Zimo pins to wires?

[Torper]

I've got a Zimo sound decoder which has 11 pins but I have nothing into which to pin it.  On the other hand I have a kit built loco that would very much like a sound decoder but would normally require hard wiring.  Is there any means by which I can convert the Zimo decoder from pins to wires and thus install it in my kit loco?  I'm sure there must be but I don't know what to look for.

[WIMorrison]

I don't know of an 11 pin decoder from Zimo (or anyone else actually). I expect it is an older decoder and you can find details on all the Zimo decoders here

 

ZIMO decoder and sound decoder for "small" tracks (N to 0)

[Izzy]

I might have this all wrong but is it perhaps a 21 pin and you’re just counting one line of pins? If so then breakout boards are available to plug it into and hardwire. 
 

Bob

[Ray H]

Could 11 pins be the usual 8 plus 2 for the speaker (or stay alive) and the brown wire whish is often longer than all the others?

[Nigelcliffe]

Once the correct number of pins, and type of connector is identified,  then...   various suppliers sell the corresponding board for placing in the loco.  This is by far the simplest way of wiring things.  

 

btw. "pins" make me think it may be a Plux-22 (one row of which would be 11 pins).   

The MTC-21 (aka 21-pin)  has a socket on the decoder, and pins on board on the locomotive side.   

[Ray H]

Sorry, my reference to 11 pins should have read 11 wires.

[WIMorrison]

The link I posted should enable you to identify which decoder you have from the pictures and hence what the pinout is to connect the decoder correctly, either though an appropriate plug and socket or direct.

[RFS]

The Zimo MX623P12 has 11 pins - http://www.zimo.at/web2010/HD-Fotos-zum-Download/MX623P12.jpg

[Nigelcliffe]

27 minutes ago, RFS said:

The Zimo MX623P12 has 11 pins - http://www.zimo.at/web2010/HD-Fotos-zum-Download/MX623P12.jpg

 

But it isn't a sound decoder.  Plux sound decoders need a minimum of 16 pins.  

[RFS]

7 minutes ago, Nigelcliffe said:

 

But it isn't a sound decoder.  Plux sound decoders need a minimum of 16 pins.  

 

Then it would seem the OP doesn't have a sound decoder if he's counted his pins correctly.  Just need him to come back and tell us what he's got ...

[WIMorrison]

 

1 minute ago, RFS said:

 

Then it would seem the OP doesn't have a sound decoder if he's counted his pins correctly.  Just need him to come back and tell us what he's got ...

 

Perhaps you didn't the read the post the OP made, which I repeat below for you 😉

 

2 hours ago, Ray H said:

Sorry, my reference to 11 pins should have read 11 wires.

[RFS]

29 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

 

 

Perhaps you didn't the read the post the OP made, which I repeat below for you 😉

 

 

Ray H is not the OP. The OP is Torper and he says in his initial post he has a Zimo decoder with 11 pins. 

[Torper]

Sorry chaps, you're quite right, it's 21 pins - should have gone to Specsavers. Apologies to those of you who spent time trying to help using the wrong information. I suppose the problem I have in trying to find something suitable is terminology - I don't know what I'm looking for is called.

[RFS]

1 hour ago, Torper said:

Sorry chaps, you're quite right, it's 21 pins - should have gone to Specsavers. Apologies to those of you who spent time trying to help using the wrong information. I suppose the problem I have in trying to find something suitable is terminology - I don't know what I'm looking for is called.

 

What you need is a 21pin breakout board such as this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/362980115653

 

Or this - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32833121536.html

Edited September 20, 2023 by RFS

[Nigelcliffe]

1 hour ago, RFS said:

 

What you need is a 21pin breakout board such as this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/362980115653

 

Or this - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32833121536.html

 

I suspect NOT those.     

They are for a MTC-21pin connection, which assumes a MTC-21 decoder.   A MTC-21 decoder has 21 "sockets" on the decoder and 21 pins on the PCB in the locomotive.  

The reason for "not" is they're wired and labelled for the MTC-21 pin-out,  which isn't the same as the Plux-22 pin-out.   

 

21 pins on the decoder means its a "Plux-22" decoder,  so what is needed is a Plux-22 socket.   

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Nigelcliffe

[RFS]

42 minutes ago, Nigelcliffe said:

 

I suspect NOT those.     

They are for a MTC-21pin connection, which assumes a MTC-21 decoder.   A MTC-21 decoder has 21 "sockets" on the decoder and 21 pins on the PCB in the locomotive.  

The reason for "not" is they're wired and labelled for the MTC-21 pin-out,  which isn't the same as the Plux-22 pin-out.   

 

21 pins on the decoder means its a "Plux-22" decoder,  so what is needed is a Plux-22 socket.   

 

 

Apologies - early morning brain fog again!

[Torper]

Once again I have been misleading you all, albeit not wilfully - sorry!.  I have in fact fitted decoders to about a dozen kit built locos, but these have all been hard wired and I have never had to deal with pins and sockets.  This one was plugged in (so I thought) to a blanking plate, and when I first posted I looked at it from the front, counted 11 pins, and posted accordingly.  I didn't understand that there were in fact two rows of pins.  This morning, having read your various responses I unpinned the decoder from the blanking plate and discovered that it was the blanking plate that had the pins, not the decoder, which instead had 21 sockets.  Unfortunately I forgot to correct this when I posted this morning.  Meanwhile I have examined my Zimo manual and think that I have identified the decoder as a Zimo MX644D, in which event I believe I'm right in thinkung that the 21-pin breakout board suggested by RFS is what I need.

 

Again, thank you all for your help, particularly when you took time to research the problem based on the misleading information I had provided.  Back to hard wiring for me after this!

[John Besley]

Can I jump on this topic, I am about to fit a Zimo economy MX600 ... this has a 8 pin board, the chassis I am wiring up to uses a HLK gearbox and C1230? can motor, soldering connections isn't a problem for me just want to know whether to solder direct to the pins and wrap this up as I don't have a 8 pin socket board to plug into.

 

Likewise where do I mount the stay alive across, I guess this would be wired on to the motor terminal as well

[NIK]

8 minutes ago, John Besley said:

Can I jump on this topic, I am about to fit a Zimo economy MX600 ... this has a 8 pin board, the chassis I am wiring up to uses a HLK gearbox and C1230? can motor, soldering connections isn't a problem for me just want to know whether to solder direct to the pins and wrap this up as I don't have a 8 pin socket board to plug into.

 

Likewise where do I mount the stay alive across, I guess this would be wired on to the motor terminal as well

Hi,

 

If you have the space there are 8 pin breakout boards for decoders with NEM652 connections.

 

Regards

 

Nik

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, John Besley said:

Can I jump on this topic, I am about to fit a Zimo economy MX600 ... this has a 8 pin board, the chassis I am wiring up to uses a HLK gearbox and C1230? can motor, soldering connections isn't a problem for me just want to know whether to solder direct to the pins and wrap this up as I don't have a 8 pin socket board to plug into.

 

Likewise where do I mount the stay alive across, I guess this would be wired on to the motor terminal as well

 

Unless you intend to replace it at some stage in the future and use it elsewhere I'd suggest just cutting off the plug and surplus wires and hard wiring it into place. So if no functions are needed, just motor control and stay-alive pack then remove the green, white, yellow. 

 

It's red and black to the track/pickups, orange and grey to the motor tags, while the blue (common positive) along with another connection made to the ground are the stay-alive connections.  I re-use the white for the ground. You do not connect stay-alive to the motor itself. You must of course use the appropriate stay-alive pack/parts. Here is where the pad for the ground connection is on the MX600. On the underside.

 

 

As per here:

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bob

[John Besley]

Thanks Bob, that answers my questions, I also have a grain of wheat bulb to wire in as well, I've already connected up a set of plugs for the light connection and heat shrunk the cables

 

The Zimo is already pre wrapped in a protective sleeve 

 

 

 

Best in mind this is a 7/8ths loco running on 0.16.5 track

 

Edited January 15 by John Besley

[Nigelcliffe]

1 hour ago, John Besley said:

Zimo MX600....

 

Best in mind this is a 7/8ths loco running on 0.16.5 track

 

 

I assume you have checked that the "stall current" of the motor is within the output capabilities of the MX600 ?   

 

 

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, John Besley said:

I also have a grain of wheat bulb to wire in as well, I've already connected up a set of plugs for the light connection and heat shrunk the cables

 

Ah, so no cutting off the function wires then! 

 

Do grain of wheat need extra resistors adding? Never used them myself with decoders. Only LEDS.

 

1 hour ago, John Besley said:

The Zimo is already pre wrapped in a protective sleeve 

 

Yes, I slit it lengthways along one edge to remove it while adding the ground wire and then re-fit and tape the edges together if the decoders somewhere I need to ensure it's properly isolated. 

 

[John Besley]

59 minutes ago, Nigelcliffe said:

 

I assume you have checked that the "stall current" of the motor is within the output capabilities of the MX600 ?   

 

 

 

Yes it's 0.60am comes under the max for the decoder

[John Besley]

56 minutes ago, Izzy said:

 

Ah, so no cutting off the function wires then! 

 

Do grain of wheat need extra resistors adding? Never used them myself with decoders. Only LEDS.

 

Yes, I slit it lengthways along one edge to remove it while adding the ground wire and then re-fit and tape the edges together if the decoders somewhere I need to ensure it's properly isolated. 

 

 

If I've got it right the front light goes to the front light pin and the common (blue)? Or does this go to the brown instead, keeping the common (blue) for the stay alive... I'll check the NCE Powercab booklet as well

 

Be glad of clarification before I wire it all up for good