Dean525 Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Im guessing this has subject been done to death but ive looked through previous threads an failed to find any answers. I always to get lost in the mountains of technical info available on here. Im fairly new to DCC so be kind. What would be a good decoder to fit to my Bachmann 57xx? It will be mainly used for a shunting on a small home layout so im guessing a chip with a shunting function would be handy and id like to fit lights as shown in one of the magazines recenty. So what can you suggest? Ive previously chipped a Hornby 08 and a Bachmann 25 with Hornby decoders but that was before I started to really look into the subject and just went for what I was easiest. Both there locos have only been test run so ive not really experimented with what the decoders can do. Sorry for the newbie question, Thanks Dean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted October 1, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2010 My only advice is do NOT use a TCS plug in 8 pin - it will short on the loco wiring (resistors I think) - don't ask how I know - I hard wired a SWD Lok Micro and managed to fit the speaker in the boiler as there is so much unnecessary stuff around the 8 pin socket that can come out. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Worth putting in a good decoder to extract the best in performance, a curent Lenz or Zimo decoder would be my choice. Nothing to do with DCC as such, but a worthwhile mod to all Bachmann steamers with a sprung axle. Look at the diagram to see the chassis layout. Unscrew the keeper plate, and cut down the keeper plate sides and the centre rib a little about 0.5mm to allow the axle and spring plunger a little more downward travel. Stretch the plunger spring slightly. Adjust the pick up wipers if required to ensure positive contact on the wheelbacks thriough the full range of side to side movement. Just helps ensure reliable pick up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I used one of the Digitrax chips, that worked well, until I bought a Howes sound chip..I fitted that the same way as Gilbert did. 34the letter...great tips about the keeper plate and spring...I'm off to check that now...thanks! Cheers Gene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean525 Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 Thanks for the info guys. Is there any issues with using any of these decoders with a Hornby controller?? Good tip 34theletter... ill have a look at that when i pull the model apart to start work on it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Garry D100 Posted October 1, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2010 I would have thought the cheaper Bachmann or Hornby 8 pin offerings with Back EMF would suffice. I have them in my Panniers and have had no issues. Smooth running and only around £10 each decoder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted October 1, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 1, 2010 My only advice is do NOT use a TCS plug in 8 pin - it will short on the loco wiring (resistors I think) - don't ask how I know - I hard wired a SWD Lok Micro and managed to fit the speaker in the boiler as there is so much unnecessary stuff around the 8 pin socket that can come out. Chris Mine didn't! Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br-nse-fan Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Mine didn't! Keith I've done three panniers now (1xMainline 2xBachmann) and each one has a Digitrax DN135 in them. Nice, smooth control. Just make sure you remove the extra 'junk' as per another posters suggestion and you should be fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I would have thought the cheaper Bachmann or Hornby 8 pin offerings with Back EMF would suffice. I have them in my Panniers and have had no issues. Smooth running and only around £10 each decoder. The new Bachmann 8 pin has a basically good drive, but has the major shortcomings for a steam model of no adjustment possible to the speed curve and too little inertia range(restricted range in CV's 3 and 4). That matters to me, as you cannot set up a small steam loco to perform as it should for my taste: very brisk stops and starts to low speed for shunting, but takes 'forever' to graft up to any sort of pace with a load on, similarly if handling unbraked stock takes a long time to brake to a halt from any speed. This decoder is absolutely fine in diesel or electric traction where the characteristic supplied better matches reality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
signalmaintainer Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Im guessing this has subject been done to death but ive looked through previous threads an failed to find any answers. I always to get lost in the mountains of technical info available on here. Im fairly new to DCC so be kind. What would be a good decoder to fit to my Bachmann 57xx? It will be mainly used for a shunting on a small home layout so im guessing a chip with a shunting function would be handy and id like to fit lights as shown in one of the magazines recenty. So what can you suggest? Ive previously chipped a Hornby 08 and a Bachmann 25 with Hornby decoders but that was before I started to really look into the subject and just went for what I was easiest. Both there locos have only been test run so ive not really experimented with what the decoders can do. Sorry for the newbie question, Thanks Dean Nothing wrong with a newbie question! Digitrax is a good bet; one of the DZ family of decoders should work well. (Make sure to turn off the DC function via CV29 to prevent continued movement even with the throttle at 0. Had a frustrating episode with that recently.) And I'm of the opinion anymore that Lenz decoders are probably the best bet. Zimo decoders have a good reputation here as well. While I have no practical experience with them, others have, and I like what I'm hearing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 What is especially good about Zimo decoders is the range of tweakability they offer. For taming a diffficult motor characteristic, or accomodating a coreless motor, this make provides fully documented easily accessed options. Neat features like selectable forward/rverese performance assymetry too. You do need the patience to read through a list of over 200 CV's; delivering this sort of flexibility requires user effort to access the relevant CV. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean525 Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 Thanks for all the advice everyone, ive got a better idea of what I want now. Youve been great help as usual. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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