athearn Dcc quick plug loco's

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

This is probably a stupid question but, on these locos can any Decoder be installed or is there a specific decoder? My first guess would be any decoder but I dont have any knowledge in this matter all my locos were either bought with DCC already installed or i paid a arm to have them installed in older loco’s. Reason being I just bought a gp-35 sp off e-bay and it is suppost to be a ready to roll with a quick plug.

Thanks

Chris

2

I think they have a 8 pin plug. If they have a 8 pin plug then any decoder with 8 pins will work.

-Smoke

3

Thanks Smoke! that is what i was looking for i have a decoder in the closet but I think it is a 9 pin [V].I tried looking for the info here but cant seem to do it ,either by not knowing what to look for or whatever. thanks again

Chris

4

Let me see if I cna find out the info on the engine.

-Smoke

5

I’m pretty sure the plugs are 9 pin.

D13SRJ

HO 4 function generic decoder with NMRA/JST 9pin plug. Also a direct plug in to Athearn locos equipped with DCC “Quick Plug” such as GP60M and MIkado.

Here is where that came from.

http://www.amhobby.com/products/tech/nce/decoders.html

-Smoke

6

I put a Digitrax DH decoder in a RTR Athearn CF7, the plug is the 9-pin. I think that there are holes in the circuit board for an 8-pin connector, but you would need to either solder in a connector or solder the pins to the board.

7

I just remove the and hardwire a decoder into the unit, that way I can use any type I want.

8

Thanks a whole bunch guy’s , Smoke your a life saver thanks for going through the trouble to get that info for me. Jeff your talking french to me when you start talking hard wire and stuff, i could hardwire anything, my electrical skills are nil to nothing.

I have a 9 pin (train control system TCS T1 decoder) in the closet that I have had for about 6 months scared to install it and mess something up. I would like to install this into the engine if possible?

Thanks again everone for the responses

Chris

9

Chris; it is plug’n’play for the T1 with 9 pin (aka JST) connector into the Athearn “quick plug”.

10

ok Nigel, thanks just making sure I dont want to fry A brand new loco right out of the box, And at $ 77.00 that is a big BOO BOO.

thanks

C.C.

11

If you fried anything, it would probably be the decoder. But as others have mentioned, the TCS T1 is a perfect match for the DCC quick-plug Athearns.

Remove the dummy plug from the Athearn and take a good look at it and the socket. You’ll notice that the pins and their corresponding contacts are offset. Orient the T1 so it’s the same as the dummy plug and insert it into the socket. They’re someties a tight fit, so be sure you have it fully seated. Try it out before you replace the shell.

After you have it installed and running, you may want to turn on some dither to get that Athearn running real nice. Here’s a link to some info about dither and some suggested starting points for setting it: http://www.loystoys.com/info/dither.html

HTH,
Steve

12

Steve, I Have to say thank you very much. Your info was extremely helpful and the link you posted was absolutely incredible.Not like I know anything about dcc but, I have never heard of Dither until now. Let’s see what happens in a couple says ,and Hope a New SP (Gp35) doesnt go to the loco heaven[angel].Then I’m going to see about trying to run two engines together.But that is for another headache and time [;)]

THanks again everybody

Chris

13

Hi Chris

Do yourself a big favor and search the 'Net for DCC info. There is a HUGE assortment of info available. Use some of the terms that people gave to you in response to your questions. I use Yahoo.com, Google.com and Ask.com. Build your Bookmarks or Favorites folder in your browser. Yahoo Groups has DCC specific groups such as SoundTraxx, NCE, MRC etc. I am amazed every day that a lot of people do not realize the info available on the 'Net, though I do understand that many people use the forums for social contact. I have about fifty links for trains and sub categories under trains. But then I am a 'Net junkie.

rich

14

I just recently went thru that learning curve myself, I’ll share what I learned so your’s won’t have to be as bad.

CV2 = startup voltage (what is needed to ‘nudge’ your loco into motion)

CV5 = maximum voltage supplied to the motor

CV6 = mid-range voltage setting (usually 50% of whatever CV5 is set at)

I had to do a lot of hit-n-miss tinkering with the levels on CV5 and CV6 to speed-match an Atlas and a Kato, but I finally got it close enough.

15

Chris:

I just went through about 2 days of hassle in getting a TCS T1 decoder to work in an Athearn GP35 with Quick Plug. I hope that your experience will be different than mine. I found that the light board was defective and that the Quick Plug was mis-wired. The T1 comes with a harness that will let you hard wire the decoder if necessary. I finally took out the light board and hard wired in the decoder. It works very well now. BUT- the light connections are for 12 V bulbs and the Athearn has 1.5. I am going to use LEDs to replace these bulbs - when I can figure out how to do it.

Joe

16

THanks rich , I have different thread and stuff saved already, most dont make sense,

Ken thanks for those tid bit’s of advise, they will sure come in handy

Joe , your info was extremly helpful as well.

I just have No, NO knowledge of electrical things, wires etc. HEck I’ve fried stuff before and really am SUPER leary about stuff like this. And before Someone says it No there is no hobby shop here where I’m at or other people in this hobby that I know of.I Just thought I’d get some quick info and such on this loco and decoder, I’m going o be buying a Dvd on the subject also ,just dont know when , or which one. Everyone help is incredible and appreciated imensely, thank again.

C.C.

17

Here is more information that might help you.

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn2/DCC.htm

I am 66 and learned most of what I know about DCC from the 'Net. I started a few years ago with a MRC2000 and now I have the NCE Power Cab. I have a learning disability in visualizing certain things I read about. A picture usually helps me a lot. Just keep reading and if you get an electrical question, search the 'Net. The answer is usually there. It takes patience and a lot of reading. Things will start to make sense.

Cheers

Rich

18

The newer versions of the TCS T-1 decoders have provisions to add (plug into the T-1) their VR (voltage regulator) which would allow you to use the 1.5v bulbs without burning them up. [:D] You might want to check out the TCS website for more information. www.tcsdcc.com