In addition to Jason Miller’s excellent article in this month’s Running Extra, I’d like to add another avenue of shared expertise.  This weekend SoundTraxx announced their 8 function 21-pin DCC decoder and just recently ESU announced their new non-sound DCC Decoders.  I follow the YouTube and have watched decoder installations fairly critically.

I make and sell Decoder Buddys.  I have installed as many Decoder Buddys as time has allowed in my own locomotives and a couple for a few in friends. I’ve also helped a lot of people get going and solved problems for a lot of customers.  

What I’d like to do in this post is recommend a YouTube presenter who does very fine video installations and works with some of the issues that pop up on the way to a finished running locomotive.  He and I are very close in our approaches and techniques of installation.  

If you have trouble thinking about soldering these are the videos to watch.  His channel is filling up with a number of different installations and you might even find the exact locomotive you want to upgrade.

I’d like to present Larry Linger.  His channel on YouTube is Solo Contracting.  Here are a few videos to get you started.

I hope these can help you move toward upgrading to DCC on your own.  There are basic wire connections that need to be made both correctly and neatly for the decoder to work properly.  The combination of Jason’s and Larry’s procedures should help you on your way to a good and successful installation.

Nick

MRH: Please embed YouTube videos instead of just posting links. We have corrected this post for you.