converting dc to dcc

[Mr. C]

I have a FA2 DC I want to convert to DCC. I have a 8-40 pc board I want to use.I also have the decoder.All Items are bachmann.

[WoundedBear]

Sounds like a neat project. Let us know how it turns out.

Sid

[Jim Banner]

I am not sure what an 8-40 p.c. board is but with older diesels, there is often little or no room for anything except the decoder.  Fortunately, there is no pressing need for anything except the decoder if you are planing on upgrading the lighting at the same time.  Using a warm white LED and its associated resistor to replace the original headlight bulb does wonders for a locomotive - more light and less heat.

Speaking of lighting, you can use the reverse lighting output of the decoder to also operate the headlight but at a lower brightness.  So when the train is stopped on a siding or at a station, all you have to do is switch to reverse to dim the headlight.  Then before you proceed, you can flip the direction switch to forward and off you go with a bright headlight.  This is a good use for the extra function output when putting decoders in cab units.  For resistors, 1000 ohms in series with the white wire and 10,000 ohms in series with the yellow wire is a good place to start.  The free ends of both resistors go to the short lead of the LED while the blue wire goes to the long lead.

Jim