Dcc circut board

[slack]

I am putting a tender on my modified forney (cut into a porter) My question is the dcc decoder connects to a circut board, then goes on the the board in the ash pan. I want to put in a soundtraxx sound decoder can I directly connect to the circut board in the ash pan or do I have to go through the one in the tender?

[Jim Banner]

The decoder adapter boards found in many locomotives are there for your convenience.  But you do not have to use them if you do not want to.  You can wire directly to pickups, motor and lights or you can use existing wiring and add on to it.

The advantage of running your own wiring all the way to where it has to go is that you can use standard colour coding, making it easier to understand if you have problems later.  The down side is that you have to do more disassembly and reassembly.

The advantage of extending existing wiring, such as in your case connecting to it in the ash pan, is that it is quicker and easier.  The down side is that it is quicker and easier only if you have a diagram or can trace the wiring without disassembling the locomotive.

Jim