Installing a Digitrax DN163A3 into an ATLAS MP15-DC

As I pointed out in an earlier blog I've made the decision to use DCC.  Well, let's be honest, it wasn't much of a decision - the advantages are legendary.  However, every loco that I will be using needs to have a DCC mobile decoder in it.

Digitrax DN163A3

One of the locomotives, the Atlas MP-15DC (a common CP Rail yard worker) was DCC ready - very confusing as it doesn't mean it can run in DCC rather it can take a DCC decoder without soldering.  I purchased the Digitrax decoder and set out to install it !

Now keep in mind that I'm pretty handy with computer parts and general building etc.  Back in the day I built hundreds of 486 and Pentium computers.  Those were in the days of multiple jumpers, voltages and all sorts of nasty trickier with IRQ assignments etc.  Then Plug and Play came along and things changed (for the better) but I digress.  Suffice it to say - I'm comfortable taking things apart and putting them back together.

Being the first time for doing this I decided to read the instructions.  Seemed pretty straight forward.  Take the loco's case off, unscrew a couple screws, loosen the onboard DC controller remove it and then put in the new Digitrax DCC one.  I studied the pictures, and the real items and thought I was ready.

The Atlas MP15-DC

Then it occurred to me - how the !#$!@ do you take the case off !?  The instructions don't tell you.  The little parts list that comes with the loco don't.   Friends?  I don't have any interested in trains.  Google ?  oh, yes, there's a funny guy on Youtube that shows how to use a storage case and a 2" drop to remove all manufacturer's motor cases.  Real funny - worked for him, worked for me? of course not!  I'm thinking that his cases were looser than a stripper in Tijuana.   More googlin' , followed by more and more reading.  Finally I found something !  and it worked ! you can use a tiny screw driver to loosen and pry the back off.  After an hour lost and a broken handrail on the unit, I was back on track.

!@##! case is off

So now all I had to do was loosen the two screws a bit and  wiggle the DC controller card out.  Once again the instructions failed to mention a couple things.  Like the wheels fall off as soon as you touch the screws.  This was a bit surprising...  then I loosened too much and the whole thing fell apart into pieces, the motor, crank shafts and all these little parts ended up on the table.  The DC card was still firmly nestled in the frame though.  of course.  I took that out and then put everything back together with the Digitrax decoder in but I couldn't screw it together, something was out of place.  I took everything apart and tried again.

Note the split in the middle - the frame is two halves with the motor nestled in the center.

Long story short, 3 hours later I had it assembled (about the 15th time) and was ready to try it out.  Naturally I didn't have any track down at that time so I wired up some savage track work.  Of course that didn't work until I soldered the leads to the damn track.  With fingers crossed on turned it on and voila !  the light came on.  Very exciting, so I gave it some power and it crawled along a bit !!!... triumphant I tried to get the case on but the frame wasn't screwed together well enough.  Thinking I was an expert now, I unscrewed it and tried to figure out why the two halves weren't coming together.  I re-assembled it after making an adjustment on one of the crank shaft assembly.  It seemed to work - at least the shell could fit.  I tried a short run with it ... but only the light went on.  no power. I said some nasty things and then went to bed.

The next couple days I tried everything I could think of but to no avail.   The thing just didn't want to work.  So I did the only thing I could think of... I gave up until I had some bolt of lightning inspiration.

Two months passed and the LHS (local hobby store acronym) had a sale on an MP15 - not a CP but I was really only after the motor as I thought the DCC decoder wasn't working because of a grounding fault.  So I picked one up.


This time I installed it the right way... and then NOTHING!  I was a bit pissed - to say the least - so I took a whole lot of pictures and prepared to send them to Digitrax asking what the issue could be, thinking it might be the decoder (in all the fuss I might have smoked it).  So I went to their web page and to the decoders instruction pdf (just in case).  I read it.  Then I looked at the picture.  I looked at it again.  I noticed the words that I should have seen two months ago - the LEDs go up.  My board was upside down.  Now its all fixed up and running beautifully.

That's my first experience with a decoder install and I'm amazed at my own stupidity.  I've got another one coming up for a KATO P42 Genesis Via Rail locomotive that I can't wait to try.


Assuming I can get the case off.

Servo's and other fun

So after a LOT of research I chose to go with the cheap servo's to control turnouts (or switches).  Of course you need electronics to control them, which required more research. 

http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/products/quadservodecoder.html

The TAM Valley Quad servo controller

Other alternatives were offers from Hans Deloof, his has loconet support but you have to build the whole unit yourself (as in - buy the parts and solder it up)

http://users.telenet.be/deloof/

or Team Digital's SMC4 Servo.  Which is nice but expensive.

Why did I choose TAM?

1. 
   
   Price
2. 
   
   expandability - it has pins to allow daughter cards
3. 
   
   already built !  Hans looked more impressive but I would have had to make it myself and I didn't feel confident of my soldering skills
4. 
   
   Duncan from TAM Valley is very customer focused and is a great resource for questions.  He's indicated that he's working on a LOCOnet daughter card which would be perfect

Until the loconet daughter card comes into being, I will have no direct feedback from my switches meaning my computer won't know if they're thrown or straight.   I ordered the manual push buttons so I'll visually see which way they are but I can't write some automated train programs into my JMRI computer quite yet.

SERVO's

So although TAM Valley sells servo's for 4.5 USD, I choose to go right to the source of cheap servo's - Hobby King in Hong Kong.  These guys are awesome, $2.49 for a good cheap servo with multiple arm types, 9g of power and shipping was resonable. 

Now the problem is figuring out how to mount them and get my atlas switches thrown.  I think this is the worst part of installation, and out of 3 installs, I've got 2 working well but I've got some ideas !!  I think the problem is the depth of the tube and how I've bent the fulcrum wire, blah blah blah.

I'll put some pictures up once I have something worth showing.  Until then, suffice it to say, it looks bad.

In the immortal words of Boxer (the horse) from Animal Farm 

"I will work harder !" 

of course, he ended up being sold to the glue factory to pay for a case of whiskey for the Pigs.  mmmmm, whiskey.