I’ve been installing decoders in engines for about five years and never have run across this problem. The holes in the 8 pin connector are too large to plug a 8 pin decoder into. Has any one experienced this problem? Did my friend purchase an odd ball unit. Thanks for your help in advance.
Hmm. If you have one, a digital picture or pictures of the plug posed nearly perpendicular to the socket might be of assistance. I’ve not heard of this from friends running H-10s. I’m presuminbg you mean he 2x4 set of holes is spaced too far? or the holes are too big to maintain a tight loc to hold the decoder plugs in? If the former,I would suggest calling Walthers. Wel, not this minute, you might wait until they open. If the latter, then you might try a tiny dab of solder on the plugs individually, being careful not to let them touch each other. Tjis would help to thinckent eh posts and lock the decoder in. Otherwise, I’m confused
The holes are too large for the pins to maintain a tight lock. In fact, the pins float in the holes.
I don’t know if this is realistic , but would it be possible to put a slight bend in each pin so that when inserted, the deflection would cause contact with the wall of each hole. I’ve used this technique on larger electrical connectors.
Sounds like the 8 pin riser is missing…
David B
The 8 holes for the decoder pins are oversize, so the usual decoders flop around in them. Are any DCC decoders made with large pins to fit Walthers 8-pin DCC ready boards?
I’m with David, if the pins flop around in the holes then there is a part missing. The pins and sockets are standard electronic industry items and I’ve never heard of one or the other being a different size.
Simple solution - remove the factory board and just hardwire a decoder.
–Randy
I imagine the OP has probably figured it out since posting this nearly 7 years ago…
Tom
Hey, you never know, Tom. [(-D]
Rich
Yeah but there is the followup guy with the same problem, that one is fron 2 days ago.
–Randy
Sure, you are meant to solder in a socket for 8 pins, then plug an 8 pin decoder into that.
I’ll betcha that the OP has been sitting on pins and needles waiting for a reply - - going on 11 years now. [xx(]
Rich
11 years would work for me at the rate I work on projects [:D]
Wow, a double necro topic! That’s a first!
Chuck, at least, came up with a definitive answer.
I dunno, the right answer when it is guaranteed to work is to remove the factory circuit board, which in more cases than I care to think about are just wrong, and wire a decoder right in. Then you know each wire is going to the right place.
I seriously doubt they meant to leave off the socket, either a previous owner removed it or it was just an oversight at the factory.
–Randy
I think that Randy provided the definitive answer four years ago when the 2009 thread was revived for the first time.
Rich
What you don’t relize is that what is standard today, was not always standard, it became that way.
The NMRA 8 pin socket goes back to the earliest days of DCC. Either Walthers saved a penny by not including the socket, expecting people to just stick the wires of a wired decoder in the holes and solder them to the board, or someone forgot to fit the socket when the board was made.
The one thing that is still not standard is what “DCC Ready” means. Still can mean anythign from “it will take you longer to open the loco than to actually install a decoder” to “you have to completely rewire the loco to make it work AND not fry decoders”
–Randy
yes but in the early days manufactures did their own thing as far as dcc, regardless of the NMRA all trying to become the standard.