DCC decoder fitting...

[CallySleeperKid]

... to Bachmann Virgin Voyager and Bachmann 158 and 170.

I have come up with these instructions on the Bachmann website, looks pretty straight forward, but has anyone done one of these? Any hints or tips, and more importantly, which DCC chips have you used, or can be used?

The only point im not 100% sure on is...

Remove the interference capacitor from the board circuit if it is fitted. The AC nature of the DCC signal on the track side of the decoder will mean that your controller will detect the capacitor as a short circuit and a programming error will result. The DCC decoder contains suppression circuitry.

Any idea what this interference capacitor looks like? Will the Voyager, 158 and 170 have one fitted?

And finally where would I get the fucnction-only decoders from?

I am looking at....

Voyager, 1 main DCC decoder and 2 function-only decoders
158, 1 main DCC decoder and 1 function-only decoder
170, 1 main DCC decoder and 2 function-only decoders.

I really want to get these done but want to avoid paying to have them fitted in a shop if it looks as easy as the instructions say. I have hard wired DCC decoders to my Hornby HST and Caledonain Sleeper so have had a little experience.

Any help and pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

...Voyager, 1 main DCC decoder and 2 function-only decoders....

I used three Hornby R8249 decoders (£8 each from Hattons).

The motor coach...

Detach the pick up wires from one side of the motor and attach them to either the red or black decoder wire. Attach the orange (if you used red) or grey (if you used black) to the motor terminal. Do the same with the other motor terminal/wires using black/grey if you previously used red/orange or vice versa.

The driving cars...

Remove the circuit board in the top of the body. You will see two diodes (black tubes with one silver end), remove the one which runs along the body. Where the other is disconnect the pick up wire (and solder to the red or the black wire) solder EITHER the white or the yellow wire (note it will be different colours on each driving car) at that point.

Remove the other pick up wire and solder it to the red/black wire on the decoder. In it's place solder the blue (return) wire. IIRC this will mean the headlights work and the tail lights do not.

Where the diode was at one end will be your white/yellow wire, at the other end you need to solder the other one (white/yellow), or another function wire (green/purple) if you want independant tail lights. This will be different colours on each driving vehicle.

...158, 1 main DCC decoder and 1 function-only decoder....

I only used one decoder, but the theory is much the same.

The motor itself is wired as the Voyager is. The headlights have their own pickups, these MUST be detached from the resistors that are mounted on the chassis, on the dummy car they should be attached to the red/black decoder wires, they are not needed on the motor vehicle.

The red wire from the lights is the headlights and the black is the tail lights (IIRC), each of these wires must be attached to a resistor. Where the red wire meets the resistor, solder the either the white or the yellow wire (depending which vehicle you are doing). Where the black wire meets the resistor, solder the other, or another function wire (for independant tail lights). At the opposite end of the resistors, use a spare piece of wire to link the resistors and to one of them solder the blue (return) wire.

Unlike the Voyager you cannot illuminate the head and tail lights at the same time at one end if you use another function wire.

...170, 1 main DCC decoder and 2 function-only decoders....

I have not yet tackled one of these, but I don't think it will be too different to the 158.

hth.

 

[CallySleeperKid]

Superb stuff.

Did you use the Hornby R8249 decoders for both the motor coach and also the driving cars? Do you have to do any special programming for units with more than one decoder in or is it just a case of plonking the whole unit on the track and programming it as usual and the lighting decoders will automatically work?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I used R8249s throughout, although the motor feeds are not required for dummy cars, the price of the function only decoders was higher than the Hornby one.

I programmed the whole train as one (although you need not add the non-powered centre coach of the Voyager), I don't see a need to do it like this, but some DCC controllers like there to be a motor present apparently, and it saves time.

If you want the decoders to have a different ID to each other within the train, you will need to set them up seperately.

 

[CallySleeperKid]

Thanks once again, I will be on the lookout for the decoders and have a crack at it. Will be nice to get some of my smaller units DCC fitted as 9 car Pendolinos and HSTs are great but they dont sit well in a bay platform!

 

[CallySleeperKid]

I notice this 3 function decoder from Bachmann is back in stock, at just over £12, would they do the job or am I better off just sitting on my cash and waiting for the Hornby ones, or the cheaper Bachmann ones to become available?

http://bachmann.co.uk/image_box.php?image=images1/branchline/36-553.jpg&cat_no=36-553&info=80&width=450&height=341

 

[hairyhandedfool]

If you don't need/want seperately operated tail lights it should be fine.

 

[CallySleeperKid]

If you don't need/want seperately operated tail lights it should be fine.

I meant as an alternative to the Hornby R8249 decoder you mentioned in your earlier post. As in I would need 3 of them, 1 for the motor and one each for the lights.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

They would be a suitable replacement, I was merely pointing out that the tail light would have to be operated by the same function as the headlight at the other end. You would require the same number of decoders.

 

[CallySleeperKid]

Sorry to drag this one up, but I thought id give you an update on the DCC decoder fitting, and yes it has took me this long to get round to it!

I purchased 5 of the Hornby decoders mentioned in earlier posts a few weeks back, one I fitted to my DCC ready Bachmann Virgin class 57. So left with 4 I decided I wanted to get all my remaining units up and running and leave the lights issue to another time.

Firstly I had a go at the Bachmann 158 and followed the Bromsgrove Models instructions http://www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/bachmanncl158dccInstr.htm and the installation went very well. As I was going to be left with one decoder left I decided to see if it would work in the dummy coach to work the lights, but sadly that didn't come off, I was using a Hornby decoder and not a function only one so without clear instruction I was not going to press on with no real idea what I was doing.

So the second decoder went into the driving coach of a Bachmann 170, and as it is roughly the same as the 158 (apart from removing the capacitors and resistors on the 158) there was no problems here.

Lastly I installed a decoder in the Bachmann Virgin Voyager, this was quite eventful, as somewhere along the way I managed to cut off 2 of the wires I needed and made a poor attempt at soldering them back onto the decoder, when I tested it there was a nice orange glow from the decoder followed by smoke, so my poor soldering or the fact id not removed the interference capacitor bought the downfall of a decoder. After fitting a decider not swimming in solder and removing the capacitor the voyager driving car runs fine.

I am yet to decide if I will run them with the lights disconnected in Voyager and 170, and in the dummy coach in the 158, or leave them on, but I will invest in decoders for those in the future.

Thanks for the help and hopefully the lighting process will go just as well.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Once you know what you are doing it gets easier and other jobs make more sense as you gain that confidence and experience.

Fitting the decoder to the dummy car is pretty much the same as the motor car except there is no motor to bother with. Red and black to the pick-ups, white/yellow and blue to the lighting.

 

[philden]

I am in the middle of installing decoders in a Bachmann Voyager also. The motor vehicle is easy, but for the end cars you have choices.

The 'standard' option is to use function-only decoders, but for most types you will have to sunstantially rewire the lights to separate the directions. This is because most decoders do not have bi-directional function outputs.

The simple option then is to use a motor decoder, and use the motor outputs to control the lights. The Voyager has a neat plug and socket on the lighting wires, so this is very easy.

I have previously used this method to control the lights on a Mehano Thalys TGV, and the installation instructions are on the TCS decoders website - http://www.tcsdcc.com/public_html/C.../HO_Scale/Mehano/Thalys_T675/Thalys_T675.html

Hope this is of help.