So I have a 2-6-0 from Roundhouse. A new one. I have older ones I’ve already installed decoders into. The old ones have 8-pin harnesses. Plenty of room for decoders.
The new one is set up for sound. It has a one inch receptical for a speaker. and enough space for a pretty large one.
Above the circuit board there is about 3/16" clearance.
The what were they thinking is that they set it up with a 9-pin harness. As soon as anything is plugged into it, it exceeds the 3/16 inch clearance.
Every single sound decoder I’ve seen for small steam uses an 8-pin harness. I have two decoders that would easily fit if it had an 8-pin harness.
It looks like I’m going to have to splice in an 8-pin harness if I want to get this loco to work.
I’m beginning to wonder how well this loco will fly.
Most of the 8 pin ones from TCS and Digitrax terminate in a 9 pin on the decoder.
The real answer is to rip out the factory boards which are often more trouble than they’re worth, and hard ware the decoder. It leaves more room for the speaker or a not as tiny decoder.
That was the idea behind the new harness, which I was already thinking about. The board is helpful in that 8 black wires come from the engine into a plug and then they are color–coded to the 9- pin. The rear lights and tender pick-ups also attach to the board.
Okay, I’m thinking about it. I was just being lazy. I didn’t want to tear into the engine. If I hard wire anything though, it will be a harness. I know sound is coming eventually and no point doing it twice.
I’m thinking a water ballon launcher like in college. Four strands of surgical tubing with a funnel pocket in the center. Two guys stand straight as posts holding the tubing while the third guy pulls the funnel to stretching limit.
So I’ve been spending a lot more time thinking about this rewire that is probably good for me–especially since I really can’t do anything until the replacement trucks arrive.
What is bothering me is the six extra wires in the tender. The two for the rear light and 4 power leads to the truck. The board does a good job of organizing those 6 wires–admittedly by using up all availible space in the tender.
I guess I’m looking for ideas on how I should encorporate these 6 wires into the 9 that come with the decoder wiring–and be neat about it.
2 right rail pickups tie together, go to the red decoder wire.
2 left rail pickups tie together, go to the black decoder wire.
blue wire from the headlight plus blue wire to the backup light tie together and go to the blue wire on the decoder.
white to the loco for headlight, yellow to the other wire of the backup light.
Either tie the pickup wires together then tap off, or just make a 3 way splice with the approriate decoder wire.
Or use a strip of copper PCB - saw cuts to make a series of parallel bu unconnected pads, solder all right side wires to one pad, left wires to another, etc. That way you cna shorten the truck pickup wires in the tender (just glue the little PCB on the tender, and the only wires that need to be slightly longish would be the ones to the decoder itself, to give you enough slack to lift it up and pull the 9 pin to remove it.
That’s what I was looking for. I have a ton of these. I knew the wiring, but the idea of each of the power leads having 3 wires attached… I’ll show them, I’ll make my own mini-board.
Welcome to the club. That said, I have found most of my DCC installs ended up being hard wired. “DCC Ready” means different things to different people.[:D]
Not a big deal. Some years ago I bought the 4-4-0, 2-6-0 and 2-8-0, DCC ready with 9 pin and DC adapter. I unsoldered the 9 pin socket wires and the socket for the tender light. Moved that socket and soldered in the SoundTraxx 750. Put in the speaker. Problem solved. I think I modified the PC board mounting a little for clearance. The locos run fine. No overheat issues with the decoders. Sometimes you just have to make it work.
I did not touch anything in the engine. A one evening job for a loco tender. Just match the wires.
Been some years. I posted pictures here but PB is gone. Sorry.
Not going to bother with another photo hosting site.
Of course those Roundhouse engines came out originally as kits from MDC decades before DCC came about. I guess once Athearn took the line over they did the best they could to make them “DCC friendly”. But IIRC it’s a pretty small tender so there’s only so much you can do.
When Athearn first sold them with sound, they came with an MRC decoder in a new tender frame in the 4-4-0. I bought one and put in a SoundTraxx 750.
You can see this frame and the older tender frames at at HO Seeker page and a better motor with a flywheel.
I had a couple older pre Athearn 2-6-0 with the MDC Wild West Livery and older style tender frame and bought the new tender frames and new trucks from Athearn some years ago. More room and a speaker location. Eyes went bad and gave those to Space Mouse. They had the same motor and flywheel as the Athearn do.
I still have a couple older MDC with the larger open frame and no flywheel like the MDC Boxcab motor.
Also bought the DCC pickups and plastic windows for the 2-6-0 locos.
I have pre and post Athearn Roundhouse locos.
About four years ago I asked an Athearn rep at a train show in West Springfield, MA if those steamers were coming back and they said yes but nothing so far and I seriously doubt they ever will. Just no demand anymore. The detail does not compare to the Bachmann steamers. I have both.
