Do I Have to Install a DCC Card, if I Just Purchased a DCC Ready Loco (Bachmann)

Started by Ottawa HO Guy, January 12, 2024, 08:46:02 PM

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Ottawa HO Guy

Hello.  I just set up my track and E-Z Command controller.  I programmed button "1" to run the locomotive, according to the instructions.  The loco does not move.  Just a humming noise from the loco as I turn the control knob clockwise. I used a voltmeter to check the track (plus and minus sides) and the voltage increases as I turn the E-Z command control knob clockwise.  I removed the voltmeter, operated the E-Z Command controller and the locomotive remains stationary with a humming noise. Did I forget to install a DCC card, or is it already installed?  Thanks!

BobZ

DCC Ready means that the DCC Socket Connector is installed in the loco but you have to install the DCC Decoder.


jward

Quote from: BobZ on January 12, 2024, 09:03:14 PMDCC Ready means that the DCC Socket Connector is installed in the loco but you have to install the DCC Decoder.



DCC ready does NOT mean there is a socket installed in the locomotive. It means the motor has been isolated from the chassis. There may or may not be a socket to plug in a decoder. In many cases, you have to hard wire a decoder into the locomotive, or use one of the drop in decoders that replace the PC board in the locomotive.





If your locomotive has a socket you're ahead of the game. Be sure you know which socket it has. There are 6 pin, 8 pin, 9 pin and 21 pin versions out there, with 8 and 21 pin being the most common.
Jeffery S Ward Sr
Pittsburgh, PA

trainman203

"DCC ready" is in reality a pretty ambiguous and possibly misleading term.