hi, i recently purchased a 2-6-6-2 and it says a min. of 19 degree curve rad.

ok, yes i'm a freshman..  lol  i will take your advice very seriously. between you and taz i got just the info i need..   i will go to a store and get a new solder tool.. and get the paste type rosin flux and practice. i'm very excited about getting into the world of dcc systems.. and getting my new layout completed...  hey everyone thank you so much for your help.. this place  is very useful!!!!

yes thank you.. i 've found one at digitrax  a DZ123 decoder..   pretty cheap $20.00  thank for the info...  now the fun part will start when i get ready to hard wire it....  has anyone tried to wrap the two wires together and not solder it but use a heat skrink tube instead?? or would it be a good ideal to solder them 1st and then use a heat skrink tube?

ok, the copper wires that you are talking about is the one that on the tender connected to the loco's drawbar holding pin right? and where is the best place to put the decoder? according to my diagram it show to put it at the end of the loco's cab by removing the metal weight and insulator plate. and also what's the best soldering tool to use? i have 1 but it's a does'nt have a pointed tip it has a u shape tip would that be ok to use? i should probably get a smaller type of a soldering tool so it would'nt  get the wires too hot. right?  by the way what is  pcb? and what type of decoder should i get? i don't want one with sounds since i'm deaf. i ' m in the process of getting a zephyr digitrax command control basic set. any info would help. thanks Chuck

hi, i just purchased my 1st dcc ready loco. 2-6-6-2 spectrum and my question is where is the plug in pins? i don't know if i'm supposed to buy a decoder for hard wiring or a decoder with a plug in type?? can someone please tell me. the papers that came with it does not specify what type of wiring i need to get???