Item # 83409 Richmand 4-4-0 (DCC ON-BOARD)

[richg]

richg, thank you very much for your cooperation. Your instructions are very clair. The photos that you send me show the same model, PC board and decoder that is now installed in my Richmond. I will take care with the wires connections and colours as you suggest me. Also I will add the resistor. Thanks again.

I forgot to add. The PC board has the resistor for the LED if you can plug into the socket.

Below is what the bottom of the PC board lookslike.



Top of the PC board. If you do not want to remove the PC board. Solder a short wire where you see the L! and L2. That wire will short out the indcutors and that akes them out of the situation. Then clip the three capacitors with a small pair of wire cutters. I use the 4 inch size wire cutters.



Rich

[fcarboal]

Rich, this is perfect¡¡¡. Perhaps, next time I buy a model without sound, it will be betther, instead you work so hard in answering several times my qüestions about how to remove and reinstall DCC, to send you my model for you to install it. I will seriously consider next time¡¡¡¡

I'm sorry, but It's betther for mi to confirm any doubts about your answer:

- I'm not very sure about what I have to do when you said: " The PC board has the resistor for the LED if you can plug into the socket". I don't have to install a resistor for the LED because the PC board has one? Can you explain me wider?
- When you said "solder a short wire where you see the L1 and L2" I understand that I have to solder two wires, one betwenn both ends of L1 and another one for L2. It's correct?
- What does exactly mean "Then clip the three capacitors..." ?  I understand that I have to remove capacitors cutting his legs. It's correct.

Thanks a lot again.

[richg]

Rich, this is perfect¡¡¡. Perhaps, next time I buy a model without sound, it will be betther, instead you work so hard in answering several times my qüestions about how to remove and reinstall DCC, to send you my model for you to install it. I will seriously consider next time¡¡¡¡

I'm sorry, but It's betther for mi to confirm any doubts about your answer:

- I'm not very sure about what I have to do when you said: " The PC board has the resistor for the LED if you can plug into the socket". I don't have to install a resistor for the LED because the PC board has one? Can you explain me wider?
- When you said "solder a short wire where you see the L1 and L2" I understand that I have to solder two wires, one betwenn both ends of L1 and another one for L2. It's correct?
- What does exactly mean "Then clip the three capacitors..." ?  I understand that I have to remove capacitors cutting his legs. It's correct.

Thanks a lot again.

Look carefully at the PC board.
C means a capacitor
R mans a resistor. Used to limit current to the LED lights.
D means a diode
L means an inductor.

If the loco has a LED, all PC boards for DCC locos have the resistor for LED's from what I have seen so far.
Bachmann is known to use a diode and as many as three resistors on some PC boards. I have a couple of those PC boards.

You can see the red lines where you solder a jumper if you do not want to remove the inductors.

The capacitors are well known cause of slow running problems with many of the newer decoders.



I use small wire cutters to clip off the capacitors. They clip off very easily.

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/exl/exl55550.htm?source=froogle

You can buy better quality small decoders with the eight pin plug connected to the decoder. Hopefully Bachmann will find a better non sound decoder.

Rich

[fcarboal]

Rich, I believe these signs I can successfully complete the installation.

Thanks again for your interest.

[richg]

Rich, I believe these signs I can successfully complete the installation.

Thanks again for your interest.

Glad to hear it. You might take some time do do some pictures during the install and get a free account at Photo Bucket and then post the photos here. That is how I posted the pictures.
This can be a great asset because as we say in the USA, a picture is worth a thousand words. Many times people post questions about a problem they have and it can take some time for others to understand the problem they have.
With the Internet, the model railroad community is much closer together than the days of paper magazines. We have many tools we can use to solve problems if we take the time to learn how to use the tools that are available with our computers.

Rich

[genetk44]

Rich...just out of curiosity what are the inductors for or what do they do???

Gene

[richg]

Rich...just out of curiosity what are the inductors for or what do they do???

Gene

Capacitors and inductors can be used together to filter out certain frequencies that might bother some electronics. The UK and the EU require the filter. The standards are higher there than here. Decoders send pulse power to operate the motors. Decoders do not put out pure DC to operate the loco motors.
Even if you operate a loco with decoder on a power pack which is DC, the decoder still sends pulse power to the motor.

Today, the decoders with what is called silent drive or bemf do not always operate very well with the filters in place. Cutting out the caps or caps, the inductors are not an issue.

If you are happy with the way your Bachmann operates, then it is not an issue for you.

I do know the Spectrum's with on board Tsunami have the caps on the PC board but maybe SoundTraxx has made the decoder used specifically by Bachmann suitable for this.

Rich

[genetk44]

LOL...I cut the inductors out of my 0-6-0 ST a few weeks ago, mistaking them for caps.....guess who's loco stopped working

[richg]

LOL...I cut the inductors out of my 0-6-0 ST a few weeks ago, mistaking them for caps.....guess who's loco stopped working

Many consider those resistors.
Usually best to ask here first.
Some PC boards have a yellow capacitor, some one capacitor, some two capacitors, some three capacitors. My Spectrum 70 ton diesel had three yellow capacitors on the motor, not the PC board.
What you see in my pictures are, Surface Mount Devices.
Sometimes there are SMD resistors and diodes with the yellow type lead mounted capacitors.
Some have inductors that are wire wound.

From Jim Banner's site.

http://members.shaw.ca/sask.rail/dcc/2-8-0/index.html
Right click on any photos and save to your PC for future reference.

Store Jim's link in Favorites.

Do not make assumptions with DCC. There are many Gotchas for those who do not study the basics of DCC.
The digital world is considerably different than the analog world.

Rich

[genetk44]

Just soldered in 2 wires in place of the 2 inductors I removed...Loco is now mobile again
Thanks to forums like this one for provideing the knowledge base to allow us to correct our mistakes.
Gene