New farish smaller steam engines.

[Geoff]

I have noticed through the Hattons site that the new pannier tank engines or small steam engines do not come DCC ready ie no socket, my question is how easy is it to convert these models to DCC?

[Dock Shunter]

Hi Geoff....i have seen dcc conversion done on the Dapol Terrier one of the smaller locos,so dcc
conversions on most locos are not impossible if you have the skill and the Knowhow.Alternatively you could leave it to the professionals... which will cost you according to the decoder used(an expensive decoder might be the only option due to size) and how long the work takes.
eg..i had my 04 converted using a lenz silver mini.....32.00 decoder 15.00 fitting cost.
Bare in mind that any dcc conversion will invalidate the warranty of the loco.

[Dr Al]

I have noticed through the Hattons site that the new pannier tank engines or small steam engines do not come DCC ready ie no socket, my question is how easy is it to convert these models to DCC?

Relatively easy in terms of the electrical gear (you need to isolate the brush holders from the rest of the chassis, and wire them to the decoder). Various suppliers can supply plastic brush holders for this task.

For the small tank locos the challenge can be finding physical space for the decoder - often the only option is under the cab roof or for J94 in the smokebox area. Sometimes this does need substantial removal of internal material though  !

HTH,
Alan

[EtchedPixels]

I have noticed through the Hattons site that the new pannier tank engines or small steam engines do not come DCC ready ie no socket, my question is how easy is it to convert these models to DCC?

The 94xx and 57xx panniers are the old Poole style chassis so a Digihat and small decoder will fit, although it's tight and needs care hiding wires in the cab area. More of a problem if you've been backdating a pannier and opened up the cab but even then the smallest ones will fit in the coal.

[poliss]

I can sort of understand why some very old Poole locos aren't DCC ready, but I find it astonishing that some Daopol locos aren't, especially the Terrier which, according to the Dapol website was released in 2009. DCC is 20 this year and Dapol didn't get in to N gauge until 2003 so they can't give the excuse about it being too expensive to redesign the locos.

[jonclox]

  Many seem to complain about having to spend extra to DCC ready loco but I complain when I see that a loco costs more now because its been DCCd in manufacture when I intend to only ever run DC and use my 'talents' to keep everything running smoothly

[poliss]

The cost of having a DCC socket fitted during manufacture would be around 10p.
You have to go to the very high end Intermountain models in US N scale before you pay over £90.00 for a DCC ready model. You can buy US DCC fitted locos for under £70.00.

[EtchedPixels]

I can sort of understand why some very old Poole locos aren't DCC ready, but I find it astonishing that some Daopol locos aren't, especially the Terrier which, according to the Dapol website was released in 2009. DCC is 20 this year and Dapol didn't get in to N gauge until 2003 so they can't give the excuse about it being too expensive to redesign the locos.

There is no room in a terrier for a DCC socket and then chip as well. There is hardly room for the tinier chips without a socket.

[poliss]

 My Minitrix Glaskasten is 1.5inch long and is fitted with a dual mode Selectrix/DCC decoder.

[Karhedron]

There is no room in a terrier for a DCC socket and then chip as well. There is hardly room for the tinier chips without a socket.

EP is spot on, the size of the socket is significant in small locos. The issue was the same with the Ixion Manor. The smallest loco I have seen DCC-ready seems to be the Farish 3MT. This is both newer and larger than the Terrier so it is not entirely suprising.

In spite of some people complaining about the prices, DCC fitted locos are better in this regard in that permenantly fitting the decoder at the time of manufacture removes the need to include the socket. The decoder can simply be wired in and tucked wherever it will fit. However as manufacturers have noted, the british N gauge market is very price sensitive. It is only recently that locos exceeding £100 RRP have become acceptable.

With the Peco 2251 proving a bit of a slow seller, I do not think we will be seeing more DDC-fitted locos in the near future.

[EtchedPixels]

The Peco 2251 has plenty of other reasons for slow selling as well !
- price
- huge tender
- shiny wheels

The DCC bit is a little more complex - it's not just that prefitting a decoder adds to the cost (although as the patents expire this is falling rapidly) it's that a DCC fitted loco in DC mode only runs on smooth DC and without relcos and high frequemcy coach lighting systems - so they are not compatible with a lot of N gauge DC setups.

Peco probably misjudged it - they actually seem to have socketed the loco so could have shipped it (and could still ship it) DC as far as I can tell.

[Newportnobby]

Sorry guys, but I'm with Jonclox. It took me long enough to get used to DC wiring through electrofrogs (so my 0-6-0's didn't stall), and locos seemed back then to be a reasonable price. Have locos costing over £100 become acceptable? I don't think so and probably never will. I maxed out recently on the Dapol Britannia at £94, but still think I am being stung for DCC ready stuff when I don't want it. Yeah Yeah - I know it's a matter of choice and it's true I would like some of the features of DCC, but thank heavens for the Hattons etc of this world. If Peco want to keep the price of their 0-6-0 so high then let them sit on the stock - I for one will not bite. Grrr.

[EtchedPixels]

Have locos costing over £100 become acceptable?

Inflation is at about 5%, a year ago a pound got you 11.5 Chinese yuan today it gets you 10.5, Chinese wages are up dramatically and rising sharply further. Fuel costs are sharply up, shipping is sharply up.

When Dapol first did £20 coaches everyone said no way, now its a standard RRP. £100 locos is going to be routine pretty soon even on DC - except for smaller simpler locos perhaps.

[EtchedPixels]

£20 coaches? Where? I haven't paid more than £15 for the new Farish Mk1s yet and a few Gresleys set me back the princely sum of £14.50 each for the ones I was after. £10 per Dapol Mk3 too. Only fools pay RRP (unless you're buying from Union Mills, veritable bargains those are!)

Re-read my original posting...

                      "When Dapol first did £20 coaches everyone said no way, now its a standard RRP"

[longbridge]

Maybe things are not so expensive here in Oz, I just bought 13 brand new Farish Mk1s for $10 or about 7 quid each but it doesn't happen very often.