09-07-2009, 09:09 AM
Thanks for all the replies gentlemen. They are a big help and give me plenty of ideas as to how I will eventually go about this.
In the meantime I found a decoder that fits just jim dandy in the tender made by NCE. Which is great because that is also the DCC system I have.
http://www.ncedcc.com/index.php?page=sho...t&Itemid=1
The Bachmann tender board has an eight pin socket so this was almost plug and play. There were comments on the NMRA board about snipping a resistor as it causes overheating. I checked with the DCC guy at my LHS and he confirmed that I should snip one of the leads before trying out the loco. So far so good, although, I am kinda puzzled by the starting voltage. CV2 talks about using a number between 5-35 for the starting voltage in order to get the loco to barely move at the 1 speed setting. I have it maxed at 35 and it doesn't make a movement until about 4 or 5. I wonder if maybe I need to just clean and apply a small bit of lube to the linkage mechanisms for the drivers and such as there could be some binding or sluggishness there?
Its my first steamer so I don't know? I sure to get a kick out of watching those little bits move around though. Can hardly wait to get some more track down!
![[Image: DSC03253.jpg]](http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/tetters73/DSC03253.jpg)
In the meantime, I've decided the headlight isn't bright enough for me. So that will have to get changed in the short term with a 3 mm LED.
In the meantime I found a decoder that fits just jim dandy in the tender made by NCE. Which is great because that is also the DCC system I have.
http://www.ncedcc.com/index.php?page=sho...t&Itemid=1
The Bachmann tender board has an eight pin socket so this was almost plug and play. There were comments on the NMRA board about snipping a resistor as it causes overheating. I checked with the DCC guy at my LHS and he confirmed that I should snip one of the leads before trying out the loco. So far so good, although, I am kinda puzzled by the starting voltage. CV2 talks about using a number between 5-35 for the starting voltage in order to get the loco to barely move at the 1 speed setting. I have it maxed at 35 and it doesn't make a movement until about 4 or 5. I wonder if maybe I need to just clean and apply a small bit of lube to the linkage mechanisms for the drivers and such as there could be some binding or sluggishness there?
Its my first steamer so I don't know? I sure to get a kick out of watching those little bits move around though. Can hardly wait to get some more track down!
In the meantime, I've decided the headlight isn't bright enough for me. So that will have to get changed in the short term with a 3 mm LED.