N Gauge Decoders

[branchie]

Hi.

 

I've finally made the jump over to DCC (hoping it'll encourage me to build a layout at least) and I'm trying to get my head around suitable decoders for my fleet of N gauge diesels and electrics.

 

Is there a list of decoders suitable for various locos, or is it very much about personal preference and requirements?

 

What are the pitfalls I need to be watching out for?

 

All help very much appreciated.

 

Many thanks.

Christian.

[donh]

Generally (not always) you get what you pay for, though sometimes you may not need the best as some of the lower to medium price decoders are quite good.

 

physical size is some thing to watch for as some locos (particularly steamers) don't have much room.

 

Don  

[roundhouse]

Not seen a list of suitable decoders although there may be one.

 

perhaps if you list the locos that you have or are going to get then people on here can post what they have used.

 

The newer designed locos from both Farish and Dapol now tend to use 6 pin decoders.

 

However many Dapol steamers need thin 6 pin decoders which rules out the Bachmann ones.

 

I will generally use Digitrax DZ 125's (and now have a few of the new DZ126's) installed in locos that require hard wiring such as the Farish class 66's

 

Ian

[The Bigbee Line]

I've wired lenz mini decoders. For me the biggest problem was getting wires from one end of the loco to the other. With planning you can adapt the existing pcb's rather than create another.

[PaulCheffus]

 

However many Dapol steamers need thin 6 pin decoders which rules out the Bachmann ones.

 

 

Ian

Hi

 

The Dapol HST will also not accept a Bachmann decoder as it doesn't allow the body to go down correctly.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[branchie]

Thanks for the comments so far gents.

 

In terms of locos, here's a list of what I have:

 

To be hard wired: Class 25, 40, 45 and 87

 

DCC ready: Class 20, 37, 47, 86, 101 & 108

[Nigelcliffe]

Really is a matter of personal choice for those locos.

 

The cheapest decoder is probably the Bachmann own-brand 6-pin, which is a rebadged Soundtraxx motor-only decoder.  Performance isn't brilliant at low speeds, so I'd suggest spending a bit more.   The Bachmann might be an option for the trailer-car lights in the DMUs; it will work the lights fine and its cheap.  

 

Cheaper decoders (less than £20), such as Digitrax DZ125's, will work.  They're fine, until you get into really slow speed performance comparisons:  how the loco shifts from "stop" to "just moving".   If that matters to you, then, other makers can be much better, but will cost considerable more (£30 or so). 

 

In my experience, with small motors, CT Elektronik are by far the best performing, but they have the worst documentation. They are also the smallest decoders made.   Zimo are close in performance, but not quite as good on small motors, very thorough documentation (will take days to read!).   Lenz well behind those two in performance, and cost more money, so not worth the expense.  Everyone else a long way behind in performance. 

 

Sound decoders, quite a wide choice. 

The cheapest, but will need some work to fit are Digitrax, and the sounds are only so=so (but the recent 16bit releases are a lot better).

Next up are CT in price, but only one UK supplier of UK prototype sounds for them.  The sound options in a CT are not as flexible/versatile as ESU and Zimo.

Then ESU and Zimo, broadly similar in price (£100-ish), and a wide range of sounds and sound suppliers to choose from.

In all cases, fitting sound into N involves a fair bit of work (goodbye to your guarantee!) to create space for speakers (and its the speaker which will make the difference in sound quality); even the 101/108 which have some provision in their designs are a fair bit of work. 

 

 

 

If you head down the CT/Zimo route, then I wrote a CV tuning guide to CT a while back, and Carsten Berger's site is also worth a read - in German, but online translation tools will do a decent job of converting to English.

http://www.2mm.org.uk/articles/CT-decoders.htm

http://www.1001-digital.de/pages/1001-digital/startseite.php

 

 

 

- Nigel

[roundhouse]

I have used a lot of the Bachamnn 6 pin decoders and they perform OK but most of my stock just runs on the mainline as there is very little shunting. I normally add a tiny bit of acceleration and braking so that also helps.

 

I agree with Nigel that the CT Elektronik are good decoders and fit well into tight spaces in Dapol steam locos. They are at the dearer end of the prices . The documentation is poor and even with JMRI decoder Pro we have found them difficult to set up properly but once done they are good.

 

Branchie - just be aware that locos marked as 'DCC ready' don't necessarily take the 6 pin (newer Bachamnn locos will have a '6 pin' logo on the end of the box), some will require hard wiring.

 

The only loco you mentioned that I know is the class 47. The older ones need hard wiring whilst the latest ones do take a 6 pin decoder.

 

Ian

[kevindickerson]

Hardwiring the Farish 87 will be the most fun out of all of them, simply because there isn't sufficient room between the body shell and chassis to comfortably fit the decoder in.  From memory I think you can get away with fitting the decoder to the underneath of the model (ie externally) hidden by the equipment box moulding.

 

Reagrds

Kevin

[branchie]

Thanks gents. Plenty of food for thought!

[branchie]

Further to my previous question, can anyone reccomend anybody that offers a DCC installation service (I.e. hard wiring)? I'm not sure where to start with this kind of thing!

 

Thanks.

[roundhouse]

Give any of the following DCC experts a call (details on their websites):

 

Coastal DCC

DCC Supplies

Digitrains

Sunningwell DCC

 

I have installed all my own decoders so cant say who's best from experience. The above, I do use regularly for purchasing DCC equipment.

 

Ian

[Vonzack]

Hi Branchie,

 

All the locos I mention below are the Chinese split chassis models.

 

I had a look at doing an 87 (split chassis) and thought better of it, opting for a Dapol 86. There's no room between the roof of the loco and the top of the chassis due to the Pantograph and the chassis (if I remember correctly) comes down into the equipment box. The only real place to put the decoder, is at either end of the chassis, hard up to the cab fronts. There's only really 2-3 mm of space here, so the decoder would have to be small and you'd have to secure it to the cab front somehow, or it would probably foul the bogie. You'd probably have to cut channels down the side of the chassis to run the wires for chassis pickup and motor, but that's easily done with a dremel as I had to do that for a Chinese 91.

 

I've done a 25, again from memory, there's plenty of room between the chassis top and the loco roof. There is room between the roof and chassis of a 40, but not too much, so a small decoder is required. I've fitted a 45 with a chip attached to the bulkhead of the cab moulding and that was OK sitting well out of the way of the bogie.

 

Cheers, Mark.