Hi,

Looking for a decoder for an application should be simple on the internet: Enter the model by manufacturer, model number with the keywords decoder and installation.


Instead, there are umpteen links to sellers of the model but nothing about required decoder either on the internet or the manufacturer’s website. 


The model is Bachmann 32-166 Southern N class 1406 Black 4mm and I note that the image of the box end shows a 6-pin DCC symbol but is it a direct decoder or does it need a harness?


Neither can I find any clue to the location of the decoder, presumably in the loco but again no guidance on installation.


Better calm down, as this is getting frustrating, can anyone fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle? 


Thanks guys……your help would be very much appreciated  


Tim

Tim, ask Bachmann direct
customer.services@bachmann-europe.co.uk

Hi Tim,

In the locomotive. If it is showing a 6 pin symbol on the box that's what you need. Earlier models needed hard wiring. 


Nigel

Hi and thanks

As YouChoos is the go-to, I asked John Gymer (top bloke)


It seems that the MX616N with a Tantalum will result in a smooth runner that doesn’t stall. 


For some unaccountable reason Bachmann no longer list the N class spares and servicing diagram neither is there any guidance on decoder choice. 


The issue seems availability although Bachmann still cater for older models, maybe the upgrade in 2011 to install a DCC interface is an issue, I really don’t know. BUT the N class is one of their most popular releases and a perennial favourite.


Tim

I have the same problem Tim - very few seem to put their heads on the block and specify a particular decoder.  Yes, we always get the "This make is superb" but as to exactly which one - and more importantly, how to fit it !!  Youchoos and, to a lesser extent, Digitrains seem to excell there but most just want to sell you a loco or any decoder.

I sometimes think Google can't read keystrokes.  We type something in and all we get is sales talk, totally ignoring the request.  I recently Googled "how to fit a sound decoder to a Class J27".  I could have bought dozens of locos and seen a similar number of clips of the loco performing but just one post on how to fit the darned thing - and that involved quite a lot of butchery  !!

I usually go the other way - pop the hood, see what space is available, make some if necessary, fit decoder of choice.

Luckily N sized 6 pin decoders usually have enough power to run an HO/OO model. Not always, especially with sound decoders. Best to check the decoder specifications and the motor draw current, especially with old models.


Nigel

[user=606]Sol[/user] wrote:

Tim, ask Bachmann direct
customer.services@bachmann-europe.co.uk

Today the loco and decoder pitched up, on looking through the documentation there was an invitation yo join the bachmann club but no instructions and there was an exploded diagram which did not show the decoder interface.


Found the bachmann technical help desk except their online messaging system had fallen over, so good old telephone. This is where it gets interesting.


After explaining the problem and model part number, I was told that Bachmann had not bothered to publish a revised instruction sheet therefore no instruction sheet at all, neither had they updated the exploded diagram as the 32-166 N class was considered as obsolete. The only assistance were the words 'it's somewhere in the loco and it is isn't easy' which did not really help.


 All online installation tutorials do not refer to the upgraded N class therefore it is simply a case of strip the loco and cross fingers. Luckily a DCC guru lives an hour away and it is worth paying his fee and he has promised to do the job on Tuesday which I have a cuppa.



It isn't too bad an outcome, I was lucky to find a late-model N-class in wartime black livery and Bachmann stuff is that bit better. Thankfully it is almost the last loco for the layout, just the Wills/Hornby T9 to be complete and that will be a belter.



Tim

Not having any of the more recent N class models with DCC interface, I stayed quiet on this one. The N was the first of the models to come out NOT having the split chassis pickup arrangements, in spite of the repeated errors in Hatton's descriptions on their second-hand items (I have alerted them repeatedly, to no avail). All three of mine have had to be hard-wired, and yes, the room inside is very tight. My solution was always to use a small decoder and mount it where the PCB was, having desoldered everything to get in there. As it comes, the motor is mounted vertically withing the firebox, with the PCB hard against it. 

I would be interested to know where the DCC socket is on these newer issues. My guess would be up beside the motor, but I would like to know as I may have a chance of getting one relatively cheaply in the near future.

The original PCB located on the motor support has been replaced with a 6-pin interface, the amount of room is still marginal.

I will post some photos of the installation next week. 


Tim

Looking forward to the photos Tim - fitting decoders into tight spaces gats to most of us eventually .................

Hi Tim,

Put it in the tender. Saves a lot of fiddling around. Is there enough room in the boiler? Yes you would have 4 wires between the locomotive and the tender, but the real thing had 4 pipes (water in/out, steam heat, vacuum).


Nigel

Hi, 

I bought the Bachmann N in an effort to reduce the amount of faffing that seems to accompany each and every other item of rolling stock on BR. Every loco is kit built with the exception of the OOWorks examples that needed extensive reworking in order just to run, therefore an RTR loco that was correct for the location and period was an essential pre-requisite. 


The ability to plug n’play was a strong incentive, so no, I will not be deviating from the script. 


BR