HO Gandy Dancer

[luravencraft]

is it possible to put DCC in a HO Gandy Dancer.

[simkon]

You would need a Z scale or possibly smaller decoder and you would need to be very talented and creative. It is possible, I'm sure, but it would be very difficult to conceal it.

[RAM]

If you can make a trailer, you could mount the decoder on it and cover it up with ties.

[richg]

is it possible to put DCC in a HO Gandy Dancer.

A Digitrax  DZ125 is quite small, about the size of a dime but would still be very difficult to conceal.
Now good running with DCC, I doubt it, as it does not run very well with DC. It is toy quality and not really meant to be run at less than maybe 100 mph like the John Bull.
Both require very clean track and pickups. The pickups are the big issue. Look at the diagram or take yours apart and see what you are up against.
Plus, quick starts and stops, the metal motor gear, sometimes strips a few teeth off of the first plastic gear.
Remember the issues with diesels with eight wheel pickups and insulated frogs. Those sometimes have issues with the frogs.
Try a car with eight wheels and all the wheels have pickups.

Rich

[jonathan]

I wasn't going to respond, but...

I have one of these Gandy Dancers.  It took quite a bit of cleaning and lubrication just to get the little guy to run well on my layout.  AND it will only run well when the track is freshly cleaned.

Even if you could break the laws of interdimensional physics, and find a way to install a decoder, there isn't enough current pick up to make a decoder work well. 

However, some of us are waiting for the first miracle-worker to get one of these babies DCC qualified.  Who will be first?

Regards,

Jonathan

[richg]

I have the six wheel HO Plymouth switcher with the same type pickups. A thin metal strip between the backs of the wheels and presses up against each side of the metal frame. Inadequate pickup.
The pancake type motor in the Plymouth runs quite well on the DZ125 decoder with the decoder red and black leads connected to the DCC controller by clip leads but does not run very good on the track because of the pickups.
I have to add track wipers which is not easy with this style loco or add a boxcar with all wheel pickup and have it permanently attached to the switcher.
Remember, model railroading is an analogy of the real thing and all analogies breakdown somewhere.

Rich

[sparkyjay31]

I tried like heck to get a dancer to run well on dcc.  I wanted to use it to power my scratch built Galloping Goose.  Thought it would work out fine.  But it NEVER ran right.  Starts and stops were very common.  I could not keep the track clean enough and if I did happen to have a spotless section the little guy would have to be running at top speed to keep from stalling.  So I wound up scrapping the whole idea.

The goose is now powered by a converted over 44 ton diesel if anyone is wondering.  And she runs as good as she looks...