Model Railroading > economical decoder needed

I am switching to DCC and I am in need of an economical decoder with keep alive for diesel applications. I am not interested in sound and I say economical because I have over 300 engines to adapt. Any help will be appreciated.

James.

Posted from Android

chessiegp39 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am switching to DCC and I am in need of an
> economical decoder with keep alive for diesel
> applications. I am not interested in sound and I
> say economical because I have over 300 engines to
> adapt. Any help will be appreciated.
>
> James.

James,

This is an issue that the DCC folks seem to be missing in action on. I too would like to move to DCC but the very price of a BASIC decoder is keeping me from doing so.The folks at Digitrax, NCE, TCS etc. really do need to look into this much more than they do. I feel that many people would make the move if decoders were less expensive.

J.

I have a pretty big layout and I own 100 engines. I just think it is very unreasltic to do 300. But it is your gig. Obviously u will add allot more money to the budget by requiring Keep Alive technology. If u want Keep Alive, the 2 main players are TCS and Sountraxx. I know Digitrax has it also and I think NCE too.

Sell off a 100 engines and use the money to do the other 200 LOL!

Good luck.

Bruce Friedman

For most diesels, you really do not need keep alive. That feature will really limit the models of decoders available and drive up the price. It only be useful on models that lack flywheels. The best value in decoders has got to be the NCE D13SRJ decoders. It's a 4-function robust decoder with a lot of features, and comes with a 9-pin wiring harness for those models that are not DCC-ready. It simply plugs in to any Athearn RTR and Genesis models, and any other with the 9-pin plug. I buy them in packs of 4 with works out to about $15.50 each (free shipping);

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NCE-524-125-D13SRJ-D13SJR-4-PACK-DECODERS-W-9-PIN-NMRA-JACK-YANKEEDABBLER-/281803041427?hash=item419cc52a93

You can also buy them in packs of 10 which gets the price under $15 each.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/D13SRJ-Decoder-w-9-Pin-Plug-10-Pack-NCE-524-145-E-/271899994339?hash=item3f4e80a8e3

I've literally have installed hundreds of these decoders for myself and other people. You will need to wrap each decoder in electrical tape to isolate it from anything else in the model, but that's a simple process that takes less than a minute.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

From my research, your going to spend in the range of 20 to 25 dollars per engine for a basic decoder (no KA) unless you can buy them in bulk, then you could shave a few dollars off of the decoder price.   A few years back I managed to pick up some TCS T4 decoders for about $16/17 dollars - show price and one or two online vendors were also selling for close to that price.  They've gone up in the last few years and are about $20/21 minimum now and that for the T1, which is a decent fleet decoder which has BEMF too.

Heck, Soundtraxx mobile decoders are moderately priced at MSRP of $20-$25 and of course street value on eBay and some LHS are in the $16 dollar range for a couple.

http://www.soundtraxx.com/MotorDecoders/MotorDecoders.php

Chris

As I am new to the DCC world I thought that the best way to go was keep alive. It's good to know that I can skip that application. So I will take a look at the NCC decoders instead. And Bruce, my goal is to incorporate the decoders in all my units but over time. It's is surprising to find out just how many units one can obtain after many years of collecting. I had. No idea as most of them sit in specially designed show cases. Thanks to all who made suggestions.

James

Posted from Android

James, keep alive is sort of the exception in my fleet.  For example, 6 axle locos like RTR SD40-T2s don't seem to need anything extra because of the 12 points of power pickup. Also, most of my four axle units run just fine without keep alive.  I run into the need for keep alive with small switchers and brass locos that do not have all wheel pickup.  I'd say try a standard decoder in each loco, then see if it "really" needs additional help.  As an alternative to the cost and installation time beyond the basic decoder, you'll find spending time powering your switch frogs will make a big difference as well.

James, I have a collection of almost 600 locomotives, accumulated over 30+ years.  Over half are, of course, Athearn, or Rail Power Products shells with essentially Athearn style chassis.  I switched to DCC about 2001, and now have all but about 30 engines converted to DCC.

Of necessity, I did the same thing you are going to do--generally, purchased the cheapest decoder I could find.  I started just putting the decoder in, and after hundreds of installations, it is a 20 to 60 minute job, depending on the engine.  But over time, I started adding lights to all the units, including ditch lights for the modern locomotives, and the job takes longer but is worth it.  Once you are into the locomotive, you might as well add lights.  I started using LEDs as soon as they became available.  The key is to just take it easy, do one or two, then come back to the project and your skills, interest and budget allow.  You will be surprised at the progress you make, and in a few years, you'll look up and realize you are more than half way complete.  So I like your plan--go for it!

Regards,

UP9116

I find you get what you pay for in them and see nothing wrong with the list price depending on what you want. Keep adding features and the price goes up no diffrent than a car. Choose a name brand that works good for others is another thing. Someone always wants something for nothing and just because one has too many engines for there pocket book to convert is not the fault of the manufacture. Do them as one can afford also to do that many is a large undertaking anyway that would take weeks of solid eveyday all day work.