Thats torn it!

[5H17]

Im the impulse type, me. Yesterday I decided to run DCC in the garden in spite of it being something I know very little about.
Today I just bought 3 large scale digitrax decoders off evilbay.

Tomorrow I will be asking you guys a whole bunch of idiot questions

 

[Zman]

Tomorrow I will be asking you guys a whole bunch of idiot questions

8| Just another day at the office

 

[Martino]

Im the impulse type, me. Yesterday I decided to run DCC in the garden in spite of it being something I know very little about.
Today I just bought 3 large scale digitrax decoders off evilbay.

Tomorrow I will be asking you guys a whole bunch of idiot questions

Then you'll be expecting idiot answers - from me at least.

 

[dunnyrail]

No worries, just keep it simple and for a start jyst wire your first loco up so that it works. Go for lighting at a later stage. Now I know that there will be people out there that would say that it is harder to go back to do the wiring to add lighting. But remember KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid(not you but the saying)). You will need to get the confidence of installing that first decoder and getting it to work - and you will. Just follow the wiring in both the decoder and the loco.
Good Luck,
JonD

 

[5H17]

Thanks Jon. That was going to be my first question actually.
I know they all work on analogue, and I was going to say is it feasible to just suss it out so it will move under DCC first, then delve into the lighting. Im guessing thats a yes then!

 

[whatlep]

Thanks Jon. That was going to be my first question actually.
I know they all work on analogue, and I was going to say is it feasible to just suss it out so it will move under DCC first, then delve into the lighting. Im guessing thats a yes then!

Yes, you can ignore the lighting, but why would you wnat to dismantle the loco twice when lighting is simply two wires to the appropriate terminals?

 

[5H17]

I probably wouldnt. Valid point.
Having said that however, one of the locos I will want to convert is a USAT SD70 Mac. Ive read up a few bits and pieces (no serious reading yet really..just scratching the surface), and a few people reckon the lighting on the is a pig to convert.

Either way im getting ahead of myself. I havent even got the decoders yet, or decided which of the fleet (there are 6) will be first for the treatment.

 

[mike]

id pick a simple loco to do 1st!! get your confindansce up 1st, leave the pig of a challange till last!!

 

[5H17]

Oh im going to. Im thinking maybe one of the Aristo RS3's might be easier.
Ive also read somewhere that a lot of aristo models already have a plug, but ive no idea how far back that goes. I might dismantle one and have a looksee.

 

[5H17]

Actually thats a good question for the boffins I guess....which is going to be easier as my first fit.

Aristo Critter
Aristo RS3 (got two of these)
Bachmann Porter (probably wont do this one yet, cause it doesnt run so well on analogue, so I need to sort that out first really)
Bachmann Annie
USAT SD70 Mac (I know this will be the pig...so this will be last I reckon).

 

[Neil Robinson]

Having said that however, one of the locos I will want to convert is a USAT SD70 Mac. Ive read up a few bits and pieces (no serious reading yet really..just scratching the surface), and a few people reckon the lighting on the is a pig to convert.

With the possible exception of a smoke unit I've always assumed that it is possible to discard all of a loco's existing electronics and replace them with the chip. Granted this may take some time but wouldn't have the technical complexities of trying to marry different systems. Some smoke unit(s) may take more power than the chip's appropriate function output can handle. If this is the case several solutions are available, depending on the nominal voltage of the smoke unit you could wire the smoke unit(s) independently to the track via a voltage regulator with or without a manual switch or relay controlled from the chip. Alternately, if it is a low voltage smoke unit it could be replaced by one suitable for the maximum voltage as these take less current to deliver the same power at the higher voltage, then again you may chose not to bother with intentional ( ) smoke.

 

[Philbahn]

Having said that however, one of the locos I will want to convert is a USAT SD70 Mac. Ive read up a few bits and pieces (no serious reading yet really..just scratching the surface), and a few people reckon the lighting on the is a pig to convert.

With the possible exception of a smoke unit I've always assumed that it is possible to discard all of a loco's existing electronics and replace them with the chip. Granted this may take some time but wouldn't have the technical complexities of trying to marry different systems. Some smoke unit(s) may take more power than the chip's appropriate function output can handle. If this is the case several solutions are available, depending on the nominal voltage of the smoke unit you could wire the smoke unit(s) independently to the track via a voltage regulator with or without a manual switch or relay controlled from the chip. Alternately, if it is a low voltage smoke unit it could be replaced by one suitable for the maximum voltage as these take less current to deliver the same power at the higher voltage, then again you may chose not to bother with intentional ( ) smoke.

MMMMMMMMMM burning resistors & transistors:bleh:

 

[ntpntpntp]

Today I just bought 3 large scale digitrax decoders off evilbay.

Which decoders have you bought? Are they the ..AR type or ..S type? S type have screw terminals, AR type are designed for direct plug-in to current production Aristo main boards, so this obviously this has an influence on how easy it will be to fit these into your various locos?

Either way you may find you have to make a little adapter board, to plug an S type decoder into a plug-and-play Aristo loco, or to add a wiring harness to an AR decoder for a loco without the Aristo interface.

 

[ntpntpntp]

oooh... just had a quick look on UK ebay, I see seller "trainline" is advertising "3x Digitrax DG583S" with 2 available - is that what you went for?

At first I thought it was 3 decoders for £45 which would be a real bargain, but reading further I think it means one decoder for £45 (a fair price). The item title is a little misleading I think.

Pretty sure the last two DG583 decoders I bought from ebay were from this seller.

 

[5H17]

Oh darnit. Youre right you know. I shouldnt buy stuff on ebay when ive 'had a few'!
That advert is VERY misleading though. Not happy.

 

[5H17]

ntpntpntp is indeed correct. My decoder (singular) has arrived, so at least I can have a tinker today. Im still a bit peeved at the ebay listing though.

Is it just me, or is this really misleading?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320528217584&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT < Link To http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/...PageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

 

[Zman]

Is it just me, or is this really misleading?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320528217584&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The title is, but the body of the listing does state;

[H4]"Offered at a buy it now price of £45 each (3 available only) including p&p, giving a £10 saving on advertised price."[/H4] and eBay guidelines do ask the bidder to check and read the listing thoroughly.

Not that I've ever bid on something in a rush, just reading the heading, not me, no way, not late at night after a few glasses of vino :-

 

[5H17]

haha welcome to my world. I feel a bit of a numpty actually, but you live and learn I guess.

Anyway...ive got one of my RS/3's apart to see if i can fit the decoder.
Wish me luck....im going in!

 

[ntpntpntp]

yeah, good luck!

If it's got a plug-and-play socket in the loco then it is possible to take the DC blanking plug, cut the traces and solder on your wiring to your 583S decoder - but that of course means you can't use the blanking plug to go back to DC. personally I'd make up a new plug using some header pins and a small piece of copper-clad stripboard. At least it's a straight 1-to-1 link of each wire from the decoder to the plug. ** Oh - beware that I think there's a note somewhere about one of the pins should NOT be connected on the RS-3. If I remember correctly recent DG583AR decoders come with one pin cut off to avoid the problem.

If it's an older loco without plug-and-play then you're probably looking at re-wiring everything. Not difficult - the first loco I ever did was an old Aristo U25-B that needed hard-wiring.

Re the ebay advert, I think the problem is that the seller mentioned "3x" in the title - generally people will take this to mean that is what's included in ONE auction lot, and if there are multiple quantities it is a multiple of the complete lot. Bit silly to then mention "3 available" in the text, which of course isn't true once one is sold! Like I said, I had to read it twice to convince myself. Shame - I'd have snapped up a bunch of 3 decoders for £45 for my stores!

 

[5H17]

Its an older one...so I think im going to junk the main circuit board at least. It also looks as if someone has already replaced the LED lamps with bulbs (either that or the hot glue gun at the factory is a REALLY messy one!).

I think ive just about sussed it anyway. Just nipping out to get some heat shrink so I can do a pucker job, then im going to start cutting stuff. Muwahahahaha. <evil grin>