Hi I just got two Proto 1000 F3. The Walther’s homepage says that they have an eight pin plug but I can’t seem to find it. Maybe if I lift up a part because then an 8 pin plug becomes available underneath one of the boards. Is that where it’s suppose to go?
Please somebody help me, I rather not screw them up.
Otherwise I think they look very fine.
Unless they have changed them in recent months they do not have a plug. I installed mine just as described in the following link on the TCS web site. http://www.tcsdcc.com/decoderpics/llf3a.html It is not a hard soldering installation.
I’ve installed DCC and sound in half a dozen Proto F3s. Never found an 8 pin plug. Still looking. They must have been shipped to Syria. Oooops sorry. Just hard wire the decoder in. It’s not rocket science.[8D]
Hmmm,
You say Walthers claims there is a DCC ready plug in the F3’s? I know Wathers took over the Proto 1000/2000 line so it may be possible that they are converting the Proto 1000 line to DCC ready. Or you may have mistaken the Proto 2000 F7’s (new) from the Proto 1000 F3’s (old).
From the sounds of things, Lifelike never made the Proto 1000 F3’s DCC ready with plugs, and you may have gotten as set of those. It doesn’t mean they can’t be set up with decoders, but it make take some hardwiring to do it.
Just an FYI to anyone interested in D&RGW. The Proto 1000 F3’s, as nice as they are for the money, are not correct for D&RGW. D&RGW never owned an F3 with the phase details that the Proto 1000 F3’s have. (chicken wire side grills etc). They were either 3 porthole sides or F7 style sides.
Hi guys.
This is the items that I ordered in different road numbers.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/920-31417
Also, thanks for the link above but that is not the way my units look. There is a part of the board that can be lifted up which is attached to an 8-pin “thingy”. My guess is that the underside of that lift off piece is where the decoders are suppose to go. I haven’t tried it yet since I don’t want to ruin anything and this forum know so much. Maybe they are a new line of diesels. I know they changed the wording on there homepage a few months ago since I got a rude comment about not noticing that it said the thing about DCC plug. I assumed I had missed it but was quite sure that I looked for it. I also asked Walther’s about it. They said that an 8-pin decoder was the way to go and even told me witch ones to get.
Thanks guys, Magnus
I have a CNJ F3 set from Proto, nothing on the box says Walthers, and it has the 8-pin plug.
I would say you have guessed correctly.
You don’t have to worry about the decoder. By design even if you plug it in backwords it won’t hurt anything. So as long as you get all eight pins in all eight plugs it should run. If it runs backwards just unplug it, turn it around and plug it in the other way.
The one thing I would worry about is the headlamp. If it is a low voltage bulb it might need a resistor added. Check the manual to see what voltage it runs at. If it is something like 16V there is no problem. If it is a 1.5V there will need to be some additional work.
I also just bought a set of these very same P1K F3A-B sets in the WP colors. 2 powered locos for less than $70, including shipping - how could I resist? [:D]
They do have a DCC socket, and the setup is similar to most of the P2K diesels. You have a small circuit board on top with wires attached to it. On the underside of this small board are the 8 sockets. The large circuit board underneath contains the pins that are currently plugged into the sockets on the small circuit board. If you install a decoders made for P2K locos, you unplug the large bottom board and basically throw it away, then replace it with the identically-sized decoder by plugging it into the small board with the sockets.
Here’s a link to an example of a plug-and-play drop-in board replacement-type decoder for P2K locomotives. I’m pretty sure it will also work in the P1K F3’s.
http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=2450025&cat=149&page=2
Like someone already mentioned, just be careful about the voltage with the lights and stuff, as not all decoders are ready to have lights/LED’s plugged directly into them. You might have to install a resistor.
Thanks guys. Well it seems I was right then. That is a first when it comes to technology I can tell you.
I will try it out. I do hope I do not blow the lights because nothing in the manual says anything about that at all. If I want to run them in an ABBA configuration could I just then on purpose put the decoder in backwards?
Magnus
From this little exchange, it is clear that Walthers have completely changed the guts inside the P1K F3. Does anyone know if this is the same shell, or have they changed that as well?
It does sound like Walthers has updated the Proto 1000 F-3s to DCC ready. Probably a lot of the older style around though, in the hobby shops and online retailers. Probably going to be pot luck for a while, until all the older style gets sold out. By the way, there is a lot of room in the rear of those F-3s for a good sized speaker.
Lillen,
I don’t think you will have any problem with the lights if you use the decoder recommended by Walther’s. They would (should) have mentioned resistor installation if it was required.
I don’t recommend you install the decoder in the trailing A-unit back wards. If you do it would probably run okay, but the lighting would be screwed up.
It is best to program the normal direction of travel into the decoder, CV29 I think.You can also set the lighting there. Just follow the instructions for your decoder.
Or alternatively, MU the trailing unit to the lead unit. The methodology should be in your DCC command station manual.
Personally, for those units always run as a set, I program them all to the same address. This method saves space for more locos on my Zephyr command station, which is limited to 10 active addresses.
Of course, what you choose to do is entirely up to you. The suggestions above are more, or less, standard practice.
Good luck!!!
This shot is of a P1K FM C-Liner. Pretty much the same under the shell as the P1K F3. It had the 8-pin backwards plug thingy, which I removed and used a NCE DA-SR decoder. I soldered the connections, as the plastic clips wouldn’t stay on.
It came with a LED headlight. On the DA-SR board, there are resistors on the board, traces that are cut which enable LED usage without adding extra resistors. On this one, the trace is by the black wire that goes to the light. The instruction sheet tells which trace to cut for which function.
Yes you could. The accepted “correct” way to do this is to change the value in CV29 (bit zero) to run the locomotive in the opposite direction.
I just got a Proto 1000 F3 A & B unit powered and according to the box, They’re in fact DCC ready which they do have an 8pin socket.
Is this the decoder that you mentioned right? I used the decoders I bought from Walthers on other locos as I do not think they fixed the light issue. I was going to look this topic up when it magically appeared.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=245-DH165L0+&quicksrch_butt.x=53&quicksrch_butt.y=5
Magnus
Lillen, that is the decoder you should use in all Proto loco’s with a 8 pin plug. You don’t need to add resistors to the lights as they are all ready built into the decoder. I’ve installed that decoder and the previous DH163L0 series in all my Proto’s. The difference between the two is the 165 series now has another socket built into it so you can add sound later on if you want to using another decoder that plugs into it.
That is good to know, so even their Proto 2K, I got one of those that I haven’t looked at yet.
Do I need one of these to the B units? Do they even have lights? Otherwise I might use an other one.
Magnus
If you bought them new in the box, the instructions for installing a decoder are in the box.
My recently aquired P1K F-3 AB set was simple. You remove one screw, lift off the body, rebove the circuit board, which has no wires attached, just an 8 pin plug on the bottom. Pluged the decoder into the 8 pin plug, threw the original circuit board away.
It blew the headlight. Otherwise works perfectly.