I have an HO scale Kato C44-9W bought in the '90s. Here’s a picture with its shell off. It has a light board with LEDs. Can anyone tell me if this loco is DCC-ready/DCC-friendly, or at least does not require any major modifications to add a decoder?
Like other Kato mechanisms of similar vintage it has an 8-pin socket, so all you should have to do is plug in a decoder with an 8-pin plug and harness. Note the lettering on the PC board identifying “pin 1” so you can properly orient the DCC plug.
The orange wire is the # 1 on the upper left in the pic, or if you are using a plug and play check the instructions for orientation.
Thanks! Good to know!
Metro,
I have installed both soundtraxx mobiles MC 1 and 2 and NCE 14sr decoders in similar Kato engines with good results. Only mods I made were having to add a pin extender (readily available at your local hobby shop) and added a piece of electrical tape over the mounting screw just behind the engine’s socket to ensure isolation of the circuit board. Good luck.
Marty C.
Soundtraxx has a direct replacement for it with correct sound files.
Richard
The Digitrax DH165K0 is a direct board replacement. You can read more here:
http://www.digitrax.com/products/mobile-decoders/dh165k0/
Cheers
Nige’