Consolidation DCC Circuit Board

[NHRRfan]

I am trying to figure out the circuit board located in the tender of my Durango & Silverton to put sound into it (it already is DCC), and I searched but have not found an answer to this easy question. The circuit board is hard wired to the tender plug and then there is an 8 pin, plug in board, connected to that board. Can I remove the plug in board and plug in another decoder?  Does the other board need to be both DCC control and sound, or can it be just a sound board?  Or do I have to remove the electronics completely and put in a combo board?  From the fact that the secondary board is the standard 8 pin connector, I would think that this is where a decoder board might be installed (replacing the current board). Thanks.

[jonathan]

NHRRfan,

I will assume you have the newest version of the Connie, based on the roadname.

In my mind, the simplest way to attack this is to get a Tsunami Medium Steam Sound/Motion decoder, an 8-pin plug, and a speaker.  I believe the decoder is called a TSU-1000 for Medium Steam.

Once the decoder is soldered to the plug, and the speaker soldered to the purple speaker wires, you can plug directly into the socket on the Bachmann circuit board.  I have done this with a Berk... should work the same in theory. 

I don't recall if the newest Connie version has a speaker mount.  If not, you will have to drill holes in the bottom, OR drill holes in the coal load and mount the speaker as needed, per your choice.

Some remove the circuit board completely and hard wire the Tsunami.  Then you should pay attention to the headlight wires.  There may, or may not be a resistor somewhere in the wire on the way to the headlight.  If not, you will need to add a resistor (1K ohms works) for the headlight.

Both ways seem to work just fine.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Patrick Durand]

My experience in using the 8 pin plug to add a DCC decoder piggyback on the Bachmann board is that all will work fine but the headlight will quit working after a few hours.   Decoders employed were TSU-1000 with sound and a DH123 without sound in two different units.

I have since had to tear both locomotives down and installed surface mount LED headlights with resistors.     Probably best to just get rid of the Bachmann board and hard wire your decoder with proper resistor consideration for the LED's you use.   Forget incandescent bulbs or you will end up with plastic blobs on the smoke box from the heat.

PJD

[russ daley]

Hi Jonathan,

After five years away from the hobby, I'm getting back into the enjoyment of it all and trying tp get my Spectrum 2-8-0's and 4-6-0's running. My question is, am I undersatand that I completety remove the Factory DCC Decoder and just hardwire another decoder in? I use the LE025JST's. My Spectrums were purchased 2005-2007 time.

While I have you on the phone.....I really found your photograph instructions on lubrication very informative, although I have not attented to break one open yet, thank you.

One more question, what type of issues do I look for when the only way I can keep an engine moving is to put some force down on top od the tender or engine. Is this a wiper issue? Track and wheels, and wiper contact areas are clean.

thanks,
Russ   

   

[richg]

Hi Jonathan,

After five years away from the hobby, I'm getting back into the enjoyment of it all and trying tp get my Spectrum 2-8-0's and 4-6-0's running. My question is, am I undersatand that I completety remove the Factory DCC Decoder and just hardwire another decoder in? I use the LE025JST's. My Spectrums were purchased 2005-2007 time.

While I have you on the phone.....I really found your photograph instructions on lubrication very informative, although I have not attented to break one open yet, thank you.

One more question, what type of issues do I look for when the only way I can keep an engine moving is to put some force down on top od the tender or engine. Is this a wiper issue? Track and wheels, and wiper contact areas are clean.

thanks,
Russ   

   

Not looks clean but did you actually do any cleaning?
Check the wipers in the tender trucks. The wipers should be firmly on the axles.
Pickups on loco. Store link in Favorites for future use.

http://members.shaw.ca/the.trainman/LV_Workshop/pesky-pickups/

Rich

[richg]

I am trying to figure out the circuit board located in the tender of my Durango & Silverton to put sound into it (it already is DCC), and I searched but have not found an answer to this easy question. The circuit board is hard wired to the tender plug and then there is an 8 pin, plug in board, connected to that board. Can I remove the plug in board and plug in another decoder?  Does the other board need to be both DCC control and sound, or can it be just a sound board?  Or do I have to remove the electronics completely and put in a combo board?  From the fact that the secondary board is the standard 8 pin connector, I would think that this is where a decoder board might be installed (replacing the current board). Thanks.

Remove the caps on the PC board. Labeled C1, C2, etc. The caps tend to affect slow speed running.
Buy a 8 pin to 9 pin adapter for the Tsunami. Cut back the shrink just enough to remove the 9 pin connector. Plug in the adapter. This way you only have to solder two wires for the speaker.

The below fellow shows this in the below link. Store the link in Favorites and look all around at his site. He use to own a DCC supplier company.

http://www.mrdccu.com/curriculum/soundtraxx/tsunami.htm

Rich

[richg]

This might help. Store the link in Favorites. Unless a tender is on the small side, you do not have to remove the PC board and hardwire.

http://www.garbo.org/MRR/2-8-0con.html

Rich

[russ daley]

Rich,

Yes, I buff with Maas Silver Polish. Your write up on pesky pickups was very informative. The circuit board can be removed and the decoder hard wired right? 

Thanks,
Russ 

[richg]

Rich,

Yes, I buff with Maas Silver Polish. Your write up on pesky pickups was very informative. The circuit board can be removed and the decoder hard wired right? 

Thanks,
Russ 

The PC board can be removed but does not have to. Some mistakenly think the resistors on the PC board cause running issues. The only items that cause running issues are the capacitors. With no capacitors, the inductors are a moot issue. I have worked with capacitor/inductors for many years. I have traced out the circuit schematic on more than one PC board.

If you remove the PC board, you will need a 1 k resistor if the loco has an LED. Then you have to splice the wires to the decoder wires and make sure you put shrink around each splice. I use a small piece of Vero board for splice points. A lot easier.
One  more item, if the loco has an LED, the light might be kind of dim as Bachmann uses over 2 k for LED resistors from what I have seen so far. Replacing a SMD resistor with the proper value is not easy for those with limited soldering experience. Those resistors are quite small. I have done it but I stacked a resistor on top of the present resistor to reduce the total value by putting two in parallel.

If a light bulb, put a 22 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor in series to limit the current surge and prolong the bulb life.

Rich

[railtwister]

At this point, I would hold off on purchasing any sound decoder for a couple of months until the new TCS "WOWsound" Steam Sound decoder that was demonstrated at the Springfield show last month becomes available. It is said to be  available in three versions, light, medium, and heavy steam, and with or without lighting circuitry resistors, depending on the type of lighting desired, incandescent or LED, and will also likely have a JST board connector so that different harnesses can be used, with or without NMRA 8 pin plugs. Also, it will have Keep Alive circuitry as well, which will help mitigate dirty track issues.

Bill in FtL

[russ daley]

I'm gald you guys are here. A lot of good inforamtion. I now underatand the locomotive pick-up arrangements. I've installed decoder on some old IHC steamers so I know enough to fell comfortable.   

Thank you,
Russ