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New member 10 posts Mike46 New member 10 posts
Mike46

After being in the hobby for many years I got side tracked, but always wanted to get into it again.  What a shock!   

DCC what is that, I run on DC.  Well it took a little time, but I made the change.  I ordered a Digitrax Zephyr and for my old Athearn SW7 a DH123AT, and an DH163AT for my Athearn Trainmaster.  I read that the footage from the power determined the wire to be used.  I have 16 AWG and will be no more than 25 feet from the power.  Will that be OK?  After reading some of the forum topics, I would like to know if my old Model Power FA's are worth putting decoders in or would it be better to make dummies?  I have added a proto 2000 PA and an RS 27 to the fleet.  What decoders work to upgrade them.   

Thanks for any help.

Mike46

PS Told Litchfield Station you sent me

Mike
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Space Mouse New member 15 posts
Space Mouse

The wire should be okay.  If

The wire should be okay.  If the model power ran excellent on DC then you can upgrade. Most likely they will be shelf queens. AS for the decoders, ask Litchfield when you go to order. They treat you square.

Chip
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joef MRH Founder 18,681 posts
joef

Mike - welcome!

Mike:

Good to see you on board the MRH site - and thanks for telling one of our sponsors we sent you!

16 gauge wire for 25 feet should be fine - there may be a little voltage drop but probably not enough to worry about. The heavier wire matters more if you have a long run of say 50 feet and you expect to be running lots of locos at the other end of the layout.

My favorite decoders are the NCE D13SRJ as a basic decoder ($15) where you don't need fancy lighting features. If you do need something fancier, it's hard to beat the TCS T1 ($18) which includes not only fancy lighting features but Back EMF for super smooth slow speed operation.

As to the Model Power FAs, depending on how well they run on DC, they may not be all that impressive on DCC - they'll also need a hard-wire decoder job, which could be a bit of work.

Joe Fugate​
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

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jarhead Prolific poster 1,734 posts
jarhead

Mike Welcome

 Mike welcome back to the hobby. It is great to have you on board. Do you a layout ? Or are you going to build a new one? Let us know.

 

 

Nick Biangel 

USMC
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Mike46 New member 10 posts
Mike46

Moving forward

Thanks guys for the info.   My layout is old, as it was used for the holidays for many years and for the rest of the year got little use.  I have a few spots that are troublesome at times so I may rebuild part of it. Sounds like my Model power engines may become dummies. 

Just got done with the 2008 convention videos.  Looks like I am going to have to make time to get to one.  The sim II video was good,  it brought back a lot of memories.  One reason I got sidetracked was I was playing with the real stuff.  On  the control stand above and to the right of the radio, was a black box.  Could it be a select-a-power box?  If it is, will it work.

Thanks again for your help

 

Mike46

Mike
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ChrisNH Super User 1,267 posts
ChrisNH

Welcome back!

Sounds like you are doing the right research if you are asking the questions you are asking!

Welcome back!

Chris

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.”           My modest progress Blog
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