I just received a pair of P1K F-3's and did not find the DCC plug on the board. There appears to be a "type" of DCC plug-in but the plugs seem widely spaced. How do I wire these units for DCC using Digitrax DH121 decoders?

TIA,

Dan

-- Dan A. Currie (dancurr@frontiernet.net), January 10, 2000

Answers

Response to DCC for Proto 1000

LL made a mess with this one. The constant brightness diodes for headlight direction make the motor run faster backwards than it does forward. So you can't run 2 A-units back to back even on simple DC! The odd-ball DCC socket doesn't help much either. Time for circuit tracing and cut & paste. I used an NCE D102 decoder with discrete wires. It fit nicely in the weight cavity near the rear. Provided a thin fiber board shelf support for the decoder (could use card stock or plastic). I Cut copper on the P1K pcb and removed components to isolate truck pick- up, motor and headlight leads. Changed the headlight to 14V, 30 ma. Soldered the decoder wires directly to connection pads on the pcb. Runs great (now)! Motor leads are isolated from loco frame.

For any decoder install I make a sketch of the as-supplied status by tracing wires, pcb traces & components. Then figure out 1) If the plug meets NMRA and decoder requirements. (Many don't) 2) If modification is necessary, Where are the needed attachment points? 3) How can I isolate the attachment points from what-ever is on the pcb? A Moto tool w/ cut-off wheel and steady hand easily severs pcb traces. Can be restored at a later date by jumpering if necessary. Use a sharp blade to scrape off pcb solder mask on traces at attachment points. Don't try to burn it off w/ the soldering iron.

DonV

-- Don Vollrath (dvollrath@magnetek.com), January 12, 2000.

Response to DCC for Proto 1000

Just trash the circuit board and hard wire the decoder. That way the forward and reverse speeds are not messed up by the lighting circuit. An NCE DA-SR fits very nicely and provides four FX lighting effects. I also put an NCE DA13SR (wiring harness) in one and had room to add some weight under it. It now pulls 70+ cars with ease.

-- Paul Soutar (psgrafix@swbell.net), March 07, 2002.