DCC decoder and wheel help

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

ok this is an atlas SD-40 engine. this is my first time doing anything with dcc and doing into the engine part so here are my questions

where do i put the trucks back in (like how far from an end or something) also how lose should it be. which side is the front(please be specific)

do i remove that plastic part off of the decoder?

2

Is this an N scale Kato?

If so, the shell will most likely only fit on one way. The trucks should just pop in. I am not 100% sure, but a picture of your model should easily tell you the orientation of the trucks.

The “plastic” on the decoder, if you mean the yellow stuff, is Kapton Tape. This tape insulates, like electrical tape. Some installations require this in certain places on the frame, to insulate against shorts.

Ps- if appears from your top picture, that the right side is the front of the locomotive. The LED is further back, suggesting the front hood of the locomotive.

3

Never mind I got it

4

Oops I missed the Atlas in the top line. Glad you got it working

5

Be carefull. Just some experiences to share before you but the loco on the tracks.

  1. Make sure the motor contacts that lead to the pads on the decoder are insulated from the frame. This is not always obveous to see and if you just use a small piece of kapton tape or electrical tape inside the frame halves at the top.

  2. Make sure the motor contacts line up and make good contact with the board.

  3. Don’t put the shell on until you have programmed and run it for a while. Change dirrection, turn the light on and off. The reason I say this is if you have a momentary short the decoder will either fry or motor control may go away completely. If motor control goes away but the light still works take the loco apart and check for short possibilities and correct. You will have to unlock or reset the decoder before you can reprogram and gain motor control again.

Good luck, with a few under your belt it will become a 5 minute job.

6

thanks, but now i’m trying to unscrew the coupler(i lost one of them) and make it so it can pull trains.

7

Kato units dont utilize screws for the couplers, they have clips.

David B