athearn locomotives where to put dcc

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

[:D]athearn locomotives where to put dcc i have some dash 9 6 axle units and want to put dcc units into them…q… do i just glue the dcc on top of the motor… i am worried that if i do not stick them on ( perhaps double sided tape ) the fly wheels will damage them…any sugestions … thanks peter

2

You do have to fix the decoder in place (as well as wiring it in) - Lenz decoders come with a sticky foam pad to mount them with though bluetack is just as effective - it’s insulating, doesn’t seem to be affected by heat, and holds decoders pretty firmly while still being removable if you need to change the decoder at a later date. I’ve only added DCC to one Athearn loco so far (F7A) - on this one I hacksawed a piece out of the additional ballast weight to make a decoder “perch”. Hope this is of help!

3

Make sure you insolate the decoder from the motor frame, too many exposed solder connections to short at the most inappropriate times! Double sided foam tape should provide both adhesion and insulation.
Will

4

if it is one of the older athears with the strip along toe top connecting the 2 bogies and the motor then there are decoders that will replace that strip and clip straight in. no soldering, not cutting, just clip it in and play.

Peter

5

Older Athearns have to have the motor isolated from the frame so there in all likelyhood there is no such thing as a decoder that will clip right in. They do have to be soldered in in order to make all the electrical connections properly. Perhaps you are confused by some of the new Athearns that come with a jst plug?

6

Digitrax has a special wiring ‘harness’ just for older Athearn BB engines - no soldering is needed!

Jim Bernier

7

thanks fellas… i have approx 21 athearn 6 x axle units and wanted to make sure i can convert them in a production line and not find out i had made a mistake… what dcc units would be the best unit to fit into the locos…peter

8

Most of the ‘basic’ decoders should work. As I mentioned, Digitrax has a special harness kit for their decoders. One thing I would suggest is a good ‘tuneup’ of your Athearn engines. Check out this web site:

http://hackitup.railfan.net/athearn.html

One upgrade to consider is replacing the ‘sintered’ iron wheels with N/S wheels from NWSL or Jay Bee - much better electical contact. No arcing/sparking to mess up your DCC signal!

Jim Bernier

9

there is plenty of room in those dash 9’s for the decoder under the dynamic brake “wings” which are press fit into the shell, so you can wire the decoder, add extra lights if desired, put the shell back on, and then adjust any wires to make sure every thing is clear of drive line, the use a little tape to attach decoder to internal crossmember, put D.B. panel back in and your good to go.