Fredashay

@F-UnitMad Well, I already ordered a cheap JST-9 decoder from Suzie's list of links.  Maybe after I take the loco apart and see how easy it is to get to the guts, I'll upgrade to a sound decoder.  But I don't want to drop 100 buckazoids on a sound decoder yet until I see how easy it is to get inside the RS-3 and see how much space is inside there to mount a speaker. 

@Suzie Yeah, silly Americans!

Aha!!!

I see the reason for my confusion at Suzie's links to JST-9 decoders that looked to me like they're 8-pin decoders! 

All these JST decoders have wires leading to 8 pin connectors, and so I was like "Huh?!?!" 

But the light bulb just exploded over my noggin' a moment ago when I discovered that the 8-pin wiring harness can be unplugged from the decoder to reveal a JST-9 pin connector right on the decoder by peeling back the plastic wrap on the decoder body.  <-- Once I discovered THIS, everything makes sense now!!!

Okay.  Thanks for clarifying that, Suzie 😊

Thank you all, PeterM, Suzie, and Old Dudders!

I'm not sure what the prime mover is, but the model is painted as Erie Lackawanna engine # 929.  Suzie says it has an Alco 244, and that's fine by me.

A little personal history might be in order... My railroad is mainly Amtrak and Conrail, but an Erie Lackawanna track ran near my house as a kid, and so when I saw this loco for sale and the box said it had a DCC socket, I had to nab it, thinking it would be a simple matter just to buy a random decoder to plug in it and get on with running trains!  The best laid plans of mice and men, eh?

Anyway, the sound isn't important any more since it will likely just sit in the engine house as a nod to my childhood.  I just want a decoder to run the locomotive silently.

So it sounds like I can buy any silent 8-pin decoder along with that adapter thingy that Suzie linked to, and I'll be good to go?

I just bought an Athearn RS-3 Locomotive, part # 94054, new in box. 

The box clearly says DCC QUICK PLUG EQUIPPED, so I assumed I just needed to buy a decoder for it, and that's why I bought it.

The instruction sheet says it needs a decoder with a 9-pin plug.  

The problem is that I can't find a 9 pin decoder anywhere.

It seems they're not made any more.

When I search for 9-pin decoder on all the major train site like Tony's, Nicholas Smith, Trainworld, and others, I'm shown a wide variety of 8-pin and 21-pin decoders, but not a single 9-pin decoder in the mix.

I would love to get to the mounting board to see the connection inside the locomotive to post a photo for you folks, but this requires a rather complex disassembly of the locomotive.

I'd rather not disassemble the locomotive and leave it disassembled while I search for a suitable decoder, because by the time I get my hands on a decoder, I will have forgotten how to reassemble the locomotive.

Am I S.O.L.?

Or can someone post a direct link to the actual decoder I need?

I'd like for it to be sound that's appropriate to the RS-3 locomotive, but at this point, I'll settle for just a plain silent decoder that will operate the locomotive.

Ah, so ECoS allows you to name your trains in addition to using photos -- solves that problem!   And since this tangent was caused when I asked what DCC addresses to assign my two E-trains, I think we're technically still on topic :-p  Thanks again, Craig!  You too, Opelsi!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.  I've been using DCC addresses 4 and 5 (I already assigned 1 to Thomas, lol), so I'll use 1122 and 1523.

And, yes, I want to get an ECoS system someday, but I have too much invested in my NCE system at the moment to just toss it in the bin...  Also if you select your loco by picture, what if you have more than one of the same loco?  The E-train isn't the only train I have more than one of :-/

Yes, they are numbered like that, so that's a good idea.  The only complication is that I bought two of them and some extra coaches so I can keep one true to the prototype and run the other in passenger service on my layout.  My NCE system can assign numbers from 1 to 9999.  I guess the E-train was never given a class designation, so I suppose 1122 and 1123... 

I'm wondering if E-train had a numeric designation?  I don't see any designation other than TC1 on the lead locomotive.  Craig and Kit: what DCC addresses did you assign to your E-trains? 

...and I just noticed something, ahem, bizarre.  The discocar came with a small baggie full of assorted HO/OO figures in various dancing poses.  I thought nothing more of them and set them aside and ignored them until now when I thought it would be a good idea to glue them inside the carriage as seems to be their intended purpose...  Well, there's one figure of a woman lifting her top and showing her boobs!  Really, Marklin?!?!  Does that sort of thing go on in nightclubs in Germany?!?!

Thank you!

Also, these were included on the Micro SD card inside the carriage:

Anleitung zum Musik aufspielen auf den Märklin Gesellschaftswagen mit Sound:

1. In das Verzeichnis "Konverter" auf der microSD-Karte wechseln.
2. Die gewünschte Musik (maximal 5 Dateien auf einmal) in einem anderen Verzeichnis markieren. Die Dateinamen sollten keine Sonderzeichen, Umlaute usw. enthalten.
3. Die markierten Dateien per Drag and Drop auf die Datei "MUSIK_HIER_DRAUFLEGEN.bat" ziehen.
4. Für jede Datei die konvertiert wird, erscheint im Kommandozeilenfenster eine neue Zeile mit dem Pfad und Namen der Datei.
5. Warten bis im Kommandozeilenfenster folgendes steht: "Drücken Sie eine beliebige Taste . . .".
6. Eine beliebige Taste drücken.
7. Im Verzeichnis "Musik" auf der microSD-Karte prüfen, ob alle Dateien erfolgreich konvertiert wurden.


Der Märklin Gesellschaftswagen mit Sound spielt bis zu fünf Geräusche ab. Diese fünf Geräusche müssen einen definierten Namen haben und können gegen eigene Geräusche ausgewechselt werden.
Anleitung zum Geräusche auswechseln auf dem Märklin Gesellschaftswagen mit Sound:

1. Schritte 1 bis 7 der vorherigen Anleitung mit dem gewünschten Geräusch abarbeiten.
2. Das konvertierte Geräusch aus dem Verzeichnis Musik ausschneiden und im Verzeichnis Geräusche einfügen.
3. Es werden nur Geräusche mit folgenden Namen abgespielt: Sound_1.wav, Sound_2.wav, Sound_3.wav, Sound_4.wav, Sound_5.wav
4. Falls bereits 5 Geräusche vorhanden: Eins der fünf Geräusche löschen oder umbenennen.
5. Das eigene Geräusch umbenennen, damit es einen der 5 definierten Namen hat.

 

 

Google Translate did a pretty good job of translating them to English:

Instructions for playing music on the Märklin company car with sound:

1. Change to the directory "Converter" on the microSD card.
2. Highlight the desired music (max. 5 files at once) in another directory. The file names should not contain special characters, umlauts, etc.
3. Drag the marked files onto the file "MUSIK_HIER_DRAUFLEGEN.bat".
4. For each file being converted, a new line appears in the command line window with the path and name of the file.
5. Wait until the command line window says "Press any key ...".
6. Press any key.
7. In the "Music" directory on the microSD card, check that all files have been successfully converted.


The Märklin company car with sound plays up to five sounds. These five sounds must have a defined name and can be substituted for their own sounds.
Instructions for changing noise on the Märklin company car with sound:

1. Complete steps 1 to 7 of the previous manual with the desired sound.
2. Cut the converted sound from the Music directory and paste it in the Sounds directory.
3. Only sounds with the following names are played: Sound_1.wav, Sound_2.wav, Sound_3.wav, Sound_4.wav, Sound_5.wav
4. If there are already 5 noises: Delete or rename one of the five sounds.
5. Rename your own sound so that it has one of the 5 defined names.

 

 

Anyone know where I can download instructions in English for the discocar?

Well, now that I have both Marklin and Trix discocars in my grubby little hands, this whole thread is now pointless.  I ordered that Trix Class 217 loco that Craig linked me to https://www.maerklinshop.de/en/trix/trix-h0/locomotives/diesel-locomotives/56903/class-217-diesel-locomotive .  And I can replace the wheels on those DB coaches that haven't arrived yet, or order Trix versions if I come across them in the future.  So I'm happy and delirious :-)

Nonetheless, I had set a few brain cells to the task of solving that problem with the points.  I had planned to cut the rails to the points, themselves, so they are electrically dead.  This should not cause a problem for any of my locos except for something like a Class 08.  I rarely run shunters on my main line, so it's a limitation I could have lived with, unless someone here thinks of a problem with that idea that slipped my mind -- and as you all may have noticed, my mind is rather slippery.

Yes.  Thank you!  That Trix Class 217 is a nicer loco than the Marklin Class 139 that I bought.  I had started to search for Trix stuff, and am finding that Trix wheels, locos, and coaches are all out of stock everywhere I look, regardless of the livery.  It was sheer dumb luck that I found one single Trix discocar available straight away.  I was about to go back to my original plan to convert part of my layout to 3-rail operation as having a Marklin AC train is actually a welcome addition to my collection of weird trains, so I don't regret buying both AC/DCC and DC/DCC versions of the discocar or the two DB locos.  So those links all helps greatly :-)

Marklin is AC 3 rail, Trix is DC 2 rail, most rolling stock can be converted with wheelset E700580 and if pickups are required on newer stock try 66720, I think you've been a bit too hasty ordering the Trix Entertainment car, would be cheaper ordering the parts to convert the Marklin one, and wait until the other coaches arrive and check them out first, it's a dark art with Marklin but plenty of research and it can be done,

 

Not the best video but the red crane is Marklin and was converted to 2 rail DC/DCC, yellow is Trix and support coaches are Marklin with replaced wheelsets,

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QX3mtkqJl4&t=13s

Yeah, I didn't know Marklin and Trix were actually two brand names used by the same company, and that Marklin was the AC version while Trix was the DC/DCC version of the same items.  I never purchased any Marklin or Trix trains before this week.

Also, being as I collect rare and unusual trains, it has happened to me time and time again that I see something I want but wait a day to mull it over and find it's gone.  It took me quite a lot of searching online among countless out-of-stock Märklin trains before I found a loco, coaches, and discocar all in the same livery from various shops.  That's especially true that the particular livery used by the discocar is rare in itself.  So I've got in the habit of snapping things up that I've been searching for when I see them, especially when they seem to be rare.

So now that I ordered a Trix version of the discocar, I only need a Trix version of a DB loco in that livery.  I'll take your advice with the normal coaches and just swap the bogies. 

Or, if I order Trix versions of the DB coaches, I'll have a complete Märklin DB train set with locomotive, three coaches, and discocar all in the same livery, all new in box.  That has got to be a rare thing to come up for sale on eBay!

Oh!  I'm an idiot!  I assumed the Trix and Märklin products would be the exact same item just with different branding on the box.  I just ordered the Trix version of the discocar from here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trix-23490-WGmh824-Disco-DCC-Sound/dp/B015OGTMHG

I guess I'll turn around and sell all the Märklin stuff on eBay when it arrives...  Or maybe I'll keep it.  I denno...

What is the pick-up under the Marklin stock? Is it a skate or just a button? If it is skate then you can use less studs, you only need them every third sleeper or so.

Stud contact is reasonably easy to do, remember that the studs can be permanently powered, it is only one rail that needs switching. You don't even need both rails as return, just use one rail and leave the other dead! I built Dagworth as stud contact for various reasons and later converted it back to two-rail. 

Points are the interesting part, there are two methods, both work equally well. One uses higher studs through the point that lifts the pick-up above the point rail, the other method is to switch the point rail and make it part of the stud system, that way all studs can be the same height. This comes in handy for stock with very tight clearances beneath...

 

The easiest way to fit stud contact to an existing layout would be to add the studs from fine nails and then run a tinned copper wire down the centre of the track wrapping each pin. Solder the wire to each pin or you will get poor contact as the pins/wire corrodes. The wire can then be hidden under a little extra ballast.

 

Andi

The pick-up under the discocar is a skate, but I haven't received the loco yet or other carriages, so I denno about them. 

Good point about the switching.  I wonder if I can modify the train slightly to use only one running rail for return?  That way I can put AC between one running rail (common) and the center studs, and DCC between the two running rails (just making sure that the same running rail is universal common for the AC and the DCC).  Or will that just blow up in my face Addams Family style?

That's perfect!  Apparently, other people have the same problem, lol.  In fact, I see it's just a long narrow strip of thin copper foil.  Can be made easily!  But it would still require ripping up my track and laying it back down again with the strip under the sleepers. 

I just today bought a Märklin Class 139 locomotive (Märklin #37406) fitted with DCC and sound, and train set (Märklin #43867), because I recently bought the infamous discocar (Märklin #43868) a few days ago, but my layout uses conventional 2-rail HO/OO track.

But rather than convert the train to run on 2-rail track and possibly ruin a very expensive locomotive and train set, I plan to convert a portion of my main line to 3 rail.  But I don't want to rip up all my track and replace it with Märklin track.  So I bought a couple of pieces of Märklin C-rail track this afternoon to discover how it works.  They are very creative in hiding the center rail.  There's a tiny metal stud in the center of each sleeper that provides power to the center pickup under the loco, while the two running rails are earth.  Brilliant!  This method solves the whole reversing loop problem.  So I plan to hammer tiny metal studs between the sleepers in the center of my existing track and power them through a new feeder wire under the layout.  I'll also have a switch and relays on the control panel to configure the 3 rails to run in standard 2-rail mode or 3-rail mode in which the 2 running rails are shunted to earth and the center rail is powered.  

Alas, this means I can't run my Märklin train and my other trains at the same time, or at least not on the same loop of track.  Small price to pay I suppose, since I don't intend to convert my entire layout to this bodge idea.

What do the rest of you think?  Workable idea?  Or just convert the train to run on 2-rail track?

That's great news!  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get additional coaches in the same livery and have to get out the airbrush and stencils, bleh.  BTW, I use the NCE ProCab DCC system (it's an American system, but it's really good -- much better than either Hornby Select or Elite). 

Got 'em!  Someone on eBay was selling a set of coaches in the same livery as the discocar for about £180.  I'm gonna have a huge credit card bill next month :-( 

Anyone know what locomotive I should use for this train?

Edit: Before a moderator yells at me for being off-topic, I started a new thread about my Märklin adventures in http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/131603-running-marklin-3-rail-equipment-on-conventional-hooo-track/

It is a lovely and unique coach, although I think ESU do one now, and I also have it boxed up somewhere I bought 2, one for the APT-e Disco Coach and one to keep and build up a rake which never happened.

Trix/Marklin are releasing another coach in the same livery but did release 4-5 others before the Entertainment Car which is real and was in active service it's not a made up gimmick, (well Disco Coach is, but it's fun).

Roco did or still do the same livery so may be possible to build up a rake.

 

I can't remember if the program is on the SD card or you download it from Marklin (free) but you have to convert MP3 files to a smaller or different format them run them through Marklin's program to put them onto the SD card for the coach to read, Depending on controller you use it can operate under DCC or M4 protocol, it does it itself and if memory's correct you can play/pause skip forward/backward volume up/down as well as four light options,

Coach lighting, disco lighting, strobe lighting and bar light and I think you can add rear tail lights, not for E-Train though, all from the controller, it does have some German music preloaded which I deleted but have kept the cheering and clapping sound files as well as the "German discotheque" style sounds on Disco Coach.

That's great news!  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get additional coaches in the same livery and have to get out the airbrush and stencils, bleh.  BTW, I use the NCE ProCab DCC system (it's an American system, but it's really good -- much better than either Hornby Select or Elite). 

Oh god you found it,

I've just found her and TC-11, doesn't have the full seating so must be in the coach rake, It would be nice if Rapido released the blue paint for E-Train but what I did for Disco Coach and TC-3 & 10 was to use black insulation tape on the inside of the glazing to blank them out,  Looks o'k but would prefer them in the blue scheme.

I just want to mention to Craig that I happen to come across one of those Trix/Marklin entertainment carriages on Hattons today and snapped it up!  I don't intend to use it to kitbash my E-train with it like Craig did.  I just thought it was a unique carriage to add to my collection of unusual trains, and so I now have a new mission to buy the rest of the set and make a complete matching train, though I don't know much about German railroading, lol.

It might not be 100% perfect, but if you can take a photo of the module with a good camera under a high quality photography white light source, then print it out on a color printer and hold it up against the module, and then tweak the color in Photoshop a few times until it matches closely, you can then take that paper to any number of shops that will mix paint to that exact color.  Most shops can then give you a color code for that custom color so someone else can take a train ride to that shop to purchase a jar of that paint.  Hint-hint...

It would have been even more helpful if the R&D Div had used normal BR Blue for the stripe! For some reason I just can't fathom out it isn't the same, and we can't blame outside contractors as the whole train was painted right there in the RTC! 

Same here.  I'd like to be able to purchase a jar of that paint for when I make my "dining car."  But in the absence of "E-Train Blue" paint, I'll probably do the same thing and mask the inside of some of the windows with black electricians' tape. Besides, that's less destructive anyway. 

Nonononono, I didn't mean prevent the model from actually tilting, I meant to cut out the representation of the socking great hydraulic pack that sits in the middle of the floor of both Trailer Cars. I've outlined its position in this pic of TC1.

 

 

The thing was, still is actually, about the size of an Aga cooker and is waist high in reality. If a mythical all passenger TC1 was built it would have been right in the middle of the passengers, which is why we were thinking of installing an APT-P tilt hydraulics pack under the floor.

 

It was Craig who built the disco car, and the sound track is close to reality as I used to play music tracks over the intercom when we were on long positioning runs, but we didn't have any disco lights. 

 

I'm glad you liked the book that came with the models as I wrote a large chunk of  it. 

 

And if you wait a few years it's possible that E-Train will be back in York again if current plans come to fruition. It's a long way from anywhere at Shildon sadly, but it does look good in that big train shed. Just a pity it's in the wrong order and the Trailer Cars are the wrong way round! 

OMG!  You're that Mr. Tilt?!?!  That explains a few things!  You must think I'm an idiot...  I'm honored that you replied to my original question :-)

But, again, I'd rather not take a scalpel to my train, not even the 2nd one that I plan to run in passenger service.  I'll just pretend that you did actually put the hydraulics underneath, and that that box in the coach is a vending machine, lol.   I might sacrifice one coach to make a dining car, but that's all.

Do you think that you'll ever give excursion rides in it, even if it's just for a click or two once or twice a year?

Oh, and here's the video of the disco party carriage...