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I have a garden scale (Fn3, 1:20.3) Bachmann Shay that fits
into this category. Even though Bachmann put switches in the
top of all three cylinders to activate a chuff sequence, they
didn’t pay SoundTraxx to put the feature in the “DCC sound
on-board” decoder. There is no way to add this feature to the
decoder. I’m stuck with a loco that has to rely on auto-chuff,
even though it has the hardware for a synchronized chuff. This
is in a loco with a list price about $1000.
In the world of non-sound decoders, the manufacturers
frequently don’t spring for the top-of-the-line decoder, either.
In summary, if the manufacturer says that the loco has “DCC
Installed”, expect that the loco will operate on DCC powered
track, but don’t expect a top-of-the-line decoder.
DCC-Ready
About eight years ago, I had a customer purchase a Bachmann
N-scale loco that was advertised as "DCC-Ready." He brought
it to me to install a decoder. I looked inside and didn’t find
what I really expected, like a socket. So, I called Bachmann and
asked what decoder to use. They gave me a part number for an
HO-scale decoder. I pointed out to them that the part number
2
2: Light board from Athearn Ready-to-Run loco.
DCC Impulses Column - 3
index contents
MRH-Apr 2013