. While the board decoder can't be used on the older version there is no reason a wired decoder can't be installed in the newer version.<br />
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Looking again at the newer version of the mechanism and comparing a TCS M1 wired decoder along side it can be seen that there is space for this or other similar small decoder under the LED on the long hood end.<br />
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As with my other installations where wired decoders are connected to existing boards, the board receives some modifications. The first step is shown in this photo.<br />
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A small section of the circuit traces are removed in the seven locations shown in red in this photo to isolate the various functions.<br />
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Then the capacitor that is installed across the short hood end is removed. This was added by Kato after it was realized that when running at high speed on DC the trailing end bright white LEDs would flicker. Since this is not going to be an issue using the decoder it can be eliminated.<br />
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Next an additional resistor needs to be added at the location shown in this photo. The value on the resistor should be the same as the existing one. They will have either a number 271 (270 ohms) or 561 (560 ohms) on them. I got mine from other stock Kato boards I had but this type of surface mount resistor can be purchased from Electronics supply sources.<br />
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All of the decoder wire connection locations are also shown in this photo.<br />
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Just as with the board decoder installation, Kapton tape is placed across the top of the frame and over the sides to insulate the frame from the contact wings that extend down from the board.<br />
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I found it works best to install the board on the chassis first then put the decoder in it's place and cut the wires to length starting with the ones closest to the decoder.<br />
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This photo shows how I placed the decoder with the wires facing backward but it could go either way. The wires can either go between the leads of the LED or around to one side.<br />
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This photo shows all the wires connected<br />
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When re-installing the shell, it should rest upon the tabs that stick out from the frame as pointed out by the green arrow in this photo.<br />
<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-87359220028276527992016-01-15T13:22:00.000-08:002016-01-16T08:34:35.537-08:00TCS MT1500 in a Life Like SW8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For quite a few years Life Like had offered N scale models of the EMD SW8, SW9, and SW1200 switch engines in many road names. These were never decoder friendly, and have always been one of the more challenging models to do an installation on. In 2011 I posted in the blog about installing a <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/search/label/Loco%3A%20Life%20Like%20SW9%2F1200"><b>TCS Z2 in a Life Like SW9/1200</b></a> and it's been the most popular post.<br />
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A few years ago the Life Like line was acquired by Walthers, and it appears that Walther's has discontinued production of this model. More recently Micro-Trains released a model of the SW1500 which is using a very similar mechanism to the one used on the Life Like models.<br />
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Shortly after Micro-Trains released the SW-1500 switcher model, Train Control Systems came out with a decoder for it called the model MT1500.<br />
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I wanted to see if this new decoder would also work on one of my Life Like SW8's that had not yet received a decoder.<br />
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The first challenge in this installation is to remove the body from the mechanism without damaging the contacts that are attached to the inside of the body. <br />
To do this I made a set of 4 shims as shown in this photo. The shims are shown here with a ruler as a size comparison.<br />
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The shims are inserted between the frame and body at the points shown in this photo. Then the frame can be carefully removed from the body. It helps to first remove the cab section and weight, then the frame can be pushed out from above.<br />
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The MT1500 decoder does not come with any wires because the installation in the Micro-Trains SW1500 uses the wires that are already in the locomotive. Scraps of wire left over from other wired decoders were soldered to the motor contact clips after they were cut down to the sizes shown in this photo.<br />
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After re-attaching the motor contact clips to the motor and installing the saddle the assembly should look like this. The orange wire is laying is a small groove that I had filed in plastic body of the motor.<br />
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After re-assembling the mechanism it should look like this photo. The wires from the motor will plug into the sockets on the decoder board. Lay the wires down flat as shown so they won't get pinched when the body in put on the mechanism.<br />
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The SW1500 decoder has a tiny LED headlight which operates as function F0 which is great. It also has the option of connecting another light or LED to some very tiny contacts on the decoder board.<br />
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If you are up to trying to solder wires to these then this could be programmed for a rotary beacon or mapped to function F0 in the reverse to add a headlight on the back of the cab.<br />
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After getting the body back on the mechanism it's good to check the coupler height on both ends to insure the body is on correctly. I had no problems with mine. This was the easiest installation on one of these models I've done. The MT1500 is a welcomed addition to the TCS line of decoders.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-28556057993388559442015-07-11T09:50:00.000-07:002015-07-11T09:50:05.565-07:00TCS M1 in an Atlas GP7Yes, this is yet another type of Atlas GP7 installation. This installation follows an older technique that I don't use much anymore but in this case the model already has a Richmond Controls lighting unit installed and the goal is to continue to use it being controlled by the DCC decoder.<br />
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Richmond Controls of Richmond, Texas has been providing small lighting modules for model railroaders for many years. Features may include constant brightness head lights, MARS lights, simulated rotary beacon, and other similar features. For more information about Richmond Controls check out <b><a href="http://www.richmondcontrols.com/" target="_blank">their web site</a></b>.<br />
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This photo shows the Richmond light module on the left at the short hood end of the frame. It's input is wired to the standard LED board on the long hood end to get contact to the frame.<br />
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First I wanted to verify for myself that the Richmond light module current draw was within what the function output of the TCS M1 decoder could provide. The current draw was between 5.5 and 6.1 ma depending on the cycle of the rotary beacon. This is well within the stated 100ma rating for the M1's function outputs.<br />
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A variable DC power supply was used for this test and the current draw did not change much between 6 and 12 volts.<br />
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To start this installation, the mechanism will need to be fully disassembled.<br />
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Normally on a straight forward DCC install on this model, I would have used a TCS CN-GP decoder without frame modification.<br />
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In this case to have room for the Richmond module I went back to my old method of using the TCS M1 wired decoder and a frame milled by Aztec Manufacturing.<br />
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This particular model is notorious for being noisy. This has been traced to vibration of the inner bushing of the worm gear assemblies. The assembly will support itself between the outer bushing and the flywheel so the inner bushing can be removed. While this is apart for decoder installation is a good time to do this.<br />
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I did not invent this technique myself, but read about it years ago in <b><a href="http://www.nscalemagazine.com/" target="_blank">N Scale magazine</a>. </b>Here is a <a href="http://trainweb.org/passengercars/Bearingblock.pdf" target="_blank"><b>PDF reprint</b> </a>of that article.<br />
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To remove the inner bushing, first pull off the hex shaped part from the end of the shaft then remove the bushing and put the hex part back on. The hex part must be a tight fit on the shaft as it is what interfaces with the flywheel. I will normally use adhesive such as E6000 to secure this part to the shaft.<br />
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<h4>
Tip:</h4>
If you ever have a locomotive where one or both sets of wheels don't turn when the motor is running, check this or it's equivalent part for being loose on the shaft.<br />
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The decoder wires are cut to the following lengths:<br />
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Black / Red = 2 inch<br />
Orange = 1-1/8 inch<br />
Gray = 1-5/8 inch<br />
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The White and Blue wires can be left alone for now.<br />
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As with many of my other installs, I file a groove on the side of the motor body for the longer of the motor wires to reach the bottom of the motor<br />
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One of the original LED boards is cut off so that there is just enough circuit trace sticking out from the frame to solder the red and black decoder wires to. This is then installed at the short hood end of the mechanism.<br />
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The Richmond Controls module is then attached to the frame in remaining space with either double stick or adhesive.<br />
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The yellow is cut to a length that will allow it to be folded over the decoder and connected to the cathode side of the T3 size LED.<br />
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The blue wire from the decoder is cut a bit shorter than the yellow wire and then spliced with the section of blue wire that was cut off. Both are then connected to a 680 ohm 1/8 watt resistor. The resistor is then connected to the anode side of the LED. Heat shrink tubing is used to cover these connections.<br />
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The remaining blue and white wires from the decoder and the red and black wires from the Richmond module can now be cut to a length that they will meet and can be spliced. A 1000 ohm resistor was placed in series to hopefully prevent any over voltage to the Richmond module. Splices are contained within small heat shrink tubing.<br />
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When the body is placed back on the mechanism, care must be taken with small wires to the rotary beacon.<br />
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Also, it is best to check the coupler height for both ends of the locomotive against a Micro-Train reference. This the body of this model is a loose fit on the frame and if the body is sitting too low it can cause coupler height problems and the bottom of the body hitting the rails. It may be necessary to place shims made from polystyrene strips on the inside of the top of the body.<br />
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Recently I've been learning how to work with YouTube a little bit and thought a good way to end this post was with a short video showing the simulated rotary beacon on this model in action.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3aBzyit7MCQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3aBzyit7MCQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-9903308573215243292015-04-12T17:39:00.000-07:002015-07-11T09:55:39.131-07:00TCS M1 in an Atlas Master Line GP38-2<br />
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I recently did an install on one of the more recent releases of an Atlas GP38-2 using the TCS M1 decoder. While this install is similar to other installs I have presented using a wired decoder instead of a board decoder I discovered some differences that made it worth it's own post.<br />
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After dis-assembling the mechanism I discovered that the motor had a different type of brush holder than those found in most Atlas models. This model uses the Kato style of brush holder with a separate cap.<br />
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The plastic motor saddle had also changed. Because the brush holder with cap sits flatter than the one piece type, the saddle had a block on both top and bottom. I found it necessary to remove the top block with a file to get a good fit.<br />
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The board requires the same type of preparation as the board did on the Atlas Master Line GP7 that I did about a year ago.<br />
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For more for details on how prepare and wire the decoder to the board check <b><a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2014/03/tcs-m1-in-atlas-n-master-line-gp7.html">HERE</a></b>.<br />
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This model comes with the little spring clips on the original LED board. I've never had much luck with these and the ones on the board fell off so I used the solder method to thicken the board for a good fit into the frame.<br />
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After re-assembly the mechanism looks like this photo. The model I did was actually a GP38-2 but a master line GP38 should be an identical mechanism. I test ran this model with an earlier release GP38 and the speed of this new motor seem to match the older release perfectly.<br />
<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-44019517933192822392015-02-03T08:22:00.000-08:002015-02-03T08:24:52.628-08:00TCS ASD4 in an Atlas Master Line GP7About a year ago I presented an installation where I used a TCS M1 decoder on an Atlas Master Line GP7 which is intended to take a board type decoder but does have room for wired decoder using the existing PC board. To see that post click<b> <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2014/03/tcs-m1-in-atlas-n-master-line-gp7.html">HERE</a></b>. Recently I was asked to install TCS ASD4 board type decoders in several similar models so I thought it would be good to present that type of installation as well so someone could make the comparison.<br />
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What happens sometimes with these decoder board type of installations is that the contact tabs from the motor don't line up with the slots on the board. The photo shows how I check for this, lining up the frame to board contacts first then checking alignment of motor contacts.<br />
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It's not hard to fix this problem by hard wiring the motor contact to the board. I use scraps of orange and gray wire left from wired decoder installations. It does not matter which color wire is used as long as the wire from the bottom brush goes to the forward slot and the wire from the upper brush goes to the rear slot just as the tabs would if they lined up properly.<br />
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Cut the tab from the lower brush short and solder a wire to it, then slide a short length of 3/32" heat shrink tubing over it.<br />
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For the top motor brush first remove the brush holder and take the tab off. Then solder the other wire to it. When cooled re-install holder with spring and brush into motor body.<br />
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After both wires are attached to the motor assembly, slip them through the plastic motor saddle as the saddle is pressed onto the motor. When that's all done the finished assembly should look like this photo.<br />
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Another issue with the board type decoders is that they sometimes fit loosely in the frame. On this one I fixed they by adding a small amount of solder to the contacts on the bottom side of the board. On this model I found that a thickness of .030 was about right to get a snug fit.<br />
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Press the board into the right half of the frame, it should fit snugly. On these Master Line GP7 and 9 models, there may be a small plastic button. That goes into the right side frame as shown here.<br />
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When everything is all put back together it should look like this. The wires need to lay in between the frames.<br />
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A nice thing about this decoder board is that is has big solder pads to easily connect extra lighting functions.<br />
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In some future post I will show some ways to use these additional functions.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-65307863512157143652015-01-06T21:53:00.001-08:002015-01-07T17:52:41.641-08:00Kato SD80Mac slow runningAt a recent train show one of my buddies from the Ntrak club I belong to asked me to take a look one of his Kato SD80Mac locomotives. His complaint was that while it did run, it was slower than other identical locomotives. I verified this on my test layout and it seemed to get worse the more I ran the locomotive. I then took the shell off to test the motor for current flow and this is what I found.<br />
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Apologies for this blurry photo.<br />
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The kapton tape was coming into contact with a rotating part of the motor as indicated by the arrow on both sides preventing the motor from turning freely. This put an overload on the decoders motor output.<br />
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This photo shows how the installation should look. The kapton tape comes over the side of the frame on each side and stops before reaching the open part of the motor.<br />
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This type of installation is common to several Kato models. They are generally an easy DCC installation but it is a good practice to always check for free rotation of the motor when doing an install.<br />
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When I put the decoder on my <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2011/02/building-decoder-tester.html"><b>test fixture</b></a>, the voltage on the motor output of the decoder was zero when connected to the test motor but was normal with no load. There was no sign of anything burned on the decoder. A reset was programmed into the decoder but this did not clear the problem. In this case the decoder needed to be replaced.<br />
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Before installing the replacement decoder the current draw of the motor was measured by connecting the motor directly to my bench DC power supply as shown in this photo. It is rare but I did once see a defective motor cause a decoder to burn out and that became the<b> <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2010/11/first-post-that-one-in-thousand.html">first post</a></b> on this blog.<br />
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nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-10702341788891031742014-10-27T21:31:00.000-07:002014-12-22T01:57:47.608-08:00Kato E8A won't programNot much new decoder installation material to report on lately but recently at a local show one of the guys in the Ntrak club was having trouble programming one of his Kato E8A's that he had just put a decoder in. On our Digitrax system the throttle display indicated "NoPrG". <br />
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This photo shows the decoder installation. A visual inspection indicated that everything was done according to instructions.<br />
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What I found when I got this loco to my bench was that the motor contact strips were not making good contact with the board. This is a common problem and I always solder the contact strips to the board. What happens is that a current has to pass through the motor to complete programming. That is why you may notice a loco move or feel a vibration when sending it a program. On this type of mechanism the motor brush contact strips are held in place against the board by a plastic clip. This clip by itself sometimes does not stay tightly in place.<br />
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This closeup shows how the motor contact strips are held against the board by the clips. To solder the contacts in place, remove the clip and melt a small amount of solder to both the board and the bottom side of the contact at the end. Then use a small screwdriver to hold the contact tight against the board while re-melting the solder making the bond. Care needs to be taken to avoid melting the kapton tape on the wheel pickup strips.<br />
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If soldering is not an option then I would suggest a thin piece of scotch tape be placed over the plastic clip and reaching the gray plastic motor saddle on both sides to help keep the clip from coming loose.<br />
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It is even possible that a loco could seem to run OK in DC or DCC and then show this same programming problem. That is because the contact is not good enough to pass enough current to make the programming function work but enough current could flow to turn the motor. I've also seen this happen a time or two on a wired decoder where the connection to one of the motor brush caps was just hanging by a few strands of the wire.<br />
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On this Kato E8 it is interesting to note that this particular mechanism was introduced by Kato in 1994 and was one of the first mechanisms designed to accept a board type decoder even though it would be a few years before such a decoder was available. Since then several other models have be been introduced that use this same design on similar mechanisms.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-29858847491795774192014-06-10T22:40:00.000-07:002014-06-11T07:18:49.691-07:00TCS CN-GP in a Life Like C424<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been awhile since I've had any new type installation to present on the blog but was recently asked to install the TCS CN-GP type decoder in a Life Like C424. I had only done a very few installations on this type of locomotive and those were done using a wired decoder and having the frame milled. Not finding much on the internet about installing this type of decoder in this model I thought this project would make a good subject.<br />
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Evaluation</h3>
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The frame on this model looks almost the same at both ends. The difference is that the front end of the frame is just a little lower than the rear end and has a small notch on each side for the light shield.<br />
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With the CN-GP decoder the board that is normally put on the front or short hood end is longer than the other board and I determined that it was not going to fit in that location.<br />
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This can be seen in this photo comparing the inside of the shell to the frame with the decoder board.<br />
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It was also determined in the same way that the shorter board would fit in this location.<br />
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In this photo comparing the rear of the frame with the long board and the rear of the shell with the dynamic brake section removed, it can be seen that the long decoder board will fit if the rear lens is shortened.<br />
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I have used this technique of reversing the position of the boards before to fit this type of decoder in the <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/search/label/Loco%3A%20Atlas%20Classic%20RS1">Atlas Classic RS1</a>.<br />
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With the dynamic brake section removed and the shell on the frame it was also determined that there would be no clearance for the wires between the top of the frame and the shell so a groove on the top of the frame was going to be needed.<br />
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This is really important. If wires are squeezed between the inside of the shell and the frame, the shell may not be seated properly on the frame causing body mounted couplers to be too high. There is also the chance that the wires could become pinched and eventually short on the frame.<br />
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Now on to the installation</h3>
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All of the filing is done on the right half of the frame. There is a small tab that sticks out that I used as a guide. Filing parallel to the length of the frame, I take my time to get a clean notch along the length of the top of the frame. Slots like these take me about 20 to 30 minutes. I don't have measurements but in two of the photos below the results can be seen. The goal is to have enough space for up to 5 decoder wires so that they all lay below the top of the frame.<br />
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A slot is also filed with a jewelers file along the side of the motor in the location where the orange wire is in this photo. The orange and gray wires were removed from the decoder and the brush holders are removed from the motor. After the wires are soldered to the brush caps, the orange wire goes to the bottom and the gray wire goes to the top of the motor. There is a hole on the frame of the motor that indicates the bottom.<br />
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On the frame and using the motor assembly as a guide, make a notch at the point on the right frame half just above the top motor brush cap. Any edges should be smoothed with a jewelers file.<br />
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The decoder boards may be thinner than the stock LED boards. I added a bit of solder to the top side contacts as shown in this photo. Some test fitting and file work may be necessary to get a snug fit on both boards.<br />
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At this point, the mechanism is re-assembled and wired. <br />
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Here is the completed mechanism in this photo. The motor on this model will rotate a bit within the frame when moved by hand but not by the motor rotating. Once the shell is on, it will hold the motor in place.<br />
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Track testing at this point should have the loco running in normal direction in DC and reverse direction in DCC.<br />
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Before installing the shell back on the frame, the rear lens needs to be shortened. I removed the dynamic brake section to access the lens. I cut it with a plastic spue cutter then smoothed the end with a flat jewelers file.<br />
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In this photo the shell has been installed and the positions of the lens and the LED on the PC board can be seen.<br />
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<h3>
Programming</h3>
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Because of the reversed position of the boards, CV29 needs to be programmed for 07 if using 2 digit addressing or 27 if using 4 digit addressing.<br />
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<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-65185741066270999902014-03-02T20:25:00.000-08:002014-03-02T20:25:58.384-08:00TCS M1 in an Atlas N Master Line GP7<br />
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Some time around 2006 Atlas released a decoder ready version of their GP7 and GP9 models called the "N Master Line". The new model also had bright white LED's and the slower motor.<br />
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It was also designed to accept the shorter board type decoders like the Digitrax DN163A4 or the Train Control Systems ASD4. I recently picked up one of these and as most of my other Western Pacific locomotives already had decoders, this one moved to the top of my to do list.<br />
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I checked to see if the TCS CN or CN-GP decoders would work with this model. They would work but as seen in this photo, the LED's would be some distance from the lenses.<br />
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As the locomotive already had the bright white LED's and room under the existing board for a small decoder, and I was not going to need the extra functions, I decided to use the less expensive TCS M1 wired decoder connected to the existing board.<br />
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After fully dis-assembling the locomotive, the PC board needs to be modified.<br />
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Most of the modifications to the PC board that are needed are on the bottom side and are shown here in this photo.<br />
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The top of the board just has one place where the circuit trace needs to be cut to isolate the frame contacts from one of the LED's. I use a Dermal tool with a cut off wheel to do this.<br />
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I then attach the decoder to the TOP of the PC board after pushing all of the wires through the hole. This is because the board is going to be re-installed upside down.<br />
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Because the board is going to be turned upside down the old motor contact pads can be used to connect the decoder input to the frame.<br />
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I had mixed up the white and yellow wires and cut the white wire too short. The bulge is 3/64 heat shrink to cover the splice I made.<br />
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At the front end of the board the longer scrap of blue wire is connected to the LED as shown in this photo.<br />
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The white wire is placed between the leads of the LED to reach the other side of the board.<br />
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Then the white wire is connected to the input side of resistor R2 as shown in this photo.<br />
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This photo shows how the motor wires from the decoder are connected to the motor. I normally cut the orange & black wires to about 1-1/2 inches in length. The gray wire is soldered to the brush cap with the brush cap removed from the motor. Re-install brush cap after it has cooled.<br />
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Here is everything done execpt for replacing the shell. The wires should have enough room to fit between the frame sides on the top of the board. Secure the wires with scotch tape to prevent them from getting on the top of the frame.<br />
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This Atlas Master Line N scale GP7 locomotive seems to be a big improvement over the GP7's and GP9's that they released starting in 1996. Besides the fact that either a board or wired decoder can be installed without any milling done to the frame, it also seems to be a more finely made mechanism. <br />
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This decoder install was the last one done in my old train room. I had been using a spare bedroom in the house for my layouts and all of my model railroad work since 1997. I have recently moved everything into a new room built especially for this purpose which is about twice a large. There will be a new layout under construction and lots of new DCC decoder installations !nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-73817292014468672582014-02-04T21:29:00.000-08:002014-02-04T21:29:37.870-08:00Lenz LE0511W in an Atlas MP15DCThis installation was first presented on my old web site in January 2006.<br />
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The Atlas MP15 had just come out and it was designed to be DCC ready but no decoder board was available for it yet so I decided to try to install a small wired decoder in it. The Lenz LE0511W was one of the smallest available at that time.<br />
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After disassembling the engine, modify the LED board as shown.<br />
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Remove the LED from longer hood end of board and save it for later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XmjMPw6ezVrmmUMKfVkCBRnRDJGOZ_8jIlNJIj6V9367tNf22WfLT0A0R93O2F0GojGa8D42s135Z2D30EI8ysa2NdEISAXO9ubFNU9o1TvJHLCmUTeDCTE7XNjlPO-rRY_HCvVGRtQ/s1600/MP15dcc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XmjMPw6ezVrmmUMKfVkCBRnRDJGOZ_8jIlNJIj6V9367tNf22WfLT0A0R93O2F0GojGa8D42s135Z2D30EI8ysa2NdEISAXO9ubFNU9o1TvJHLCmUTeDCTE7XNjlPO-rRY_HCvVGRtQ/s1600/MP15dcc2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="body"><u>Decoder wire lengths</u>:</span><br />
<span class="body">7/8" inch - Red, Black</span><br />
<span class="body">1 inch - Orange, Gray, Blue</span><br />
<span class="body">1-1/4 inch - White</span><br />
<span class="body">1-3/8 inch - Yellow</span><br />
<br />
<span class="body">Scrape off
the green coating from the circuit traces near the frame contacts on the
LED<br />board to expose bare copper and solder the red and black wires, observe
polarity.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IslIzkv2dfwYS3iLDmwSlF2RzJ2BjynPQhWgDJsQfSEMYdY0TT8LdHxNKTCDBBuCw641dDOuce3NvG11WeBKNQLQooIVy3QflG2XoUJp-s7J-5EZYmXCNHZixotaUB8hOFHhAXAdAdc/s1600/MP15dcc3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IslIzkv2dfwYS3iLDmwSlF2RzJ2BjynPQhWgDJsQfSEMYdY0TT8LdHxNKTCDBBuCw641dDOuce3NvG11WeBKNQLQooIVy3QflG2XoUJp-s7J-5EZYmXCNHZixotaUB8hOFHhAXAdAdc/s1600/MP15dcc3.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
Reverse the polarity of
the LED by removing it, flipping it over, and then re-soldering it. Feed the
yellow wire through the hole from the top side to the bottom side and solder as
shown.<br />
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Place a 1/4
inch length of 3/32 inch heat shrink over the white wire and solder the
white wire to the LED lead on side where the rim is flattened. Place a 3/8 inch
long length of 1/8 inch heat shrink over the blue wire and solder and 1K ohm 1/8 W resistor to the blue wire. Then solder the other end of the
resistor to the other LED lead. Slide heat shrink down and heat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYv1lRF4Oo8duzPq_-5JdaYoQ_HxgVCuZS84Lo3n77JdIqRwx5ij_uP0_xSSTbRos3kcNGA-lEhCatcxl-LN0s5ZcHIrauIctVOAKSzwbj5uRz0WITupnNG8s_cVo7qSNFQyEVj4ygO8/s1600/MP15dcc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYv1lRF4Oo8duzPq_-5JdaYoQ_HxgVCuZS84Lo3n77JdIqRwx5ij_uP0_xSSTbRos3kcNGA-lEhCatcxl-LN0s5ZcHIrauIctVOAKSzwbj5uRz0WITupnNG8s_cVo7qSNFQyEVj4ygO8/s1600/MP15dcc5.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
<span class="body">This motor
design has a small PC board with two contacts sticking up. Cut these
contacts to about half their original length. <br /><br />Cut two lengths of
3/32 inch heat shrink about 3/16 inch long and place these over the gray
and orange decoder wires. <br /><br />Solder the orange and gray wires to the
shortened motor contacts. Use a low heat setting and be extra careful
about the heat being so close to the motor housing. Observe the correct polarity of the wires.<br /><br />Slide the heat shrink down over the
soldered connection and apply heat from a heat shrink gun.Again, be
careful of damaging the motor housing. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTC3-H8HToj18WivUa0fyaZewLiQ8G5_hgBQ_DewIMqARV0yRzQzVEEEf_M8y63O45mvIMnh7q65V_NP1oeJuXzc_PCl5R_aIZ0xXU6XLDFGpcphO50533QcJ3zw2d_eSfQsiwMBjuSY/s1600/MP15dcc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTC3-H8HToj18WivUa0fyaZewLiQ8G5_hgBQ_DewIMqARV0yRzQzVEEEf_M8y63O45mvIMnh7q65V_NP1oeJuXzc_PCl5R_aIZ0xXU6XLDFGpcphO50533QcJ3zw2d_eSfQsiwMBjuSY/s1600/MP15dcc6.jpg" height="309" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="body"><span class="body">This is what the completed decoder assembly should look like
with the PC board, motor, and front LED connected.<br /><br />Notice the small
red band over the wires near the decoder. I've found that is helps
protect the wires connections to the decoder while handling. This can be
cut with with small scissors and removed after the decoder is
in place</span></span><br />
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<div id="text8">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><span class="body">When re-assembling the engine it is very important to
get all 4 of the motor saddle tabs properly into the notches on the
frame.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div id="text9">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><b class="body"><br /></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvV4F6JJNZOXbVWuFCw0bajPz8zxhjhmUUBxJMXBE6NUSLkMFz822NQPQ-VHeaC4Q2eRlzJrzOOEduV6VejQ0IFIgPnCMOzQUgZzL2CGC-V_DdHUR3_CHCSLBgRlO0JjfQAArnP8WIsw/s1600/MP15dcc8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvV4F6JJNZOXbVWuFCw0bajPz8zxhjhmUUBxJMXBE6NUSLkMFz822NQPQ-VHeaC4Q2eRlzJrzOOEduV6VejQ0IFIgPnCMOzQUgZzL2CGC-V_DdHUR3_CHCSLBgRlO0JjfQAArnP8WIsw/s1600/MP15dcc8.jpg" height="300" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="body">The Lenz decoder does not have any insulation over it the
way a other brands do so we need to insulate the frame where the
decoder is going to be.<br /><br />Place a piece of 1/2 inch Kapton tape on the top<br />of the
front section of frame. Trim any excess from the sides. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WSaLrFJIFd3TO7DqVYDUn_eOVggXIGSciM2HddnEm3UI0vbxSo7eTRPERZiJBWd3rMNceJVhyphenhyphen-bGfiTIikK6GXkmVKWqK9g0ND78ot121rnhHp-hyjDaWE04H_Q8nvX_SN3FV6qS-kI/s1600/MP15dcc9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WSaLrFJIFd3TO7DqVYDUn_eOVggXIGSciM2HddnEm3UI0vbxSo7eTRPERZiJBWd3rMNceJVhyphenhyphen-bGfiTIikK6GXkmVKWqK9g0ND78ot121rnhHp-hyjDaWE04H_Q8nvX_SN3FV6qS-kI/s1600/MP15dcc9.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></div>
Here is the re-assembled mechanism with the decoder
properly installed. Lay out the wires in the channel at the top of the frame halves so they are as flat as possible. Lay the wires to
the front LED out so that the bulge from the resistor is where the gap in the
frame is. Put the decoder on top of the LED wires and angle the LED slightly upward. Secure wires and decoder with scotch tape.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozyYcA2MwWNf4Btleddtbecl6Huyf05sf3x_CSDkhQ-hOh7zuRx0IVLDfjp65ncNFscnHGB9NdfUo-AolFT_BwtbW1FP9UUo6uL2nqOxEMbkDkHVu3WM_-uiy3PXa1F-I9Czk-SfrfRQ/s1600/MP15dcc10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozyYcA2MwWNf4Btleddtbecl6Huyf05sf3x_CSDkhQ-hOh7zuRx0IVLDfjp65ncNFscnHGB9NdfUo-AolFT_BwtbW1FP9UUo6uL2nqOxEMbkDkHVu3WM_-uiy3PXa1F-I9Czk-SfrfRQ/s1600/MP15dcc10.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></div>
Re-install the shell onto the mechanism. The shell should rest on
the painted rails that are part of the frame.<br />
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<span class="body">If the shell will not go down all the </span>way, the LED on the board
may not be properly aligned. There is a black plastic light shroud inside
the shell at the hood end. Fish it out and carve a notch in it as shown. This should allow the shell to go
down all the way. Put it back into the shell as it was before. Try
installing the shell again.<br />
<span class="body"><br /></span>
<span class="body">Decoder boards made specifically for this model have been available for some time now but in case you ever want to try a wired decoder this is how it's done.</span><br />
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<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-49031803183781898932014-01-17T12:59:00.001-08:002014-01-17T13:06:07.548-08:00TCS M1 in an older ConCor E8AThe first new installation of 2014 is going to be on a very old model. In the mid 1980's Con-Cor started to offer a model of the EMD E8A with the mechanism made by Kato. This model has no flywheels and a more primitive motor that what we have become used to with more current releases. Many of these models were sold up to the time that Kato introduced their own E8 models in 1994 with a great mechanism that is still in use on current releases of that model.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCOdeE9UcSeCDhnNpZKvgq1mqZKbdFc8dBSfGcqxFI5a0C1xiXBYWYwoLSF9nv0b6DDGaKf7hKQC05Kj89IL5eSX3QOBPSE-k5u3vOF5t9Ffds-oYHEPQgRIoKpZaYxlQoW2PkLamZEc/s1600/ConCor8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCOdeE9UcSeCDhnNpZKvgq1mqZKbdFc8dBSfGcqxFI5a0C1xiXBYWYwoLSF9nv0b6DDGaKf7hKQC05Kj89IL5eSX3QOBPSE-k5u3vOF5t9Ffds-oYHEPQgRIoKpZaYxlQoW2PkLamZEc/s1600/ConCor8.jpg" height="294" width="320" /></a></div>
For this one the frame is going to have to be modified to fit the decoder. I sent mine to Aztec Manufacturing for precision milling. The Aztec part number is TM3006 and the charge to get this done is only $10.00 plus shipping. To send the frame to Aztec, fully disassemble the locomotive, put all the small parts in a small plastic and the motor by itself in another small plastic bag for storage until the modified frame comes back.<br />
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<br />
<h4>
Decoder wire lengths:</h4>
<br />
Black = 4-1/8 inches Red = 3-3/8 inches White = 3-3/8 inches <br />
Blue = 3-1/8 inches Gray = 2-3/8 inches Orange = 2-3/8 inches<br />
Yellow = not used<br />
<br />
It's always been my practice to never solder the motor wires from the decoder to the motor brush caps while they were installed on the motor. Normally with all other installs, I remove the brush, spring, and caps. Then solder the wires to the caps and then re-install everything into the motor. On all other loco's I've worked on this works out fine as the caps or brush holders snap into the motor body. On these ConCor locos the motor brush mount screws into the motor. With the wires already attached, the wires end up getting very twisted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6li0oFPSDgY4Yyc698TW9bmoaaCFhLpBa9BiZBnbLTB1UFEcYdE326B7XgyXM5ptAIlo6lRx0KEA0C_mpa5-qV_HfbbIvnxSg8H8196OHFmqn3tNRBI1_A8vMjzK98hKYx7QKpvcWKYA/s1600/ConCor6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6li0oFPSDgY4Yyc698TW9bmoaaCFhLpBa9BiZBnbLTB1UFEcYdE326B7XgyXM5ptAIlo6lRx0KEA0C_mpa5-qV_HfbbIvnxSg8H8196OHFmqn3tNRBI1_A8vMjzK98hKYx7QKpvcWKYA/s1600/ConCor6.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
This upside down photo shows the correct orientation of the motor and how close the the motor brush caps are to the frame. The white motor magnet is facing down.<br />
<br />
The motor brush contacts point away from the top part of the frame. When assembled, they made contact with the lower parts of the frame assembly.<br />
<br />
So my method for the ConCor cab diesels is this: I first fully unscrew the mounts and remove them. Then place a small amount of solder on the surface of the mount. After it has cooled, I re-install the brush, spring, and the fiber washer and screw the assembly back into the motor with contact part not used. I don't fully tighten it but leave it loose about 1/2 turn. Then I solder the tinned motor wire to the spot where the solder is. The fact that the mount is a little loose, the fiber washer, and the solder already being on the mount seem to keep the mount from getting hot enough to melt the plastic of the motor. The angle of the wire needs to be pointed upward as shown in the photo below.<br />
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When the soldering is done and the brush caps rotated clockwise to a snug fit things should look like this, with the wires pointed upward.<br />
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<div>
When the motor is re-installed into the milled top part of the frame, the motor wires go up through the slots that are milled. This view is of the left side of the mechanism with the mechanism upside down.<br />
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<div>
I have found that the trucks can short on the frame so I add short lengths cut from .010 x .125 strip polystyrene to the areas of the trucks shown in this photo. The polystyrene strip is held in place with Tap Plastics E6000 adhesive.<br />
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With the decoder wires laid out side by side they fit neatly into the milled groove on the top of the frame. The yellow wire is not used but I keep some length on it in case it needs to be used later.<br />
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This photo shows how I connect the decoder input wires to the frame. <br />
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On the red wire I used a motor brush contact from a Kato motor to attach the red wire.<br />
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On the black wire because the screw is so close to the top part of the frame I did not use any ring. Instead I just made a loop at the end of the black wire.<br />
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To upgrade the lighting to bright white LED first bend the leads so that they will fit around the rasied center part at the end of the top frame.<br />
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Place the heat shrink over the wires and solder the resistor to the lead with the smaller element. Then attach the blue wire to the resistor and the white wires to the lead of the larger element.<br />
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This photo shows how the LED assembly fits into the area where the original light bulb was. It may be necessary to flatten the ridges on the top and bottom of the LED. The heat shrink will prevent anything from shorting on the frame. This assembly can be secured with Walther Goo, Tap Plastics E6000 or other similar adhesive.<br />
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The model origionally came with black electrical tape over the headlight area to keep the light from shining unrealistically in the cab windows.<br />
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I did not see a better way to do it so I did the same thing. The front edge of the tape should be even with the front edge of the top frame and the LED.<br />
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The shell normally fits rather loosely on the frame so the electrical tape may make the fit more snug on the front end but it should fit.<br />
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The fuel tank clips into the shell at two spots on each side and that is what keeps the shell on.<br />
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The light should come out brightly on the top large headlight and more dimly on the bottom headlight and the number boards similar to this photo.</div>
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nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-27652277015983079882013-11-01T09:46:00.002-07:002013-11-01T09:49:47.765-07:00Lenz Silver Mini in an Athearn F59PHIYears ago I had presented an installation for the Athearn F59PHI on my old web site and later included it in this blog as a post. In that installation I had used the original PC board that was in the engine and the decoder I used was the Digitrax DZ121 which at that time was one of the smallest decoders available. <a href="http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2011/08/dz121-in-athearn-f59phi.html">Here is a link to that post.</a><br />
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Recently I was asked to replace an existing installation of a Digitrax DN121 decoder with a new Lenz Silver Mini. The PC board had been removed from the locomotive. So this post will show a different method to install a decoder in this loco that was not available in a DCC version and that no after market decoder board has ever been offered for.<br />
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The original installation is seen in this photo. On this installation, the LED's were not in alignment to get any light into the lenses, particularly the ditch lights that are on this model.<br />
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For that reason I felt there would be an advantage to having the LED's and resistors mounted on a board of some type.<br />
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This is the Lenz decoder. Notice how it does not have any heat shrink over it. That means care must be taken in it's placement so it does not short on any part of the frame. Also, the wires are more easily broken off from this decoder than those with heat shrink.<br />
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My solution to the wire problem is to place a small length of 3/16 inch heat shrink over all the wires near the decoder as shown here. This acts as a strain relief and will protect the wires being broken off from the decoder during handling.<br />
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After removing the motor from the motor saddle and marking at least one of the sides of the motor to keep it's correct orientation, I removed the little tabs that would have held the board in place if there had been one.<br />
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A stock board from an Atlas GP40 fits just right into the top of the motor saddle and with some modification it can be used as a replacement board.<br />
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I aligned the board so that the front LED is at an equal distance from the front of the frame as on a stock Athearn F59PHI. The black line across the board and saddle mark this alignment.<br />
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Notice in the photo above that the little bars on the motor saddle that go across the motor contact wipers on the stock mechanism are gone on the saddle we are using. This had been removed in the original DN121 installation. If the loco you are working with is a new installation, this should also be cut. Too see this step refer again back to the <a href="http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2011/08/dz121-in-athearn-f59phi.html">earlier post on this model.</a><br />
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This photo shows the modifications made to an Atlas GP40 board to make it fit into the frame of the Athearn F59PHI.<br />
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The polarity of the front LED is reversed so that the anodes of both LED's will be tied together.<br />
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I use E6000 adhesive from Tap Plastics to secure the board to the motor saddle and then the decoder to the board. Because there is no heat shrink on the decoder, it must be placed on a spot where there is no exposed circuitry. <br />
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The white, yellow, and blue wires are soldered to the board as shown in this photo and the other wires are trimmed to 2 inches in length. Keeping them long will make it easier to put things back together.<br />
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Route the wires down through the openings in the saddle. Remove the brush holders from the motor, solder the wires to the brush holders, then after they have cooled, re-install them in the motor. Then connect the red and black wires to the contact strip. Keep the solder joints small, if needed make the openings in the saddle a little bigger.<br />
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On this model the top of the shell is removable so in this photo the installation can be seen after the shell is re-installed on the mechanism.<br />
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Several areas to to watch out for are pointed out.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Done !</b></span>nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-53698613347724498872013-10-05T20:43:00.001-07:002014-02-23T22:08:45.012-08:00TCS Z2 in an Atlas H16-44<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Atlas H16-44 is an unusual model because it has green and red marker lights on each end in addition to a LED head light. The green markers come on at the leading end of the engine along with the headlight. The red marker lights are lighted come on at the trailing end.<br />
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At the time they were available for sale they came in a DC or DCC version. None of the decoder manufacturers ever came up with an after market decoder for this one so if you want to add DCC to one it's going to be a wired decoder. I chose the small and reliable TCS Z2 with functions rated at 60ma driving 3 LED's should be no problem.<br />
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After some experimenting, I determined that to get the red and green LED's to light using a DCC decoder, both of the 3 lead LED's on the stock board are going to need to be replaced. This is because they are a common cathode type which means the center or common lead is connected to the negative side of a power source. On a decoder's function outputs, using the blue wire as a return, it's the blue wire that is positive relative to the white and yellow wires. Because the LED cathodes are tied together on the PC board, the headlight LED's will also need to be reversed.<br />
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I drew up this schematic to show these connections.<br />
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I got my 3mm common anode, 2 color ( red / green ) LED's on line from LED-Switch, <a href="http://www.led-switch.com/"><b>www.led-switch.com</b></a>. Their item number was L033RGDCA. It was only $1.50 for a bag of 10 plus shipping. They are worth checking out anyway as they have quite a few good items for model railroaders.<br />
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I could not determine any difference between the common anode and common cathode types of this LED from looking at it. The only way seems to be to test it.<br />
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The method I use is shown in this photo. If it lights with the + side of the 9 volt battery connected to the center, then it's common anode. Don't forget the resistor !<br />
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There will also need to be some minor modification to the frame so start by fully disassembling the locomotive, placing all the small parts in a plastic bag. Always put the motor assembly in a separate small plastic bag so no small metal objects will get into it because they are attracted by the motors magnets. But before putting the motor away see the step below.<br />
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There is little plastic part that fits over the end of the motor shaft inside both flywheels. I found several of these to be quite loose. This is intended to engage with the worm gear shaft and if it's loose, the mechanical energy won't be properly transferred to the worm gear.<br />
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Check both and use adhesive if needed. I used the E6000 product that I have mentioned in other posts.<br />
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I will use the original light board but will cut a section out in the middle to make room for the decoder. It will end up being two boards with one being longer than the other.<br />
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Three diodes and one capacitor will be removed. The LED's with 3 leads will to be replaced with the common anode ones. The LED's with the heat shrink need to be swapped from one end to the other.<br />
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One circuit trace needs to be cut.<br />
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The modifications required on the original LED light board are all shown in this photo.<br />
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This photo shows what is now two separate boards should look like after the modifications and where the decoder wires are going to connect when we get to that step.<br />
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When installing the new common anode LED's it is important to keep the flat edge of the LED facing the same way as the old one was. On this type of LED, the flat edge indicates the side for red.<br />
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On the the frame modification, I have temporarily placed the PC boards into the frame to gauge the spacing. The decoder will fit into the wide opening in the top of the frame but that opening needs to be made longer as shown in this photo.<br />
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After the material is removed from both frame sides they should look like this. This is the most time consuming part of this installation but it is important to take the time to be careful working with the frame.<br />
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To get the decoder ready for this locomotive cut the red and black leads to 1/2 inch, cut all the others to 5/8 inch. Strip about 1/16 inch from each of the decoder wires and from one end of the blue, white, and yellow scraps. Then twist the scrap ends together with their matching color wire from the decoder.<br />
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This photo shows what the decoder should look like after this step is completed. Tin the ends of all the wires, this will keep those twisted ends together.<br />
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The next step is to connect the motor to the decoder. I used a combination of two techniques that I have used on other installs. The orange wire gets soldered to the wrap around contact to the bottom motor brush and 3/64 inch heat shrink placed over it. The gray wire gets soldered directly to the top motor brush cap. Remove the brush cap first to do the soldering and then re-install it afterwards.<br />
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Put the motor back in it's mounting saddle and re-assemble the mechanism. It should now look something like this photo. Check that both the orange and gray wires are not touching the frame. The heat shrink tubing should protect the contact strip and the orange wire from the frame.<br />
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Test fit the shorter PC board, it should fit tightly on both sides. If it is loose on either side, remove the board and tap lightly a few times on the top of the frame at the spots indicated by the blue arrows. Re-check the fit of the board. Go slowly and repeat as many times as needed until satisfied that the board is making solid contact with the frame.<br />
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Connect all of the wires according to the photo shown several steps back. When connecting the double yellow wires, place a small length of 3/64" heat shrink over it as there are exposed points on the board very close. Solder all other wires as shown.<br />
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This is what the completed mechanism should look like. The decoder fits into the little pocket on the top of the frame.<br />
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Test run in both DCC and DC modes to verify the lights are all working the way they are supposed to and are synchronized with the direction the locomotive moves.<br />
<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-10748010375799856102013-08-26T17:39:00.000-07:002013-08-26T17:41:23.721-07:00TCS Z2 in a Kato JR 117 series motor carWell it's been quite awhile since I've posted any new installs. It's not that I haven't been doing any, it's just that the types of installs I've been doing I had already covered. But here's something new, how about a Japanese train. <br />
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This Kato set is typical of Japanese passenger trains. It's a double ended train with a control car at each end and the motor is inside one of the middle cars. So it actually takes 3 decoders to activate the head and tail lights and the motor. In this post I'll install the decoder for the motor and will address the end cars later.<br />
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The plastic interior comes off by carefully prying off the outside tabs on each side on both ends. Then pry the interior from the frame at the point shown in this photo to release the interior tabs.<br />
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I took a look at the decoder offered by Kato for their Japanese prototype trains but could not see how that would work with this model. That decoder seems to be designed to use with some of the later releases that have a hatch on the bottom to install the decoder. I settled on the TCS Z2 for this installation.<br />
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After getting the car all the way apart I was able to identify 3 possible locations that the Z2 could fit into.<br />
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A - There was room within the roof under the raised part but the wires would be very visible inside the windows.<br />
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B - There is a large pocket in the frame here but I was afraid of the decoder rubbing on the drive shaft.<br />
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C - I took the conservative approach and chose to just place the decoder inside near one of the ends.<br />
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To get the motor out, remove one of the trucks by releasing the 4 tabs as shown in this photo. Then remove the assembly while pulling the drive shaft out from the motor. The motor can then be removed while pulling it away from the other drive shaft.<br />
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The front and a rear ends to this car need to be established so that when we later add decoders to the end cars so the lights will be coordinated with the motion of the motor car. To do this I referred to the instruction sheet that comes with the set. These sheets are in Japanese but I have found the drawing shown below to be very helpful. The cars of this train are numbered 1 to 6 with the motor being in car number 3. These types of trains are bi-directional and when they reach the end of their run, the operator walks to the control cab at the other end so there really is no front or back. For DCC purposes I like to think of car 1 as being the front. The writing and arrows under the end cars refer to a destination.<br />
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Drawings like this one are in the instructions of each Japanese train set I have seen and are very useful in assembling your train in the correct order.<br />
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The orange and gray motor wires are cut at 2-1/2 inches. These motors are identical to the ones in Kato's American prototype locomotives except there are no flywheels. The brush assemblies are removed from the motor and these wires soldered to the brush caps. Then the brush assemblies are re-installed in the motor. The white magnet on the motor faces down.<br />
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After the decoder wires are connected to the motor brushes and the motor is re-installed, the plastic interior piece can be placed between the motor wires as shown here. Then carefully guide the interior into place on the frame while guiding the orange and gray wires to pass through the gaps between.<br />
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The red and black wires can then be cut to the length needed to reach the exposed part of the contact strips and soldered there. Red to the right and black to the left. The decoder and wires are held in place with a small amount of adhesive.<br />
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Here is the completed motor car. At a low angle the decoder should be barely visible. To hide it further, the decoder and wires could be painted a color to match the interior.<br />
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OK, so that takes care of the motor car. This train and ones similar to it also have end cars with both head and tail lights in each one. that will be covered in a future post.<br />
<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-14309306461880613722013-03-23T09:01:00.001-07:002013-03-23T09:01:59.261-07:00DZ123 in a Bachmann H16-44Recently I had an N engine model to install a decoder into that I had not seen before and as I did not see very much on the web about this model I thought it would be a good one to post on. Here's how it went.<br />
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First step was to remove the shell from the frame. This model used the bumps on the sides of the frame to position the shell plus it has the ledges along the bottom the the frame for the shell to rest on. I needed to remove one of the couplers first then I was able to pry the frame up out of the shell by the ledge.<br />
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<span id="goog_1902706142"></span><span id="goog_1902706143"></span>After removing the shell, this is what the mechanism looks like. There is a board with LED's that is intended to have a wired decoder connected to it. I was very concerned about the reliability of the connection between the board and the frame. Also, notice how far the front LED is from the front end of the engine.<br />
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Here is a closeup view of the board showing the jumper / connection points that are intended to connect a wired decoder to. For the reasons stated above I decided not to use this board at all and wire the decoder in directly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ku2hKMrMRE-YRE1wh3MWDr88KfFGmrbi4dhyphenhyphen5nsePOF5UdRie25OD0dGc41gAD7D_-Vjm3AhCPB8etCN3ZULdsl_T41iZL5S6CSKH_LduxnoaNU1PhlljqF-1XTprZpLviVVkViyhN8/s1600/B_H16-44e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ku2hKMrMRE-YRE1wh3MWDr88KfFGmrbi4dhyphenhyphen5nsePOF5UdRie25OD0dGc41gAD7D_-Vjm3AhCPB8etCN3ZULdsl_T41iZL5S6CSKH_LduxnoaNU1PhlljqF-1XTprZpLviVVkViyhN8/s320/B_H16-44e.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Removing the two screws at the ends of the frames, I opened the mechanism. The way the wires are connected to the motor made me decide to leave them where they are so I cut the motor wires off from the board. I will be drilling and tapping some holes on the frames so I then removed the motor and the trucks so I have just the frames.<br />
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For more detail about how I drill and tap holes in frames to get a secure connection for the decoder input, see the post <a href="http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2011/01/digitrax-dz125-in-kato-f37b.html">DZ125 in a Kato F3/7B</a> from January 2011.<br />
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Here are the two frame half's after the holes have been drilled and tapped. Notice how the removable weight toward the rear overlaps both sides. It seemed so close to being a potential short that I put Kapton tape between the weight and the left frame.<br />
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After drilling and tapping the holes, I re-assembled the motor, trucks, and frames before continuing.<br />
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With situations like this when I have the motor wires connected I will first check with an ohm meter that both wires are isolated from both sides of the frame and then place the mechanism on the test track and connect the wires as shown to test that the motor is working correctly.<br />
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The wire lengths on the decoder are not too critical on this one as there is room to fold over any excess. I cut the red and black wires to 2 inches and attached motor contact tabs from a Kato install and covered the connection with heat shrink as shown. The remaining wires will be connected after the decoder is secured on the frame.<br />
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Lately I have been using a product call E6000 from <a href="http://www.tapplastics.com/" target="_blank">Tap Plastics</a> to secure decoders, wires, LED's, etc. It sets up faster than the Walthers Goo that I had been using for many years. Here I made a clip from a scrap of brass strip to hold the decoder in place while the E6000 sets. At this point the red and black wires are secured to the frame with short 2-56 screws.<br />
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After the E6000 had set, I spliced the red motor wire to the gray decoder wire and the black motor wire to the orange decoder wire covering each splice with 3/64" heat shrink tubing. The white and yellow decoder wires are cut to the desired length and connected to T3 size bright white LED's through 1.5K ohm, 1/8 watt resistors. The blue decoder wire goes first to the front LED and then to the rear LED.<br />
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Here is a view of the completed mechanism. The LED's have also been secured with E6000 taking care to have them aligned toward the headlight lenses. Any excess wire length is folded over and secured to the top of the frame with Scotch tape.<br />
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<b>Finished</b><br />
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This is a view of the short hood or front end of the engine on the layout. The new LED in its location closer to the end of the frame now gives a bright head light.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-798614708222826512013-02-19T22:08:00.000-08:002013-02-19T22:38:55.515-08:00TCS CN-GP in a Life Like GP60<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Recently I saw on the TCS web site that the CN-GP decoder would fit in the Life Like GP60 and as I had a couple of those to do I thought I would give it a try. I've installed wired decoders in several of these models before but had to have the frames milled. That type of installation was presented in the post <a href="http://n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/2011/02/digitrax-dz123-in-life-like-gp60.html" target="_blank">Digitrax DZ123 in a Life Like GP60.</a><br />
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In that earlier post I had not mentioned removing the shell so I will cover it here.<br />
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The shell fits rather tightly on this model and the best way I have found to remove them is to pry the shell up from the tab located under the rear of the cab on each side with a jewelers screwdriver.<br />
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This installation is going to be similar to the others using the CN or CN-GP decoders. If I seem to skip over something or something is not clear I suggest also checking the other posts that use these decoders. After getting the shell off I fully dis-assemble the mechanism. This is necessary because the decoder wires are going to need to be connected to the motor. When removing the motor, I always mark the top to keep the polarity correct.<br />
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The TCS web site seem to suggest that no frame modification at all was needed. After carefully examining things I came up with the steps shown in this photo as being the minimum needed to ensure a solid installation.<br />
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A pinched wire may not show up for quite some time until the insulation breaks down and the conductor comes in contact with the frame.<br />
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It only took me a few minutes with a Dermal tool and cut off wheel. I smoothed things out with a jewelers file. The areas I worked on are pointed out by the blue arrows in this photo. The two areas near the ends can be done on either frame half. The frame needs to be free of any loose metal filings. I use a stiff brush and low pressure air to do this.<br />
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I like to remove the orange and gray wires from the decoder and connect them to the motor brush caps first. This motor does not use a plastic saddle so it's a tight fit between the motor and the shell. I file the groove to recess the gray wire into the motor body.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6gv7LZVGT-Sa_ZBwtq9MvJ_pb8f7C1vxEWmqoYHq9kAS4aNbQnM7gbuqsdi4gT4jcN3LWOT9Gr2l3vkwBN_Nn43OLAelAlQQEozC1pII1MSKJuEaB_8KhYIB8-nRN8O4SQykbS_JNFQ/s1600/GP60CNGPe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6gv7LZVGT-Sa_ZBwtq9MvJ_pb8f7C1vxEWmqoYHq9kAS4aNbQnM7gbuqsdi4gT4jcN3LWOT9Gr2l3vkwBN_Nn43OLAelAlQQEozC1pII1MSKJuEaB_8KhYIB8-nRN8O4SQykbS_JNFQ/s320/GP60CNGPe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
There is just a small amount of space between the motor brush caps and the frame so I wrap around the motor 1 and 1/2 times with Kapton tape with the overlap being at the top. It's been my experience that Kapton tape sticks best to itself so that why the extra 1/2 turn. The wires are folded under the tape then a slot is cut to allow them to come through on the top.<br />
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After re-installing the worm gear assemblies, the frame halves can be put back together using the bushings, screws, and nuts and this is what it should look like.<br />
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At this point I will apply the output of a DC throttle to the orange and gray wires and check how the motor is running before proceeding with the final steps.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZWMO9TXlcrAu-fZrwLBtuq1lIJasd8MzosXCxraipwboub-4ZE0W-tS8y0f3_cl5uu4nuWNrMLXlgh-NgxGbCJgJR-qVAGp14NjMqx1XAsy8RAeV0iH5a6vlX4ia878bhTS_Q4bZp_4/s1600/GP60CNGPg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZWMO9TXlcrAu-fZrwLBtuq1lIJasd8MzosXCxraipwboub-4ZE0W-tS8y0f3_cl5uu4nuWNrMLXlgh-NgxGbCJgJR-qVAGp14NjMqx1XAsy8RAeV0iH5a6vlX4ia878bhTS_Q4bZp_4/s320/GP60CNGPg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Plug both decoder boards into the frame. If needed to get a snug fit on the front board, tap lightly with a small hammer on the tabs with the board out, then plug in again. On the rear board use the solder method on the bottom of the board if needed to get a snug fit. Connect the wires as shown and test run.<br />
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These engine don't have any kind of a hood or light shield around the inside of the cab windows and the LED's mounted on these decoders are quite bright so I ended up removing the cab and painting the inside of the windows with 2 coats of Floquil engine black.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-8108772447004374132013-01-25T18:49:00.000-08:002013-01-25T18:49:28.181-08:00DZ123 in a Kato GP38 or GP50This material first appeared on my old web site in 2004.<br />
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In the late 80's Kato introduced some nice models of the GP38-2 and the GP50 that were built on very similar mechanisms. These mechanisms were an improvement over what had been available up to that time and another stepping stone to get to what is available today. It is possible to install a decoder in these older engines and here's how to do it.<br />
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The locomotive must be completely disassembled and the frame milled to make room for the decoder. I sent mine to <a href="http://www.aztectrains.com/" target="_blank">Aztec Mfg</a>. for milling.<br />
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For this project I am using the TM3013 frame to
modify a GP50. This frame would also work for 2nd run of the GP38-2
model. The TM3011 frame would be used for the 1st run of the GP38-2.<br />
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This installation uses the original PC light board. This photo shows the modifications I made to the board. Cut the board
just behind the rear mounting screw holes. The remaining board should be about 1-7/8 inches long.<br />
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Remove the
diode from the front end of the board. Using the Aztec
frame as a guide, file a notch to match the slot on the
left side of the frame.<br />
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On this particular installation I had used the Digitrax DZ123 decoder. Digitrax has replaced the DZ123 with the DZ125. Other decoders that would work include the TCS M1 or Z2, The Zimo MX621, or Lenz Silver Mini.<br />
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This photo shows the decoder wired to the board and the motor brush caps installed on the orange and gray wires. The lengths of the wires are as follows:<br />
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Red & Black = 7/8 inch<br />
<span class="body">White & Gray = 1 - 7/8 inch<br />Orange = 2 -
3/8 inch<br />Yellow = 1 inch<br />Blue = 1/2 inch</span><br />
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In this example I used the original light front light bulb and connected the white wire directly. If an LED is used then put a 480 ohm resistor between the LED and the white wire. Do the same for the rear LED using the blue wire for the return path.<br />
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To give extra protection against any possibility of short circuits, place kapton tape
on both the upper and lower parts of the frame, and on the inside of
the metal cover as shown in this photo.<br />
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Run the orange wire down the left side of the engine to the lower
motor brush. The gray wire goes to the top motor brush. They both use
the notch on the left side of the engine. Install the metal cover being careful not to pinch any of the wires on the guide tab at sticks up from the frame. There will be enough room for the wires between the frame and the metal cover.<br />
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<br />nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-88843069623708060182013-01-01T21:47:00.001-08:002013-01-28T04:07:22.969-08:00TCS AMD4 in an Atlas U23BHappy New Year and welcome to another year of N Scale DCC decoder installs. During the past year DCC equipped engines have become the majority in my fleet. Maybe this year I can get to 100% DCC !<br />
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Starting with the 1997 release of their GP40-2, Atlas started producing N scale engines that could use a board type DCC decoder. The design involved having the bottom motor contact come around to the top and both the top and bottom contacts then touching pads on the bottom of the decoder board or the stock LED board. The idea being that the frame would not need to be modified and this was a great breakthrough for N scale DCC. This same design has been used on many models now and decoder boards to match this design are offered by all the major decoder manufacturers.<br />
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This design suffered from that connection between those contacts and the boards not being very reliable. For many years I had been wiring the connection between the motor and decoder. More recently with the wired decoders having gotten much smaller, I have found space between the stock LED boards and the frame and would connect the wired decoder into the LED board. I have posted several of these types of installations here on this blog including the <a href="http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/search/label/Loco%3A%20Atlas%20GP40" target="_blank">GP40</a>, <a href="http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/search/label/Loco%3A%20Atlas%20SD35" target="_blank">SD35</a>, and the <a href="http://www.n-scale-dcc.blogspot.com/search/label/Loco%3A%20Atlas%20SD50%20or%20SD60" target="_blank">SD50/60</a> series. <br />
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Recently I had a few U23B's to do but found it was going to be tight to put a wired decoder in the way I have been with those models mentioned above so thought I would give the board decoder another try and have updated my installation as reported here.<br />
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The decoders boards for these Atlas engines have evolved over the years and now have plated slots for those motor contact tabs to go through which will help with that connection problem.<br />
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Notice in the photo above with the boards that the stock LED board has solder on the frame contact pads. Later we will see why this was done.<br />
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This photo shows how far I took the engine apart. The motor and gear assemblies are left in the right side frame throughout this installation.<br />
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To insure that those motor contract tabs don't touch the frame, I cut two sections of 3/64" heat shrink to cover them. One is 3/16" long and the other is 1/4" long.<br />
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After straightening out he motor contact tabs, the sections of heat shrink are pushed down as far as they can go. As shown in this photo the shorter one goes to the top motor contact and the longer one to the bottom motor contact. The tops of the heat shrink sections should be even with the top of the motor saddle. Heat shrinking these is optional. I normally do but suggest being very careful not to use too much heat near the motor.<br />
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Remember the solder on the frame contacts of the original LED board ? They did that because the board fit too loosely in the frame. The decoder may also need this treatment. Test fit the decoder board on each side frame to determine if and how much is needed to get a snug fit..<br />
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While guiding the motor contact tabs through the slots on the decoder board, press the decoder board into the right side frame as shown in this photo.<br />
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Then replace the shoulder washers and press the left side frame on. Carefully guide it on over the decoder board, the shoulder washers, and the motor saddle.<br />
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In this close up shot at the right side of the motor after everything is assembled the heat shrink can be seen shielding the motor contact from the frame. The same is true on the other side.<br />
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After a successful test run of the engine mechanism, I normally solder the motor contact tabs to the decoder board. Then re-install the shell.<br />
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Those tiny surface mount LED's are really bright and make the headlights and number boards look great. Depending on engine paint color, the light may also glow through the shell and a coat of dark color paint on the inside of the shell may be needed. On these dark green Western Pacific locomotives the light did not shine through the shells at all.<br />
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The principles of this installation apply to many other Atlas engines using these board type decoders.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-44364847540223686032012-12-23T21:31:00.001-08:002012-12-23T21:31:56.843-08:00Building a Digitrax LocoNet testerThis is going to be another one of those posts where I wander a bit from the installation of DCC decoders but this is good stuff to know if you use a Digitrax system and it ended up being a fun and easy project.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aUWS3vjE8bakRbEgHRCNhmkkwo7valDfcYEysgOHkpJpqqiAw2t4xtMbjjRhFXsYS_ZV1Sbcqjwab3XkDx92p6lrTbISKkK9zWka-NPYoH9OPOmiyCVdlR_Kqctovm6bIzjg2ov65Sc/s1600/Digitrax+LT1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aUWS3vjE8bakRbEgHRCNhmkkwo7valDfcYEysgOHkpJpqqiAw2t4xtMbjjRhFXsYS_ZV1Sbcqjwab3XkDx92p6lrTbISKkK9zWka-NPYoH9OPOmiyCVdlR_Kqctovm6bIzjg2ov65Sc/s1600/Digitrax+LT1.jpg" /></a></div>
The little device in the photo on the left is called an LT1 and has 4 green 4 LED's that when lighted after being plugged into the Loconet indicate all is well.<br />
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Because the weak links are the flat telephone type cables and the rather delicate connectors it's important to have one of these on hand to verify that the connections are sound.<br />
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The LT1 comes with the system and they can also be purchased separately and they are not expensive. The problem is that they are very small and easily lost. They are also a goner if they get stepped on which can easily happen at a show if left on the floor. I have had a couple of these and so has the Ntrak club I belong to but the last couple of show setups none could be found so I decided to try to make something that was a little bigger and not so easily lost.<br />
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I found this photo on wikipedia that shows the pin outs of the phone connector and what they represent on the LocoNet cable.<br />
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After a couple of experiments this is what I came up with.<br />
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I used a surface mount RJ11 phone jack that had 6 contacts. These are about 2 inches square and about 1 inch thick. Still small enough to easily fit in the toolbox but large enough not to get lost so easily.<br />
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The LED's are actually LED light boards from Atlas GP7 locomotives which in I had installed TCS CN-GP decoders in. I re-mounted the LED's so they point straight up from the board. I also used scraps of decoder wires to make the connections inside the box so this was really a junk box project.<br />
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Here is a look inside. The back part and the cover of this phone jack just snap together.<br />
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The LED boards were modified by re-mounting the LED so that it is pointed straight out from the board. Also I trimmed down the size of the boards so they would fit close together in the middle of the cover and stay clear of the screws on the back part. The yellow and black wires are the commons so they each connect to two of the LED boards on the side that does not have the resistor. The other four wires are each connected to the side of the boards that does have the resistor. Each of the wires are then placed under the screws.<br />
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Parts List:<br />
<ul>
<li>(4) LED boards from Older Atlas GP7's. Similar boards would also work</li>
<li>(1) RJ11 surface mount jack - widely available for about $1.00 each</li>
</ul>
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The way to use this device is to get the command system going so that a train can run. Then plug one end of a loconet cable into the command station and the other end into this tester. All four LED's should light up, if they don't then there's a bad connection in the cable or at one of the connectors. Re-installing a new connector often corrects the problem so a good quality RJ11 crimper and connectors should be kept in the tool box.<br />
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When setting up the DCC system on our Ntrak layouts, I have found the the telephone cords to often be unreliable so I will test each section of cord before actually using it to connect the command station to the various panels on the layout when setting up. This method avoids much frustration.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-55578234989298949132012-11-01T09:35:00.000-07:002012-11-01T09:35:11.803-07:00Lenz Silver Mini in an Atlas Classic GP35One of the Classic releases from Atlas were the GP35's that were closely based on the mechanism made for them by Kato several years earlier. The Atlas Classic GP30 also uses the same mechanism as the one shown here. At first glance this would seem like a straight forward replace the frame type of installation but as I discovered there are a few extra tricks that are worth covering.<br />
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If you look at the frames for the Kato made model and the Classic models made in China, they seem identical in every way. They both even have the same part numbers on them and copyright Atlas 1992.<br />
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There is a critical difference and it's important not to get them mixed up. The photo on the left shows the right side frames from each model. The size of the bushings used on the Classic version are slightly smaller and where they fit in on the frame is also slightly smaller.<br />
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A quick way to check is to test fit a bushing from a Kato made model. If it fits easily then it's a frame for a Kato made model. If it's a tight fit or won't fit then the frame is for the Classic version.<br />
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I was quite confused about this until John from Aztec set me straight. The Aztec part number for the milled frame for a Kato made model is TM3001 and for the Classic model it is TM3016.<br />
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Because the outside of the Kato made and Classic frames seems identical, I wondered if the shells are interchangeable. After swapping around several shells and frames I was able to confirm that yes, they are interchangeable. So now on to the decoder installation.<br />
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This model normally comes with bright white LED's on a PC board very similar to the one used on the Kato made model.<br />
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On some of them there is a small component added to the solder side of the board. This was added to suppress the flickering of the LED when the engine was running in the reverse direction in DC operation and will not be needed after the decoder is installed so it should be removed on both boards.<br />
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On the front LED board only there is a chance that the LED lead on the left side can short on the left side frame as shown in this photo.<br />
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The LED needs to be removed, a small tubing place on this lead of the LED, then the LED re-installed. The Kato 77A LED board already has tubing on it's LED so I took some from those to use here.<br />
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I have also found some of these Atlas boards that have the circuit traces both sides (top and bottom) of the board. These have to have both sides cut to fully isolate that part of the board from the frame.<br />
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This photo shows the component side which normally does not have any circuit traces.<br />
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For the wire lengths I followed the Aztec instructions except that I added the blue wire and cut it to the same length as the yellow wire.<br />
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Black & Red = 1-3/4", White = 1-7/8", Orange = 1"<br />
Yellow & Blue = 7/8", Orange = 1", Gray = 1-5/8"<br />
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This photo shows a summary of all the steps I did to get the decoder ready to install. The wires on the Lenz decoder are soldered right at the edge of the decoder and I felt they might get broken during handling so the first thing I did was to gather them together in a heat shrink band.<br />
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This decoder had no heat shrink covering and it components were exposed. This was the method I used to insulate it from the frame and from the rear LED board.<br />
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A scrap of .020 thick plastic was cut to fit on the frame, then the decoder was secured with some Kapton tape. The Kapton tape is trimmed to fit around the bumps on the sides of the frame that hold the shell in position.<br />
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Here is a photo of the completed mechanism from the right side. The gray decoder wire gets around the motor to the bottom brush using the slot milled in the right frame side.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-12535808743252283212012-10-05T23:25:00.001-07:002012-10-05T23:27:17.773-07:00Zimo MX621 in a Kato SD40 or SD45This old Kato mechanism is one of my favorites and I think I've done more of these types of installations than any other. The same mechanism is used for both the SD40 and SD45 models. The more recent releases take a board type decoder but for the older releases you will need to get the frame milled. The <a href="http://www.aztectrains.com/" target="_blank">Aztec Mfg.</a> part number for a frame milled to take a small decoder is TM3002.<br />
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The decoder I am going to use in this one is the Zimo MX621. It is similar in size to the TCS M1 and comes in a little plastic box.<br />
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Little boxes like this are perfect for storing spare motor brushes, brush springs, brush caps, etc.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAc0Vq_hpcb6cwGljd7ug8aZwEcUIs3mNBskuB7ZEzZlL-GCJQtNrZGV2OUDks1aNEn8bxlqBjWlGsHuZJCB0Jct4au2vIdWOIp4zvhedVj9lzT2YxCZSWiG7ydduXCgUfF14JFsDYz80/s1600/SD40MX621b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAc0Vq_hpcb6cwGljd7ug8aZwEcUIs3mNBskuB7ZEzZlL-GCJQtNrZGV2OUDks1aNEn8bxlqBjWlGsHuZJCB0Jct4au2vIdWOIp4zvhedVj9lzT2YxCZSWiG7ydduXCgUfF14JFsDYz80/s320/SD40MX621b.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
The Aztec milled frame comes with clear instructions for the basic installation. It is mentioned in the instructions about using the blue wire for decoders with transponders. This is because for the transponder function to work, the blue wire has to be connected as a return for one of the function wires.<br />
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As this decoder does have a blue wire, I am going to follow the option of using the blue wire as the return path for the yellow function wire on rear light board.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNexff88S0W5QqKM3rVe_UVBDGhNZo25lAu7h6maQM51K0YNbvQO8lZqu20Ar1uL4zA4-veNidD7aC2Lz5j30c4udKRbMZWBxtupUDcJDO4o5aNZF4Cf64a6J2sqbFTpvmnFd4mVUddZk/s1600/SD40MX621c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNexff88S0W5QqKM3rVe_UVBDGhNZo25lAu7h6maQM51K0YNbvQO8lZqu20Ar1uL4zA4-veNidD7aC2Lz5j30c4udKRbMZWBxtupUDcJDO4o5aNZF4Cf64a6J2sqbFTpvmnFd4mVUddZk/s320/SD40MX621c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This photo shows the completed decoder assembly.<br />
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I have replaced the stock yellow LEDs on both boards with bright white LEDs. On the rear board, I also replaced the stock 270 ohm resistor with a 750 ohm resistor. This is because with the blue wire, the signal going to the LED is going to make the LED brighter and I wanted to reduce it to be close to the same brightness as the front LED.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTRqjCKdOUtU3AmNLmNiohEEl5PMfnX7EWaoKcjoMs2tkaSrm53Lwf5EuxWgmDbMGHyAEEIq7zjvU-BkAv4NhHXuo_CE3ln9DIvYhnlmfK-A8W906uNMR3CGi5obem-DjNZCLGcNadQA/s1600/SD40MX621d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTRqjCKdOUtU3AmNLmNiohEEl5PMfnX7EWaoKcjoMs2tkaSrm53Lwf5EuxWgmDbMGHyAEEIq7zjvU-BkAv4NhHXuo_CE3ln9DIvYhnlmfK-A8W906uNMR3CGi5obem-DjNZCLGcNadQA/s320/SD40MX621d.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
The motor assembly goes back together in a very similar way as it does with most installations. What is different about this installation is that the decoder is in the fuel tank and all of the wires go up around the motor to the top of the frame.<br />
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This photo shows how everything is laid out just prior to re-installing the motor assembly in the frame.<br />
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This photo shows what it should look like on the other side of the right side of the frame after the motor assembly is placed into it. <br />
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The wires should lay side by side and not be twisted over each other. It is also very important that none of them have gotten caught or pinched between the motor and the frame.<br />
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The rest of the reassembly of this model is very straight forward. These are normally very quiet running engines but I have noticed ones that have sat around for years get a little noisy. This is almost always cured with a small drop of Labelle 102 or other plastic compatible gear lube on the spots shown in this photo. <br />
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In conclusion, this would be a great model to try as your first wired decoder DCC install. Other currently available decoders that would fit in the pocket milled in the frame would include the Train Control Systems M1, M4, or Z2, or the Digitrax DZ125 or DZ143.nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2823233264096578447.post-50527485664719693892012-09-07T08:50:00.001-07:002012-09-07T23:37:31.403-07:00Sending frames for millingWhile the options for installing DCC decoders in N scale engines without the need to do major modifications to the frame are much better than in the past, there are still some cases where space will need to be created in the frame for a decoder, wires, resistors, etc. For me the best option has always been to send my frames to Aztec Manufacturing in Carson City, Nevada.<br />
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This is a professional machine shop specializing in model railroad products and they do a much better job than I could ever do. They only charge $10.00 for most N scale frame milling, and for me it's always been money well spent. They have a list of frame milling available and prices at <a href="http://www.aztectrains.com/dccframes.html">http://www.aztectrains.com/dccframes.html</a>.<br />
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If you send several frames at one time you can reduce the cost of shipping per frame. I like to use the Priority Mail small flat rate box for the best savings.<br />
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You'll need to first completely disassemble you engine so that just the frame gets sent in. Be sure to account for all the small parts including nuts and shoulder washers as those sometimes get stuck to the frame. I use small plastic zip lock bags that I purchased on ebay to store all the small parts. I put the motor in a separate small bag so that no small parts can get into it. I normally put the shell, trucks, and fuel tank in the original box. If there is more than one engine being disassembled at the same time I will mark all of the bags so the parts don't get mixed up.<br />
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This photo shows how I bag up and label the engine parts until I get the milled frame back from Aztec. If you have several of the same model that you are working with at the same time, label the bags by road number or just 1, 2, 3, etc.<br />
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To contact Aztec Manufacturing:<br />
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Aztec Manufacturing Co.<br />
2701 Conestoga Drive, # 113<br />
Carson City, NV 89706<br />
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775-883-3327nscalestationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783221442726601040noreply@blogger.com0