Articles from Members of The Suncoast Model Railroad Club

This page will connect you to the articles either written about the club, about club members, or by club members

DC or Not DCC?
D. Wendal Attig
Latest update: 2/6/05

Beyond the basics of DCC, it seems like the big question
on the minds of many of our members is how to install
DCC decoders or sound decoders into specific locomotives. Each one presents challenges for space and speaker placement, plus the wiring or connection differences between 8 and 9 pin connectors. Each board in the DCC-ready locomotives seems to be slightly different in size, appearance and connection even though most adhere to the NMRA standard. Non-DCC-Ready locomotives can be converted, but present yet another group of challenges.

By no means am I an expert, but I've installed a couple of sound decoders in my own locomotives, and in both cases, the decoders came with an eight pin connector and had to be soldered one pin at a time to the locomotives' --shall we say-- "motherboard".--NO friction fit sockets for the 8-pin connector!

I kind of feel like I got lucky, when they both worked the first time, 'cause it definitely was NOT skill at that point. Helping a couple of other club members install theirs taught me a little more, but interestingly, the more I learn about DCC, the less I am convinced I know because there is so much to learn about it.

Investing in a couple of books on DCC was a start. Last week I joined a yahoo.com group for the NCE brand which is what we use at the club on the HO layout. This group (NCE-DCC) is helpful. Plus we've got our own compliment of relatively knowledgeable members on the subject. But we still run into those tough questions that don't seem to have answers, like, "What triggers all of the horns on all of the Broadway Limited locomotives on the layout to blow simultaneously out of control?"

What I would like to do is make this an on-going article that shares with you the links to sources I uncover in my quest to find the answers. This isn't an attempt to gather all of the known knowledge base on the subject into one place, but it is an attempt to shortcut your own trek to the right information. Some of these links will be to commercial sites that offer great resources. I haven't nor am I suggesting that you necessarily shop from these locations, but I do want to thank them for sharing what they have done and learned with those of us who may be a couple of pages behind them in the "playbook" of DCC.

One place you'll find interesting on the subject of DCC installations is here: http://www.litchfieldstation.com/s/i/ho/hod/hod.html . This vendor actually shows what the installation looks like for many different locomotives, tells you what parts were used in the installation, and sometimes allows you to click to hear what the locomotive sounds like. He does offer the option to click on each of the parts in the inventory list for each locomotive so you can read more about each part and, yes, order if you choose. Knowing what the installation should look like will give you a running start on the right installation and speaker placement.

We often spend time talking about the latest generation of sound equipment, what works best, sounds best, value and the cost factors. Many of us are anxiously awaiting the introduction of the Sountraxx Tsunami. Bit and pieces of information have been floating around about this long overdue sound decoder --expected to be the next generation of sophistication in on-board decoder sound.

The Tsunami is coming out in March if predictions are right, and today I ran across a source for fairly detailed information about it, located on-line here: http://www.johnshobbies.com/loader.htm

Even if you don't have a SoundTraxx decoder, their on-line manual (pdf) is a thorough treatise on sound decoders. Installation and programming are covered well in easy-to-understand bits (and bytes!) http://www.soundtraxx.com/docs/LCManual.pdf

I promise to return as I discover more information or resources. Please feel free to send me links that you have found to be helpful.

If you have a DCC angle you would like to share with us, please email it to me in article form for posting here.

See you again soon!

TBO Article

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