[Cpt Jack Sparrow]

OK I have serchec and serched and found nothing, but I'm sure it's here somewhere

I have aquired from my brother-in-law what I believe is a fairly old Hornby 'Sir Nigel Gresley' loco, However it is great condition. Probably between 10 and 15 years.

I want to convert it to DCC, had a spare Hornby decoder and set to it.

The Loco as you will know is Tender driven.

I have absolutly no idea how to do this as I cannot work out how it picks up power

I'm guessing there is some serious insulation needed in the main and tender chassis.

Anyone help???

Thanks in advance.

Cpt Jack

 

[upnick]

QUOTE (Cpt Jack Sparrow @ 6 Jul 2008, 16:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>OK I have serchec and serched and found nothing, but I'm sure it's here somewhere

I have aquired from my brother-in-law what I believe is a fairly old Hornby 'Sir Nigel Gresley' loco, However it is great condition. Probably between 10 and 15 years.

I want to convert it to DCC, had a spare Hornby decoder and set to it.

The Loco as you will know is Tender driven.

I have absolutly no idea how to do this as I cannot work out how it picks up power

I'm guessing there is some serious insulation needed in the main and tender chassis.

Anyone help???

Thanks in advance.

Cpt Jack

Hi Cpt Jack

Recently i saw an article that said most locos can be made to run on DCC so no doubt a member on here will be able to lead you in the right direction, if you are not confident in doing it i would send it to a reputable fitter of decoders.
I hope this goes some way to give you optomism in DCC of a great loco.

 

[Cpt Jack Sparrow]

Oh, I have the optimism

I have converted other loco's this one just won't play.

Or should I say I don't the rules of the game...

Yep hopefully some one can help.

Cpt Jack

 

[poliss]

I think the installation is similar to the A3's in these links. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/dcc/A3.htm http://www.hornby.com/digital/guides/tende...on,123,HAR.html

 

[Richard Johnson]

QUOTE (Cpt Jack Sparrow @ 7 Jul 2008, 02:25) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Oh, I have the optimism

I have converted other loco's this one just won't play.

Or should I say I don't the rules of the game...

Yep hopefully some one can help.

Cpt Jack

***The rules are very simple. Red and black to track, orange and gray to motor, absolutley NO direct contact between either motor brush and the rails.

Remove any wires from the motor brushes or brush holders, take off the tender top and loco body and put the two on the track appropriately connected.

place one lead of a meter set to ohms on one rail, then place the other on each brush. There should be no reaction. Do the same with the other rail.

With a tender drive you will have a short between one brush and one rail. To fix this you need to remove the screw holding that brush and replace it with a nylon screw. You can find nylon screws either at a hobby shop that stocks Kadee couplers or at a model aircraft shop or at some screw suppliers. Kadee # 2/56 nylon screws cut to length work well if you can get them.

Once this screw is replaced test each brush vs the rails again with the loco on the track connected to the tender. If its good, then you can wire in the decoder.

red and black. One wire to the pickup wire from the loco and the other to the loco chassis.
orange and gray. One wire to each brush

regards

Richard
DCCconcepts

 

[Cpt Jack Sparrow]

Thanks Richard

That's a great help, I thought there must have been a way.

So the challenge is on for me to get it done now......

Thanks again

Cpt Jack

 

[34C]

QUOTE (Cpt Jack Sparrow @ 6 Jul 2008, 17:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>.. had a spare Hornby decoder ..
Just one small supplement to the advice already given. If this is the 0.5A max current Hornby decoder, then there is a high probability of an early failure when used with a three pole Hornby tender drive. These motors are very variable, some have a stall current around 0.3A, others near 1A. It's well worth measuring the stall current before installation on a regular DC set up, and if it is anywhere near 0.5A, don't even consider installing the Hornby decoder.

 

[Cpt Jack Sparrow]

Thanks 34C, good advice, if this is the case which decoder would you advise?

Cpt Jack

 

[34C]

Practically any other brand: Lenz, Zimo and ESU work very well in my experience, Richard uses TCS with evident satisfaction, Digitrax are well rated by those who use their product.

 

[Brian Considine]

Another decoder worth looking at is the Bachmann 3-function - it's actually an ESU rebadged & retails for around £11.

 

[Cpt Jack Sparrow]

Thanks to all who gave support and advice. Sir Nigel Gresley tonight ran around my layout under full DCC control

Thanks again

Cpt Jack

 

[upnick]

Hi Cpt Jack,

Glad you got Sir Nigel Gresley under dcc control.