RSS Fetcher Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 This blog entry follows on from my entry "DCC Conversions for British H0: Diesel and Electric" Contents Roco S160 .. 21 August 2018 - - Roco S160 The Roco model of the S160 is a pretty fabulous thing. I have never owned a model built to such a high standard, nor one with such exemplary running qualities. Everything is pretty much 'faultless', but looking back at how much I paid for it, I suppose the model should be pretty good. Roco sold the model in two versions, DCC-ready and with DCC sound. My conversion is to simply add DCC control; I am happy to live without the sound. Roco supply decoders with their own branding, and cite four possible fitments in the instruction manual with the model: parts numbers 10881 and 10883 (both PluX 22 pin), and 10880 and 10882 (both PluX 16 pin). I could only find the 10883 online so I bought one of these. These engines do not have lighting, so all the decoder has to do is to drive the motor. I have no idea of the differences between the different decoders. Installation is easier than many models:1. Pull the tender away from the engine to release the coupler.2. On the tender, remove the handwheel moulding beside the footplate.3. Lift off the top moulding (this includes the front of the tender body and the moulded coal) 4. Remove the blanking plug and set aside - this will be useful if the engine ever fails to run and you want to know whether the problem is in the model or the decoder. For a moment I thought was looking at the usual 21-pin interface. Then I realised, the connector on the model has socket terminals, and so the decoder must have pins. This is the PluX interface. 5. Insert the decoder: Nearly forty quid for a tiny little circuit board, most of twice the price of anything I have bought before. Then again, when I look a this photo I see this particular decoder was not cheaply made. And for all I know, it may have been customised or remapped for Roco's model motors. And then, when I put the model back onto the track, operation is sublime. I have never seen a model railway locomotive run like this in my life, not at a show and not on my own layout. Running begins with an almost imperceptible crawl at notch 1, and remains controllable throughout the speed range. It has all rather exceeded expectations, and if the money for a branded Roco decoder is buying something which works so perfectly out of the box then for me it has got to be better value than a cheaper decoder needing hours of fiddling around with CVs and chassis wiring to get a result. Perhaps I should look for a Roco decoder for my NS600 English Electric shunter. Attached thumbnail(s) View the full article Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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