DCC Decoders for Ahearn Locomotives

[BradKT]

1.  Which DCC decoders work with Ahearn diesel locomotives?    I have several that I want to convert to DCC compatibility.

2.  Are there any DCC decoders that can be installed in Ahearn diesel locomotives that do not involve soldering?

3.  Is this something that I can do myself or should I have it done by the local hobby shop service department?

[az2rail]

Any 1 amp decoder should work fine with an Athearn engine. Just make sure it has enough functions for what you expect to do with it. Earlier decoder were 2 or 4 fuction. Now they have lot more.

The newer Athearn engine are coming out DCC ready. That means you can just plug your decoder into the pin board. Otherwise you will have to soder. Make sure the decoder you buy has a plug on it.

You should be able to do this yourself. But if in doubt, you should be able to find someone who would do it for you. Your local hobby shop perhaps.

Bruce

[WoundedBear]

And before you install any decoder into an older unit, be sure of the loco's current draw.

I just popped a 1 ampere decoder into an old Mehano unit without checking it first. I thought, seeing as how it ran smoothly on straight DC, that I should be able to "get away" with not checking. LMAO

The thing won't run more than 3 minutes without the decoder overheating and "crashing". A draw test revealed over 2 Amps just to get the wheels rollin....lololol.

I think I'll be repowering this one.....it's easy now that all the wiring is done, and Micro-Mark sells a nice little motor and mounting set that looks like it would fit right in there.

Sid