Item # 83409 Richmand 4-4-0 (DCC ON-BOARD)

[hotrainlover]

Dear All,
Is the decoder visable in the Cab on these engines, as with some of the other DCC On-Board engines?  I do not have a LHS near me that I can check..
I also want to put a Sound decoder in if there is room??!!

Thanks for the help!

hotrainlover

[Jake]

No it is not visible, in fact, it isn't even in the cab. Most steam locomotives have the decoder in the tender. But as for the sound decoder, you can fit a Micro Tsunami in the tender, since they aren't much bigger than the Bachmann ones.

[richG]

I have this engine. The decoder is in the tender. Go to Product Reference at the top right of this page and look for the 4-4-0. The decoder plugs into a pc board that has the LED lighting parts and a few other parts. I removed both and hard wired a SoundTraxx LC decoder. I have removed that one and installed a Micro-Tsunami light steam decoder. The Micro is a superb decoder. The tender is ready for a one inch O.D. speaker.

Rich

[hotrainlover]

Great!  Thanks for the help!!

hotrainlover

[richG]

I can send photos of what I did. It is a lot easier than trying to post to the group. Let me know. I trimmed the photos so they are not very large.

Rich

[hotrainlover]

Rich,
Yes I would like that.  Please send it to my email.

hotrainlover2002@yahoo.com

[richG]

Ok, they are on the way. Remember, DO NOT PULL on the wires when removing the two connectors. Use a small jewelers screwdriver to py the connector out of the loco.
If you break a wire, Bachmann has some. I cut a couple too short and emailed Bachmann. They sent them and billed me. I think it was about $8.00 total for both.

Rich

[fcarboal]

Hi, I'm writting this message from Spain. I buyed 3 weeks ago Item # 83404 Richmond 4-4-0 from 2007 year(DCC Bachmann item 44915 on board connected  to a PC board) and I'm interested in to remove it and install a Soundtraxx decoder and a speaker.

I read this topic from 2008 about this subject from richG and/or hotrainlover, and I want to know if it's possible to obtain the photos that richG sent to hotrainlover to illustrate how richG install the decoder and the speaker (one inch). My e-mail is fcarboal@telefonica.net

Because I am a little new in DCC also I have any other questions:

-There are two connectors between the loco and the tender (2 and 4 wires) and I think the Soundtraxx decoder comes with 8 wires??. What about the 2 extra wires? I have to connect to speaker? I have to connect the rest (6 wires) Soundtraxx directly to the original connectors coming from the loco?. I can find and buy this type of connectors (2+4) anywhere?
-Can you explain how did you fix the speaker to the body? The speaker front is regarding to the track?

Thanks in advance If you can help me.

[ACY]

You don't need to worry about the wires between the loco and the tender, you just need to worry about what is inside the tender.

[fcarboal]

Thank you very much ACI for your help.

[Doneldon]

loverboy-

You won't have any trouble getting separate DCC motion and sound boards in your locomotive. However, you'll have a neater job and less work if you use just one decoder with both motion and soundcapabiliies.
                                                                                                                              -- D

[fcarboal]

Thanks for your information. It's a great idea¡¡¡

[richg]

Hi, I'm writting this message from Spain. I buyed 3 weeks ago Item # 83404 Richmond 4-4-0 from 2007 year(DCC Bachmann item 44915 on board connected  to a PC board) and I'm interested in to remove it and install a Soundtraxx decoder and a speaker.

I read this topic from 2008 about this subject from richG and/or hotrainlover, and I want to know if it's possible to obtain the photos that richG sent to hotrainlover to illustrate how richG install the decoder and the speaker (one inch). My e-mail is fcarboal@telefonica.net

Because I am a little new in DCC also I have any other questions:

-There are two connectors between the loco and the tender (2 and 4 wires) and I think the Soundtraxx decoder comes with 8 wires??. What about the 2 extra wires? I have to connect to speaker? I have to connect the rest (6 wires) Soundtraxx directly to the original connectors coming from the loco?. I can find and buy this type of connectors (2+4) anywhere?
-Can you explain how did you fix the speaker to the body? The speaker front is regarding to the track?

Thanks in advance If you can help me.

Here is what my 4-4-0 with DCC on board looked like when I removed the tender shell.



Side view with decoder removed.



There is room for a inch speaker under the PC board. Get a SoundTraxx Micro Tsunami and and 8 pin NMRA plug. Cut the wires shorter that go to the 8 pin plug just like you see in he picture with the stock decoder. Do some test fit first before cutting any wires.
Make sure there are no shorts between the pins. Use a soldering iron with fine tip, NOT a solder gun.

It will be a tight fit.
I removed the PC board and did a hard wire with a 750 ohm resistor for the LED headlight. My way. I had to pay close attention to the wires as Bachmann refuses to use the correct DCC wire colors.

Be advised, all decoders come with instructions. Believe it or not, some throw away the instructions and then come crying to the different forums. I have seen this before.
When the decoders first came out I would scan the instructions into my PC but you can easily find them on the 'Net now.

Rich

[richg]

Remove the capacitors on the PC board and if you need room for the speaker, unsolder the two inductors under the PC board. NO, those are NOT resistors.
Replace the inductors with a short piece of wire.

Rich

[fcarboal]

richg, thank you very much for your cooperation. Your instructions are very clair. The photos that you send me show the same model, PC board and decoder that is now installed in my Richmond. I will take care with the wires connections and colours as you suggest me. Also I will add the resistor. Thanks again.