This decoder is made specifically for a Proto 2000 and you do not have to replace the exsisting 1.5v light bulbs. My question is are the front and rear headlights bright enough with this decoder? I have a GP 60 that is DCC ready and I am about to install the DH163LO decoder. This loco ran very good on DC but the front and rear lights were rather dim and am wondering whether or not the constant voltage of DCC will improve the brightness of the lights.
Tim
Not sure if this is really going to answer your question but I have several P2K locomotives, GP38-2’s and GP-7’s. I’ve installed several of the DH163LO decoders and have noticed no difference in the intensity or brighness of the lights from before to after the decoder install.
I do vividly remember having to rewire the lights that light up the running board numbers in my P2K GP38-2 because they came from the factory screwed up. That was a major pain in the ***. Now that they are wired correctly, they seem to work fine.
Who made the GP60 Athearn, or Proto?
Yes, the DH163L0 is only for P2K locos. You can probably MAKE it work in others, but the front and rear light utputs are limited specifically for the bulbs used in P2K locos (which I believe are closer to 3 volts, not 1.5 volt) and if the bulbs are NOT the same, either in voltage or current draw, you can either buron out the bulbs or damage the decoder, or both. Any resistor for limiting light bulb voltage has to be sized according to the voltage AND current draw of the light bulb.
I have 3 P2K GP-7’s and an S1 with the DH163L0 decoder and they all have lights that are plenty bright.
Keep in mind the DH163L0 has a total of 6 functions - but ONLY the forward and rear light have the resistors. The other functions are not limited this way and so if you connect low voltage bulbs or LEDs you will need to add resistors. This usually is only an issue with more modern locos with extra lights like ditch lights. My old first generation units don;t ahev anythign more than a light at the frotn and back. Since thre’s no room in the 8-pin DCC plug, LifeLike went and wired the GP38 ditch lights directly to the motor, hence the problem Meyblc had.
–Randy
The current output is too strong for smaller 1.5v bulbs like the Miniatronics kind. I found that out the hard way. Fortunately there is a way to bypass the current regulator, so you can then use whatever resistors you’d normally use.
P2K engines are nice but be very careful with decoder installs. I’ve had more than one of them with incorrectly wired sockets that will act just fine until you try to make the engine move under DCC. Then it smokes the decoder. Fortunately it’s an easy fix if you catch it before you plug in the decoder.
Thanks guys for the input. The loco in question is a LL Proto 2000 DCC ready GP60. I chose the DH163lo because it is a drop in replacement for the factory light board, Tony’s TX shows this decoder to fit this loco without any mods to the factory lighting.
Tim[:)]
It does - for those without any ‘extra’ lights. It matches one specific type of light board arrangement used in a variety of P2K locos - the one with the diodes on a long board and all the wires connected to a tiny board with nothing more than an 8-pin socket on it. Older P2K locos sometimes have a different board with an 8-pin socket, or no socket at all. On all of those types, I remove the board and hard wire in a decoder.
–Randy
I have a GP30 and a GP7 with the DH163LO decoders in them. The lights work just fine. In my P2K E8s and S3, I eliminated the circuit boards and hardwired in a standard DH123 and DZ123 decoders, respectively. Yes I had to change the light bulbs in the S3, but no big deal.