emgp 40/gp50

[george mcdonnell]

hi everyone
                    i am new on this forum please be gentle with me i have recently purchased the following loco's in the uk emdgp40/ho gp 50and recently tried to have dcc chip's fitted to them but was told it was not possible however i am told on the model rail forum here in the uk that any loco can be chipped so any help and diagrams would be very helpfull
                                                           george

[Stephen D. Richards]

Any decorder can be installed, just need to determine where to place the decoder and make sure the motor is isolated.  I assume the locos you purchased are the same as in the US.  If they are I've installed several in the GP 40s.  What kid of frame do they have?  Stephen

[george mcdonnell]

hi stephen
                   yes they are us models from bachman but i dont understand what you mean by what type of frame ,they are both brand new and i imagine they are current model's in the range as i have seen them on ebay us
                                                                                                   george        

[Stephen D. Richards]

The new ones have a split frame horizontally!  Some had a vertical split frame.  I have several of the horizontal split frames that I have very successfully added decoders and sound as well, too!  First you need to isolate the motor.  Then you need to determine the type of decoder you want to install.  Most likely you will need to mill away some of the frame material but if you get the PCB decoders straight from Bachmann you can just screw it in place of the PCB that is already on board.  Just remember to isolate the motor from the frame and solder your wires to the new board.  Sounds kinda simplistic but once you complete one it is not that difficult to do.  As a side note, I've also added flywheels to the "blue box"  Bachmanns.  Hope that helps a bit.  Stephen

[richg]

Welcome.

If this is HO, there is a HO forum.

Are your locos shown on the Parts & Service page? Check carefully.
Do the locos have a PC board inside?
Right now, I assume the locos are not DCC ready and might still have a PC board for lights.

Sometimes, a photo here can help.

In the USA, we install decoders, not chips. lol

Rich

[george mcdonnell]

hi rich
           yes they are ho &not dcc ready and yes they have the pc board for light's could i solder the decoder directly to the pc board ?alsolike the idea of replacing the board direct as stephen suggest'si will check that out now thank's
                                                                                                            george

[richg]

hi rich
           yes they are ho &not dcc ready and yes they have the pc board for light's could i solder the decoder directly to the pc board ?alsolike the idea of replacing the board direct as stephen suggest'si will check that out now thank's
                                                                                                            george

You could but you will really have to know what you are doing. Without looking at the PC board, I hesitate to recommend anything else. There might be light bulbs instead of LED's but that is a guess. Light bulbs can run kind of hot as they will always have 12 VDC on them. When the loco is run on DC, the bulbs never get to 12 VDC..
The most important thing to remember, no electrical connection between each motor terminal and each frame half. Most people I know of, remove the PC board and hard wire. With the the older Bachmann diesels, this always seems to be the issue.

Rich