I have a NIB Spectrum 44 Tonner with the single motor drive and DCC ready circuit board. Only problem is the documentation does not describe the board pinouts for the decoder attachment points, nor does it describe any other modifications that may be necessary. I checked the Bachman web site, and it does not have any additional literature.
Is the decoder install as easy as yanking the jumpers and matching the numbers for the leads and attachment points?
The PC board has labels. Just remove the brass tabs and connect the decoder wires using the NMRA DCC wiring info. Not a big deal. I have two single motor 44 tonners. Bachmann assumes users have some back ground DCC knowledge.
I have known some who do not even know how to remove the shell.
Cut out the two caps.
Rich
I used a TCS MC2 in mine, the board itself is labeled - just pay attention, they are NOT in order (ie, it’s not 1-8)
And definitely clip off the two capacitors.
–Randy
It’s stuff like the capacitors that are the reason I ask stoooooopid questions.
Thanks.
Pictures are worth a thousand words.
Pete
I got the job done last weekend, and it was a PITA. I blame my old eyes and the fact that I haven’t soldered anything in about 15 years…
Odd thing was, there were no caps or coils on my PCB, just a couple of resistors. I left them alone. Oh well, if I screwed it up I’ll order another board and try again. Thanks for the help, guys.
It would help a lot if you post a photo of the PC board.
Your must have a newer PC board with SMD components. What looks like resistors are two Ferrite inductors. Look carefully at the labels on the PC board.
C means a cap.
R means a resistor.
L means an inductor.
D means a diode.
Many are not aware of the labels.
I snip off the SMD caps with small wire cutters. They snip easily.
Rich