Converting IHS Locomotives from DC to DCC

Sorry, I mean IHC, International Hobby Corp., not IHS.

JP

If the engines have the cookie cutter flanges, unless they are very special to you, I would not recommend adding decoders to them. That said a basic decoder cost about $19. Sound decoders cost more depending on the quality of the sound.

The instructions that come with most wired decoders is quite good and the IHCs are fairly easy to convert.

snipped-for-privacy@habitant.org wrote in news:88736503-ef27-42d2-bbdf- snipped-for-privacy@e35g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:

It depends on your electronics ability. If you've got good electronics ability, you'll probably be able to convert them with following the instructions and a little help. If you're not comfortable rewiring a locomotive, then I'd suggest having someone convert them for you.

If you decide to do it yourself, make the first purchase a new TCS decoder. They have a goof-proof warranty that no one else (of the few companies I've looked at) has. If you screw it up, they'll replace it.

Puckdropper

The older IHC locos can be done, but it does take some time, soldering skills, and a lot of patience. The hardest part is dealing with the headlight wires running down/through the boiler weight.

I highly recommend the TCS M1 decoder for x-6/8-x locos. I've never done a conversion on an IHC 4-4-0, so can say what will fit.

Len

THe basic idea of doing a conversion for any loco is to isolate the motor brushes electrically from the body of the loco and putting the decoder to those brushes. The power on the track is 12VAC and goes thrgough the decoder which converts it into the voltage needed for the speed desired. All else falls from that. Needless to say, the track voltage can't get to the motor or you won't have any control.

-- Bob May

rmay at nethere.com http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net

One thing that helps with IHC locos is that the plastic frames don't convey curretnt.

Jeff