Mark,

I have some older DC locos that I want to convert to DCC and to Bachmann's new tenders.  But, Bachmann doesn't seem to sell the plugs to fit their tenders as separate parts.  Do you know where we can get the plugs to use for DC-to-DCC conversions?  If it is some big electronics outlet, do you know the actual part designation?

Not sure what size holes you need to drill for your signs, but I often have a need to drill holes smaller than #60.  "Gauge" (that is "numbered") drill bits between #61 and #80 are often used by modelers, and can be bought is sets.  On the other hand, a #1 bit is quite large, nearly 1/4", and sets with numbers below about #40 are not very useful for modeling, and can be costly.  A set from #41 to #60 is also available, with the largest (#41) bit being just a tad bigger tha 3/32".  Here is a link to drill bit sizes: http://bobmay.astronomy.net/misc/drillchart.htm .

Hi Roger,

I think it depends on how the DCC was added to the various Bachmann locos that you have.  IIRC, you have some that were not originally equipped with the "DCC-friendly" tenders that have tender-to-loco wires.  The newer versions of locos with the wires have plugs on the wires that connect to pins on a circuit board in the tender.  Unless you specifically had the earlier tenders converted to DCC in a way that is compatible with the newer tenders, both having the same connectors and having the same wire arrangements to the pins in the plugs, you probably do not have compatability with the new arrangement.

On the other hand, I think that the newer tenders designed for locos with  the plugs can be swapped easily from one loco to another, so long as those locos use the plugs. I was thinking that would be a good way to be able to quickly swap out a tender with a bad decoder for a spare.  And, it seems to me that it could also be a way to switch from DCC to DC and back, just by swapping tenders, but that would require removing the tender shell for a swap.

I hope somebody with actual experience will also respond, because I have not yet done any of this swapping, but intend to set mine up for swapping.

Thank you Mark and RWG.  It is really nice to learn from other peoples' experiences, rather than to have to learn everything myself the hard way.  Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Quote from: spookshow on September 23, 2016, 08:30:02 AM
91% alcohol always does the job for me.

Thanks Mark.  91% alcohol sounds less dangerus to the plastic than the other options.  But, I would like to know what your expeerience has been using it.  How fast does it work, and can the plastic be damaged by leaving the shell in it too long?

I have been doing research and gathering parts to do a "bash" of a Bachmann USRA Light Mountain (4-8-2) to make it resemble a B&O T3 locomotive.  The loco shell will need extensive rework, including lagging overlays, running boards, etc.  Best to attach those directly to the plastic shell, without an intervening layer of paint.

So, what is the best way to get the paint off the shell without damaging the finish of the plastic used for the shell?

"Oh- while we are on the topic... How about a DCC/Sound equipped run of the Heavy 4-8-2? Dress one up in B&O as they had a rather nice dual-service prototype in the T3/4. Oh, and also anything that may B&O."

The B&O T3s and T4s were actually quite different.  The T3 is closest to the Bachmann USRA Light Mountain.  Drivers are the same 70" size and the boilers are about the same proportions. The B&O T4s had 73" drivers and bigger boilers, being 42,000 lbs heavier than the T3s.  The Bachmann USRA Heavy Mountains could be made to stand-in for a T4, but would not look much like a T3.

That was a quality control isue from Bachmann.  That model is the first n-scale loco I ever bought, and my rear truck did the same thing.  Fortunately, I bought if from a LHS, so I took it back, and the owner took out another one and tested it.  Exact same result, the BACK truck fell appart. So, he took out a third one, with the same result, AGAIN, the BACK truck.  So, he took a front truck off one of those locos and used it to replace the back truck on the one he sold me.  It has been running great for 3 years, now. 

Those tendeer trucks are use by lots of people to upgrade tenders on other makes of locos so that they have low-friction, all-wheel pickup.  So, they tend to sell-out in the Bachmann parts department.  However, I just checked and they are in-stock at the moment for $8.40 + shipping.  so, call Bachmann and see if they will send you another truck for free, since it is their error, and is well known.  But, if they won't, buy one of the parts site, before they are out-of-stock, again.  Basically, they are excellent trucks when made right.

I have been thinking about doing the same thing, but with a different loco/tender.  If you look here http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66_70_80&sort=20a&page=2 you will see the Bachmann parts for the headlight for their N scale 2-8-0.  It is a housing with number boards and an LED that fits it.  If the number boards bother you, you could carefully cut them off.  Then, as Spookshow said, you would need to replace the decoder with one that has 2 light functions that will reverse with train direction as well as wire the new backup light to the second light function output.  You will also need to figure out how to make the LED leads look OK to you where they exit the fixture, which I suppose you would place on top of the tank part of the tender.

I tried the JMRI Decoder Pro setup at the club this afternoon.  Same problem - can't read CVs, and writing CV 8 = 8 from that system had the same null result.  So, as far as I am concerned, that decoder is dead. I had hoped to find a way to recover it so that I could see if the problem was repeatable.  I would have been willing to do that with this one loco.  But, I am not about to do the same thing to another loco.  I would be interested in hearing if anybody else has used an NCE Power Cab "momentum" button successfully with a Bachmann N scale 2-8-0 with OEM decoder.  Or with any other Bachmann decoder.  The decoder in my 2-8-0 reads (or should I say used to read) manufacturer = 101 (Bachmann) and version = 046.

As for me, time to select a new decoder with quality sound and good back-EMF control features.  Already have one suggestion from the "another run" request thread on another forum.  Any other suggestions?

Steve

Hunt, you seem to have missed the mystery.  The decoder was responding to short address 3 when depowered before this morning's new testing exercise.  And, the resets for CV 8 = 8 did not work when tried on the Main for short address 3, long address 3 or long address 705.  Only page programming seemed to work A LITTLE for changing CV 8 to reset value 8.  And that only got me light control.  I did try programming CVs 3 and 4 to "1" in case setting the NCE value to "0" set those CVs to "0", but that had no  effect.  It is not clear that the NCE set them to "0" when ITS scale of 0 to 9 was selected as 0.  The whole problem seems to be that the NCE coding has compatibility issues with the Bachmann decoder coding.

Kewatin,  I used the value of 5 as a mid-level momentum test.  That should have had an observable effect without taking forever to get up to speed or stop, again.  It is basically irrelevant what I chose that was not zero.  And resetting it to zero did not make things work.  I have never programmed the Power Cab for anything but showing current instead of clock, so resetting it at this point seems to me to be grasping at straws at the expense of adding yet another potential issue.  As for currents seem when THIS unit was running, they ranged from 0.04 to 0.18 amp, running without cars on an oval with 15" radius track and 30" straightaways at throttle settings from creep to max.  However, once I tried the momentum button on the NCE Power Cab, the amps read 0.01 no matter what I do (which seems to only turn the light on and off).  For the OTHER loco, the readings ranged from about 0.14 to 0.41 amp and were highly variable at a fixed throttle setting when I just tried it.  The Bachmann tech said that is probably also a decoder issue, rather than a mechanical issue, but I am not convinced either way.  let's not work on the second loco's problems right now.

So far, I have talked to techs at NCE, Lenz and Bachmann, plus a tech that repairs Lenz decoders who was driving to a meeting at the time.  There is a lot of conflicting information about what the NCE Power Cab really does when the "momentum" function is use, what voltager is required by the Bachmann decoders to accept programming, and other issues that simply do not make sense when compared to what happened.  My next step is to take it to my club and get it on JMRI Decoder Pro and see if that gains me any insights.  So, more later.

I did join the Yahoo group for NCE DCC.  I am waiting to post this there until I get it a little more organized.

When I first put the loco which got the "momentum" command back on the track, I was not even able to control the light any more, although I had still been able to control it when I last took it off the track. 

After quite a bit of messing around with resets using "Programming on the Main" and setting CV 8 to the value of 8, with NO response, I tried the Programming Track Standard option again, and just kept hitting enter past the "Cannot read CV" messages until I got to Page Programming.  Using page Programming, I set the short address to 3 and activated it.  THAT gave me access to the headlight function on the loco again.  Why the CV 8 = 8 attempts on the Main did not work but page programming did work is a mystery to me.

So, now the first loco is back to where I left off, with no motor control.  Speed step 28 in both directions just reads the standard 0.01 amp.  I tried talking to NCE, but the technician there had no ideas for a solution (other than to replace the decoder).  I have a call in to Bachmann, with a call-back scheduled between 2 and 4 pm today. 

The other loco was still set to long address 705, so I set it back to short address 3 and then reset it with CV 8 = 8.  It runs forward and backward, but still draws high current and stalls where the track voltage is lowest (opposite the feed on the test loop).  The stalling problem seems to get WORSE the longer I run that loco, so there is something DEGRADING with operation.  There is also a faint "hot electrical" odor that I smell (only) on that engine when it runs.  So, I seem to have TWO UNRELATED problems with these two locos. 

For now, I want to concentrate on the loco that was running fine until I used the "momentum" key on the NCE Power Cab to try to set momentum to a value of 5.  That is when the problem with the first loco started IMMEDIATELY.  The NCE technician was unable to provide any insight into how that could have happened.

In response to one of the questions:  I have never programmed the Power Cab in any way other than to set it to show current instead of clock time on the main display.

Any more suggestions?

Kewatin, 

The loco does not let me read CVs, now.  So, I don't know how to do anything with CVs in this condition.

Do these decoders even HAVE a "momentum" function?  Things clearly went from fine to bad as soon as I tried to use "momentum" setting on the Power Cab.

I will try to talk to NCE today.  But, I was shoveling snow all day yesterday, so maybe they are not open, today.  The more I know about the functions available in the 2-8-0 Lenz decoder, the better position I will be in to discuss this with NCE.  I did see the decoder number when I reprogrammed the engine number, but did not write it down and probably don't remember it correctly at this point.

Steve

And, it gets worse. I have a duplicate C&O version of this model, which had previously run well when I tested it and broke it in. I had not programmed that one to address 705, so I got it out and was going to use that to do some other things. I did NOT touch the "momentum" button while that one was on the track. BUT, I had not previously programmed it to 705, so I did that. As soon as I programmed it to 705 and started running it, it seemed to draw higher currrent and run more slowly. I tried cleaning the track and wheels, but it keep getting slower and stalling. SO, I am thinking that the Power Cab is still trying to do something related to "momentum" with whatever engine is numbered 705, and that is somehow damaging the decoder, or motor, or both. At this pointl, I am afraid to use the power cab for ANY engines until I can talk to NCE.

Kewatin, thanks for the reply. Maybe we have 2 different version of the Power Cab, but mine specifically has a setting for the short address, a setting to enable it, another setting for the long address, and a setting to enable that.  Entering "705" produced a long address of 705, and when enabled, the Power Cab showed that the engine was using the long address and that the address was "705" not "7050."  But, since resetting the engine (with option 7 on the progamming track), I have the engine responding to short address 3 again, but it still doesn't move.  Worse, the Poer Cab can no longer read the CVs on that engine, although it did before.

My main concern for the engine, now, is whether the problem is JUST the decoder, or if the MOTOR has been damaged.  Or, at least the connections to the motor.  I am getting the same response from the decoder as if the motor is not attached to  it.