Has anyone installed a decoder on a BLI Blue line? I have a Blueline coming in november and am not sure which decoder to buy or how much is involved to install. The blueline comes with sound and DC and says its DCC ready and I quote from BLI “We’ve included a NMRA Standard DCC Socket so you can quickly easily install your favorite decoder.”
Does anyone have any suggestions? What decoder and can I do this myself?
I recommend either a Digitrax DH123P or DH163P depending on the number of functions you wish to accomodate (2 and 6 respectively) if you plan to continue with the factory sound.
Here’s the link for the DH163P: http://www.digitrax.com/prd_mobdec_dh163p.php
This decoder is very easy to install. If you can remove the shell, you can install the decoder.
The documentation that comes with Blue Line locomotives has a list of recommended decoders. Any decoder with an NMRA 8-pin plug can be used, even if the plug is at the end of a wiring harness.
The web site below is the BLI/PCM web page with information about programming some of the different decoders when installed on the Blue Line products. Tony’t Trains also has tips and some testing of decoders on the Blue Line.
http://precisioncraftmodels.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=17a8a2e5f7520ec80aaaec649eb37bb7