Acela express

[full maxx]

Does anyone know if all the spectrum Acela Express engines are dcc ready...I ordered the two engine set without cars or track and it did not say and I called the hobby store before ordering but got no answer

[jbsmith]

Was it this?
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXWXT6&P=F

Based on my own research, looks like anything Spectrum Acela is DCC or at least DCC ready.

[ABC]

No some older stock items could still possibly not be DCC ready, but it would have to be pretty old. I know with the original run the dummy is not DCC ready, but I'm not sure about the powered unit. As long as you make sure you purchase the newest run, it will have DCC.

[full maxx]

how about if their spectrum...I finally got the shop on the phone and the guy said since its spectrum he "thinks" that they are

[pdlethbridge]

Tower hobbies has given an inaccurate description. If you look at the product numbers for those engines here, you will see that even though they are spectrum, there is no mention of it being DCC equipped or DCC ready. Never assume anything, the easiest way to check is to open up the model and have a look / see. If there is a decoder in it you'll know and if it is DCC ready, there will be an 8 pin plug that has 2 three pin jumpers. Pull those jumpers and attach the decoder there. If it runs the wrong way, reverse how you plugged in the decoder.

[ABC]

Being Spectrum means nothing, many Spectrum things are not DCC ready or DCC equipped.

[full maxx]

yeah thats what I was thinking...

[jbsmith]

Hard to tell if we do Not know Exactly which set you are talking about.

These sets are described as DCC Ready

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/160-81949

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Bachmann_HO_81945_Spectrum_Acela_Electric_Locomoti_p/bac-81945.htm

These sets are described as DCC Equiped

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/bac/bac81945.htm

http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=200822796

And From THIS site, the chart speaks for itself.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/81945.pdf

The guy at the hobby shop does not KNOW what he is selling?
Call again or better yet go down there.
Get him to sit in a chair, and be sure to have a lamp to shine in his face just like a detective questioning scene in the movies, and grill him.

[r0bert]

The original set locos and seperate sale locos;
the powered loco is DCC ready with 8 pin plug, the dummy loco has no plug, but is very easy to hard wire.
Both the powered and dummy are swichable between track or overhead power.
The new release locos, set and seperate sale, as seen in the current catalog are both DCC equipped, powered and dummy.
It's easy to tell the difference, as all Bachmann DCC equipped locos will have the DCCon Board logo on both the packaging, and on the bottom of the loco.

Without pulling the old catalogs out, IIRC,
ALL Spectrum steam locos have ALLWAYS been either DCC ready with 8 pin plug or solder pads, from the first 2-8-0 on.
On the diesel side, around 2004-05 Bachmann discontinued all their Spectrum diesel locos for a year or so, many of which were repackaged, dressed up Bachmann Plus models, and these locos were not DCC ready.
When the Spectrum diesels were re-introduced, they were DCC ready, and many of those models, now have again been touched up, have DCC on board (equipped), and are being released in the standard line

[ABC]

One of the last Spectrum locos not to be DCC ready was the H16-44, it has since been switched to the standard line and still is not DCC ready. Not all diesel models that were re-introduced were DCC ready, and some were never brought out of production like the H16-44. So, the point I'm getting at is just because one loco from a given period of time is DCC ready or DCC equipped doesn't mean any other loco made during the same period of time are DCC ready or DCC equipped. And as for the steam locos, I think there may have been a few that were not DCC ready at the very beginning, but were soon equipped with soldier pads; however, this is not what most people think of when you say DCC ready, they think of plug and play, instant gratification, i.e. 8 or 9 pin sockets. Some people just starting out may have not want to or may not be capable of soldiering for one reason or another.
After some research, the original Spectrum 2-10-0 Russian Decapod was not DCC-ready, but it appears that all others Spectrum locos were.

[winjie]

One easy way to tell the difference between the acela locomotives, that are DCC ready or DCC on board, is by the color of the boxes. The DCC ready boxes are black, the DCC on board boes are red in color and you can see the locomotves without opening the box. The product number for the DCC on boad is 89145

[ABC]

That method doesn't really work. I have four black boxes in front of me... one isn't even DCC ready, one is DCC ready, one has DCC and one has DCC with sound. But if you just read the box and see what it says there should not be any issues. Also, if it has DCC the loco has the words "DCC On Board" on the bottom of the loco.

[Doneldon]

ABC-

Read?  You don't really expect someone to read, do you?  In my experience, most people never read anything.  Bachmann should have phone numbers or you tube addresses on their boxes so people can check things out on their cell phones while driving to the LHS.   But read?  Get real.

          --D

[mlrr]

All Acela products from Bachmann in HO (motive power) are AT LEAST DCC ready with a quick plug for a drop-in decoder.  The latest run of HHPs (651, 656 and 663) and Acela Express Dual Locomotive (2018 and 2001) come with pre-installed decoders.  I'm speaking from personal experience.

[full maxx]

OK they came today and are ddc ready but not equipped ... oh well now to wait on a decoder