Bachmann Spectrum EMD SD-45 Santa Fe War Bonnet Model 82709

[Myke McKay]

HI Folks,

I recently purchased a new [2nd hand unused] Spectrum SD-45 Diesel and am trying to find out if a] it's dcc ready/fitted and b] would it be 8 pin or 21 pin please?

Regards

Myke

[Len]

It's DCC ready for an 8-pin decoder. Quick look at where it goes:
http://tcsdcc.com/installation/ho-scale/bachmann-spectrum-sd45/t1p-uk

Pic shows a TCS decoder because it's their web page, but any 8-pin decoder can be used.  That said, I like TCS decoders because the instructions are written for real people to understand, not just DCC geeks.

Len

[jward]

Some of the older SD45s are not DCC ready. These have the split chassis like the H16-44 and other older Bachmann locomotives. If this is the case, you will have to hard wire a decoder. This involves complete disassembly of the locomotive, removing the sprung contacts from the motor brush caps that contact the frame halves, soldering the decoder motor leads to the brush caps, and insulating the brush caps so they can't accidentally contact the frame. The track power leads from the decoder so not need to be soldered, but can be held in place by the same screws that hold the frame halves together.

All in all, it's not a hard install for somebody with some experience.

[rich1998]

I did the older one. It was a challenge. No more Photo Bucket but I could have showed you. A little grinding and Kapton tape to isolate the motor halves and brushes if you get the older loco, plus nylon screws to mount the motor on the frame halves. Nice loco.

Rich

[jward]

No grinding, or nylon screws on mine. I did quite a few split frames the same way, with good results. One of the former members of the forum, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, had a photo tutorial on his web site detailing exactly how to do this. Sadly, it is no longer online.

[rich1998]

The reason I did a tiny bit of grinding was I was not sure of spacing for the thin phosphor bronze, 0.002", metal to bring power to each motor brush inside each frame hals with Kapton tape to insulate but it worked. The frame fitted around e=each motor half quite well. I used nylon screws just to be sure the motor was completely isolated because of DCC.

Rich