I have officially joined tyhe world of DCC! Friday night I bought the Atlas commander which will be more than adequate for my smallish sized layout. I actually had engines moving in opposite directions on parrallel tracks! I do have a question though.... most of my engines are Atheran (I'm in HO) and when wiring in the decoders, you have to take out the metal piece that connects both trucks to the motor for electrical pick-up. Is there a way to wire it where you can still have electrical pick up from both trucks?
It's a good idea to hardwore the trucks together for reliability anyway. That metal strip in notorious for being unreliable.
Thanks! I thought wiring one to the other would be advisable... but wanted to check before I did it... I'm a little cautious, not wanting to fry a decoder. cthippo, accroding to what I was told, the metal strip has to be removed. You have to eliminate the ability for power to go from the track directly to the motor. That strip allows that. I was told that was a sure was to blow a decoder.
You will also want to electrically isolate the motor from the frame. Pull the motor and use some electrical tape to line the motor cradle then reinstal the motor. You will have to run a wire to the brush you just isolated and run it to a spot on the frame. HTH ....Mike
Mike, You are correct! I did do that. Another tip that was given to me was to switch the brass strips holding the brush springs in.... The bottom stripp has 2 prongs that are to improve contact with the frame.... I moved it to the top and put the flat one on the bottom as extra insurance.... Initially, I was quite nervous about installing the decoders myself.... but by reading the instructions and taking my time, there wasn't much to it!
There is nothing to be afraid of with Athearns. I have taken several apart and put back together. You need to isolate the motor from the frame. So remove that strip along the bottom and then put some electrical tape along the bottom of the motor, after you have put in a new wire lead to go to the decoder. It sounds difficult and overwhelming but it really isn't. When I convert my Athearn's to DCC I usually go for a Helix Humper Can motor with Proto-Power flywheels. But this can cost almost as much the Athearn does new. But I get good performance. First off, I replace the motor, replace the athearn wheels with Northwest Short Line Wheels, I then solder AWG stranded wire to each of the axle bearings and make a new wiring harness with great electrical pick-up. What I get is a good running unit, but it still has that Athearn growl. I admit it is hard to explain the overhaul process. So maybe a few days, I will post some pictures of one of my Athearn rebuilds on my website. I will let you know when it is up.
