Hi
I am looking for a DC light board for the N scale Bachmann 44ton switcher to replace the DCC decoder, this is for a friend who only wants a DC loco.
I could not find one listed in the spare parts in fact I could not find any spare part list
Can you please help?
Cheers,
Hutch
From down under.
You accomplish nothing by removing the DCC decoder because the Bachmann decoder is dual mode and runs great on analog DC. Therefore it is pointless to acquire said parts, except in one unique circumstance where the track may get more juice than a DCC decoder can handle but this is not the case 99% of the time.
As ACY stated, there is no drop in DC only option for the 44T. You can safely remove the decoder board and hard wire the loco for DC if you would like. If you want to maintain headlights in the DC conversion, it will require SMD LED's, and some resistors.
If you have access to a DCC system that allows you to change CV's, leave the stock decoder in and change CV3 to 0. It will improve the slow speed performance of the loco on both DC and DCC dramatically. The default start voltage is a little too high from the factory. With that change, I am totally satisfied with the way my loco opperates on either DC or DCC.
Hi!
Since a decoder needs a higher amount of voltage to recognize a DC signal on the track the engine starts just at 5-6 Volts. A true DC model is able to start at 1-2 Volts yet.
A dual mode decoder needs more power before it switches to DC. Some good decoder can handle some DCC features even in DC mode as there is acceleration, deceleration or lighting, but these Bachmann decoders can't.
So it makes sense by all means to remove the DCC board and hardwire the loco to DC in order to accommodate it to the fleet if you run striktly DC.
If the effort is worthwhile is a different matter!
Regards
Mathi
Settings in DCC on these decoders to effect the DC funtionality. You can program momentum and start voltage in DCC and it will have the same effect in DC. There is nothing wrong with using the decoder in DC, start voltage is actually around 3V with the decoder so you are not loosing very much throttle response on your DC throttle.
If Bachmann would ship these with the start voltage (CV3) set to zero, the decoder would be almost completely transparent and not noticable in DC.
Hi
Guys
Thanks for the reply's
I find that not having a DC light board a bit of a let down and why pay extra for a DCC decoder loco when you only have DC and will not be changing to DCC ever.
My friend can not afford a DCC system { the 44 tonner is a one off}
Cheer's
Hutch.
PS I have had my Lenz DCC system for six years and will not change back to DC,
Now I am using a Ipod Touch with JMRI and love it.
You are only paying about $3 or $4 for a DCC decoder, without a decoder you'd only pay a few dollars less. Because they developed this design, it will not be much cheaper to offer this design without DCC. It is not as straightforward as because it has less features it will be a good amount cheaper.
Quote from: hutch17 on June 18, 2011, 07:41:23 PM
Hi
Guys
Thanks for the reply's
I find that not having a DC light board a bit of a let down and why pay extra for a DCC decoder loco when you only have DC and will not be changing to DCC ever.
My friend can not afford a DCC system { the 44 tonner is a one off}
Cheer's
Hutch.
PS I have had my Lenz DCC system for six years and will not change back to DC,
Now I am using a Ipod Touch with JMRI and love it.
There are many more pluses for including the DCC onboard than minuses and as ACY mentioned, the cost difference is negligble spread over an entire production run.
* The loco runs perfectly fine on DC.
* The board is specifically designed for the loco. Bachmann didn't want to rely on somebody else building a board to convert their loco to DCC.
* The decoder also limits current to the motor to keep it from being burnt up prematurely.
* All new product from Bachmann seems to be coming with DCC. They have made the comitment to it. Because of this, cost per unit can be lower because of larger production batches to the point that it is not worth building a DC and DCC version. If they built two versions, both would have to cost more to cover the additional tooling, inventory and packaging costs.