Would like to install a TCS Keep Alive KA2 into a Spectrum On30 climax that is sound decoder equipped. Looking to see if anyone has performed this successfully or if the contact points can be identified by someone familiar with the decoder boards in this unit.
Thanks
Steve Kibort
S. Petersburg, Fl
Theoretically it is possible to fit a Keep Alive unit to 0n30 locos, but I am wondering why you find it nescessary?
I suspect you may be having problems with this one loco? Does it tend to stall or the sound stop & re start?
If so you more than likely have a pickup problem on one of the bogies ( sorry trucks!)
I have had a problem with one of my Climax locos when it was first purchased new, it stopped & started sound stopped etc, I quickly tested the power pickup from the wheels by inverting the loco and applying power to each set of wheels, I found one trucks contacts were not properly contacting the rubbing plate above it and therefore not always sending power to the decoder, this meant that when the other truck which was fine was on a section of track which was not as clean as it should have been lost power, the faulty truck was not always doing its job thus causing the problems,
It was simple a matter of adjusting the contacts on the truck with fine nosed pliers and all was fixed the loco has worked perfectly since,
The trucks can be unclipped from the chassis by carefully pulling them.
Hope this helps.
Look at the below link. This will challenge you knowledge of how DCC decoders work.
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mainnorth/alive.htm
The stay alive is connected right across the main filter capacitor in a decoder. This many times is the largest cap next to the full wave bridge. The blue wire is positive common. Finding the negative side on the decoder is usually the challenge.
What confuses some is the blue wire is positive and called common.
Most circuits in electronics, negative is common.
Anyone reading this message, store the link in Favourites to give to others.
Rich
You can install a keep alive capacitor to compensate for dirty track (and other problems) by installing a 220uF, 25 volt capacitor from the probably unused Green/Yellow wire from your decoder to the blue wire (which is like a common to your front and rear headlamps). The + wire from the capacitor connects to the Blue wire. I believe SoundTraxx sells that capacitor if it didn't come with the decoder.