If it just needs DC power a cheap 12 v wall wart would work too maybe.....?

 Have you tried doing a reset ?  CV 8  to 8 .

  I don't have one of these , but your on the right track . Usually the more you run a loco the better it gets. I've had to let a couple of mine run on an oval overnight to get them to run smoother and quieter . Some people take them apart to smooth any rough edges in the mechanism .  As far as the decoder goes I think it should be no problem to put it in a following car , you'll just have to run the wires between the tender and car .  Your also correct in thinking that if the loco isn't running smooth its not worth it to ad a decoder to it . A decoder won't improve the running qualities of a loco that doesn't run well .

  I'll take one of those too Mark !

I believe that all decoders made now are dual mode . At least with the non sound decoders . But I think that the sound decoders that are made now are also dual mode . The SoundTraxx Tsunami decoders are dual mode anyway .

Try programing CV 8  to 8 . That should reset it to factory settings .

Try Fox Valley wheels . The FVM 3303 wheels should fit Bachmann trucks.

 Just bought the second one today and just like the first one it runs great !  I used a slightly different CV adjustment though .  CV 209 is at 230 , CV 210 is at 30 , CV 212 is at 150 , CV 213 is at 2 , and CV 214 is at 3 .  There is just a bit of difference between these settings and the settings that  Kewatin uses . I tried different settings , but feel that I am getting better slow speed control with these settings .  Of course some locos will be a bit different , so it helps to try different settings to get the best control .

Japan must be ahead of their US distributor then . Cool !

Looks like they don't have steam sound cards yet though .

I think you need a sound card to go into the Kato sound box .

It'll run on 11.25 but bigger is better.

 Yes . The decoder is able to recognize both DC and DCC . It may not run as well on DC though , sometimes the slow speed performance is a bit different between DC and DCC . If you have a DCC system you should be able to adjust the DCC settings so that it will run better on DC . Usually adjusting CV 2 to 0 will make it run better on DC current . Look here...... http://spookshow.net/loco/bachf7.html

 I think they should screw out . BUT I have not taken apart any motors in a long while . The spring would be inside the cap and hold the brush against the shaft . Is there already a small tab on the brush cap that you could solder to ? If it unscrews I would just loosen it and wedge a small tab under it and solder to that . Maybe someone that has done a DCC conversion on this loco could be of more help .

Quote from: Hunt on April 05, 2015, 04:58:56 PM
It can be done.

Click Here to see one way to do it.

   Well hell , say something can't be done and someone will prove you wrong ! LOL