After a disillusioning experience I had with installing decoders in a P2K loco, I’ve become skeptical of the phrase ‘DCC ready’.
I’m wondering about recently-manufactured RTR Athearn AC4400CW’s. I have a few of those that I plan to put decoders in, and the box has bold letters proclaiming that the model is “DCC quik-plug equipped”; but I also remembered reading somewhere else (MR?) that the new Athearns have the same drive and electrical config as the blueboxes, which means dissassembling the drive train, drilling holes in the frame, isolating the motor, etc. - rendering the ‘quik-plug’ claim pointless IMHO. Sure, maybe I can connect the decoder itself quickly, but won’t I have to do alot more than simply programming the address and replacing the shell?
If the locomotive has the Quik-Plug, all you need to do is remove the shell, unplug the dummy board from the quik-plug, and plug in any decoder with the 9-pin connector. The Digitrax standard DH series has this plug, I’m not sure of other manufacturers but you could find out which do at tonystrains.com
So I take it Athearn makes some of the easiest DCC ready engines? You would do the same thing with the Atlas DCC ready units, correct? Or is their version a bit different.
What exactly were your disillusioning experiences with your P2k loco? I’d like to learn from your experience.
I’d say if you had to dissemble the drive train, isolate the motor etc, that certainly would not qualify as DCC quick plug equipped and or DCC ready. That is one of the primarly differences between the Athearn blue box loco’s of old, and the newer RTR DCC ready loco’s.
What you may have read about the newer Athearns in MR is that they share some similarities with the old blue box loco’s in terms of the chassis (similar motors and drive train) but those have been updated for the RTR series with “hex drive” which is smoother and quieter than the older drives, and obviously the motors are insulated from the frames now so you don’t have to insulate them and hard wire them to get a decoder to work.
I have 6 of the quick plug equipped locos and all worked right out of the box, no issues. I have even converted some of my ‘blue box’ locos to DCC. There’s a great video on YouTube that shows how to do it.
Be careful as not all Athearn RTR locos have DCC plugs. Some of the older stuff in the RTR line that was old Athearn tooling does not have a plug: F7A’s, GP40-2’s, etc. However, later runs of these same units now do have plugs. Read the box to determine which is which.
Now, all of the RTR’s that came from other’s tooling, such as the MDC/Roundhouse RS-3 or anything from Rail Power Products (GP40X, CF7, GP60M, etc.) all have plugs.
It’s a confusing situation where Athearn, IMHO, was testing the waters with it’s early RTR line and trying to determine how much money they should invest in updating the electronics. It has since proven a successful product line, so later runs are getting the full treatment for DCC.
Actually it’s nothing wrong with the P2Ks themselves (i.e. no defects), it’s more my own unrealistic expectations after zipping thru a half-dozen Kato and Atlas decoder installations. I was expecting the P2K’s to be every bit as easy but they weren’t. A learning experience mostly, now I know I’ll always have to buy specially-tailored decoders for my P2K’s in advance.
As for blue box installations, I’ve done one of those already - an earlier-production AC4400CW. I already knew it would be a tough job from the git-go, so it didn’t bother me one bit. It’s when I go into a task thinking it’s going to be quick n’ easy, but it turns out complicated, that my attitude gets challenged.
Some people have reported that some RTR Quick-plug boards have defects. Later runs seem to have worked through the problems.
The bottom of the motor is insulated for the frame only by a layer of paint. Cheap insurance may be to pull the motor (4 screws) and place a piece of electrical tape under there. Shouldn’t take more than say ten minutes to do.
TCS also makes decoders with the 9-pin plug. I usually swear at Digitrax decoders.[banghead]
All my locomotives that I currently have are Athearn RTR but, only one didn’t come w/the quick plug board. I ordered one from Athearn and installed it but, haven’t added the wire leads yet. I will post once I’ve added the wiring and Decoder.
I know the earliest P2k loco’s weren’t DCC ready, but all the ones I bought have quick connect plugs (GP30’s and SD9’s). That would make them every bit as easy I would think.
And they probably will be; I ordered some DH165L0’s and I should have them by Friday. I’ll make a follow-up post to let you all know how the installations go.
Was at my LHS recently ( Happy Hobo). There were several Athearn RTRRio Grande Tunnel Motors and at least 2 high nosed Southern SD40-2s.
IMHO, they were nice looking units though I have to admit that because I’ve been “spoiled” by the detailing on P2K locomotives, I noticed right away that the walkways and porches didn’t have the “diamond plating” detail. They were smooth. Of course, I realized that this is “RTR” and not the Genesis line. I am considering getting the Southern unit as I’ve always liked high nosed hood units. If Cannon makes Diamond Plating, I’d be willing to do some work to add it on.
The Athearn/Walthers newest phase V P42’s (28 and 116) come with a DCC ready plug. Only ones that have this so far. Improved motor as well, at least from what I’ve heard. Future runs (if any) will likely have this as well.
As far as the 9 pin quick plug goes, as mentioned, Digitrax DH series has them, also some Lenz and the 15 series NCE decoders as well as the MRC 1651 decoder.
