DCC vs 7 mm Scale

[ffayolle]

Hi all of you,

 

I have some DC 7mm Scale engines and I would like to install DCC decoder without sound.

 

What DCC decoder can I use for, please ?

- Heljan Class 37

- Heljan Class 26

- Dapol Terrier

- Ixion Huswell Clarke

 

Have a G'day, Fabrice

[peter220950]

Fabrice,

 

for the Terrier and the Ixion loco 00 chips should be perfectly suitable, as they don't take huge amounts of current, so anything in the 1A region should be fine, if not overkill (Zimo MX630 perhaps, or similar),- it's the Heljan's that you will need to watch. They would probably be better suited to something with a 4 or 5 amp capacity to be safe, maybe something like the Zimo MX69S?

 

It is sometimes possible to measure current consumption on your DCC controller by just briefly holding a loco when running to establish the stall current, and hence get some idea of the maximum loads you are likely to experience on the motor. I'm not sure if it's improvements in the products but they all seem to be much more tolerant nowadays, and failures seem far less than in the early DCC days.

 

I have tended to gravitate towardds Zimo as a good bet for the sound decoders, and with the 0-6-0's it may be worth looking at the 'keep alive' options available for some decoders, which provide a small amount of power if there's any stalling on points etc.and keep things running smoothly. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with anyone else's decoders.

 

Perhaps the biggest problem with the Heljan loco's is wiring them in as there's a lot of bits to sort out, I usually remove the circuit board completely and re-wire lights and fanetc. into the decoder directly, not forgetting to add back the resistors for the led's and get the polarity correct.

 

The Digitrains site is useful for identifying what may be suitable.

 

http://digitrains.co.uk/ecommerce/locomotive-decoders/

 

Peter

 

Edit P.S. Just try one with sound

[ffayolle]

Thanks Peter