I purchased three Proto 2000 engines about five years ago and they are standard DC. I am looking to converting them to DCC (possibly with sound). I would like to hear from anyone with their recommendations on which decoder to purchase and if possible, where to find instructions on how to install the decoder on these units. I can provide anyone with the Stock or engine numbers if that will help out. Since I got these engines on closeout from Trainworld for about $40 each, is it worth convertimg them to DCC and at what cost. Thanks for any information you can provide me on this matter.
If the internals consist of a small board with the wires attached and a longer board with some diodes on, then get a Digitrax DH165L0. Unplug the board witht he wires, remove the other board, plug decoder into board with wires. Don’t even have to change the light bulbs, that decoder has a built in regulator to keep from burning out the low voltage bulbs.
–Randy
I have a nice fleet of PK2 GP30, and wired them with Digitrax DH163LO, but you need to replace the lights with 15v bulbs, or put a resistor in line to keep from blowing out the 1.5v bulbs. If your PK2 locomotive has a circuit board the new Digitrax DH165LO is a DCC decoder which replaces the circuit board. If you want to add sound it has a plug to attach a Digitrax sound bug decoder. The newer Digitrax plug and play decoders are wired for 1.5v headligths so you don’t have to change out the lights. I have also used NEC D104PK2 which are plug and play for PK2 locos with a DCC plug, but you still need to modify the lights.
I recently purchased a PK2 GP20 on Ebay which did not have the circuit board. I hardwired the locomotive with a Digitrax DH123 decoder. While I had the locomotive apart I replaced the 1.5v lamps with 15v lamps.
Don’t need bulb replacements when using a DH163/165L0, it’s already set up for the low voltage bulbs of the P2K locos.
The only issue is if you have one with lighted number boards, they wired the number board lights across the motor and it doesn’t work properly.
–Randy
I have not taken them apart yet so dont know if they have a circuit board in them or not. As stated previously, I got them from Trainworld at a rediculous price of $40 per loco and are good runners; have any idea how much the decoders cost? I will check online where I purchase much of my train stuff from.
Thanks for the feedback; I have not taken the locos apart yet so I dont know if they have the circuit boards or not. If they do, then I will order the Digitrax DH165LO decoder you referenced. Thanks for the assistance. I dont know what to do if it does not have a circuit board; not into hard wiring the loco but I guess I could try; any tips on hard wiring these locos? Perhap the instructions or maybe there is a website that contains detailed instructions. Thanks again.
Most of these have the upside-down 8-pin plug P2K likes to use. The easiest would be the Digitrax DH165LO, but I don’t like how the engine runs with this decoder.
If you are not averse to changing light bulbs, look here. Not a GP30, but the parts inside are the same. Using a short harness, most any 9-pin decoder could be installed. I’m partial to TCS, Back-EMF makes these engines run well.
The GP20 might be old enough to not have a decent plug. Takes a bit of wiring, but not hard. Here are some shots of a GP9 I did. Used LED lighting from Miniatronics.
Orange wire goes to the bottom of the motor. Gray to the top.
I took the GP-30 apart last night and there is one circuit board that is held in place with two screws; I didnt take the board apart; tried to get the engine to run on regular DC and could not make it work; have to try again tonight to see if it works; I didnt mess with the GP-20’s but since I purchased them at the same time from Trainworld, would assume they have the same arrangement regarding the circuit boards. I will let you know if I get them to work and see about ordering a decoder for this engine.
I took the engine apart yesterday and it has a circuit board on top held down by two screws. Do you know anything about the Digitrax decoders that someone else recommended? Since I have never installed one before, I assume the decoder replaces the circuit board by plugging it in or attaching the wires correctly, eh? Please advise; I plan on calling Tonys Train to discuss with them to see if they can help out. thanks much.
I took the GP-30 engine apart last night and it has a printed circuit board on top of the motor. it is held down with two small screws; dont know about the wiring since I was trying to get the engine to run on standard DC. I will be calling Tonys Train to see if they can offer any other advise on decoder recommendations or installation. thanks again for your thoughts.
I got the GP 30 to work tonight and it does have the circuit board with the eight pin plug in. So I can get the Digitrax DH165LO decoder for that unit; do you know anything about the sound board that you can purchase with this decoder? Secondly, I opened up the GP-20’s that I have and they also have a circuit board but don’t have the eight pin plug but rather three black wires on each end of the circuit board and two wires that come up along each side of the motor. Do you know which decoder I should use for this application? Thanks
Is there just one board, or is there another small board with about 8 wires plugged into that one? If there’s just one single board and wires connected to it in several different places, then the best way is to just hardwire a decoder in, liek the TCS T1. If it has all the wires concentrated to sma small board that plugs into the one that’'s screwed to the frame, then the DH165L0 is a drop in with no need to change light bulbs or add resistors.
–Randy
[quote user=“tsanders1950”]
here is the latest update; The GP 30 has the eight pin plug so I can replace that board with the Digitrax DH165LO decoder that has the eight pin plug. The two GP 20’s have a circuit board but no eight pin plug but rather three black wires on each end of the circuit board and two wires coming up on each side of the motor. Do you have any suggestions on decoders for these two units and what instructions would I need to replace the circuit board with a replacement decoder? Please remember that I have never done a conversion to DCC decoder before; does not seem that difficult other than knowing what wires go where. Also I noticed on the bottom of the installed circuit board there is a metal strip on the bottom that rides on a piece of metal near the motor; will this be a problem. Thanks for all your help on this matter.
[quote user=“WSOR 3801”]
Most of these have the upside-down 8-pin plug P2K likes to use. The easiest would be the Digitrax DH165LO, but I don’t like how the engine runs with this decoder.
If you are not averse to changing light bulbs, look here. Not a GP30, but the parts inside are the same. Using a short harness, most any 9-pin decoder could be installed. I’m partial to TCS, Back-EMF makes these engines run well.
The GP20 might be old enough to not have a decent plug. Takes a bit of wiring, but not hard. Here are some shots of a GP9 I did. Used LED lighting from Miniatronics.
If you are leaning towards sound, here is what I highly recommend.
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Do NOT go with the Digitrax DH165LO with the intent of plugging in a sound bug. The sound is too quiet and the quality of sound is horrible.
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I would REMOVE the weight that is screwed onto the frame. This requires removing the circuit board and everything else that is in the way.
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I would then MILL the weight to fit a good sized speaker (16x35mm) and baffle as well as a quality decoder such as the Soundtraxx Tsunami AT-1000 EMD 567. You may also consider the new Loksound select decoder as they have better motor control than the Soundtraxx line.
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I would then re-assemble the loco and make the appropriate connections. The lights should be replaced by LEDs as bulbs create heat and heat will melt the plastic if left unchecked.
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Do NOT purchase an MRC sound decoder, no matter the price.
David B
I dont know if I will put sound in any of the locos; was interested in the Digitrax because someone else recommended them because the DH165LO does not require you to replace the lights. I have never installed any decoders so really dont know that much about the dependability or qualtiy of the different brands. Right now I am looking for some hints on how to install the decoder in the two GP20’s that dont have a eight pin plug but sound like they need to be hard wired. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The how-to for hard wiring is in the posrt Mike made with the pictures. There is probably a similar pictorial on the TCS web site under the installation pictures section. It’s really quite easy. Red and black to the track pickups, orange and grey to the motor wires. Get a pair of Miniatronics Yelo-Glo LEDs and a pair of 1K resistors. White wire to one resistor to negative terminal of one LED for the front light, blue to the positive lead of the LED. Yellow wire to a resistor to the negative terminal of another LED for the rear light, other side of this LED also to the blue wire. You’re done.
–Randy