Athearn F59 to DCC


B

btrr98

New Member
Hi, my father models in HO scale and several years ago I bought him a Athearn (I believe, anyway) F59PHI with a three car Bombardier set painted in the Sound Transit "Sounder" livery. It fits with his prototype and era and seemed to be a decent model.

Now he is converting to DCC, and would like to put a decoder in this locomotive. When we remove the shell, we seem to be confronted with an "old school" motor...no DCC adapter harness or the like.

For Christmas, I would like to get him the materials he would need to get this locomotive converted to DCC...a harness or adapter, and a decoder? He's running a MRC controller if that matters.

It's been many years since I have had my own layout, so I get to participate vicariously through my dad, and I appreciate any help you might provide!
 
Thank you for the reply! I don't think soldering is much of a deterrent, if we were to go that route, is there a solution you would recommend?
 
Any DCC decoder with wires works then. Quick connect decoders would not. A Digitrax DH123D or DH163D are good, along with Lenz, NCE, TCS, ect.

When hard wiring, I recommend removing the motor to isolate it, and remove the large bracket for the DC power strip, then solder the power lead to the side of the truck instead.
 
if you can solder, the the skys the limit, even DCC w/ sound. Soundtraxx has awsome sound decoders, you cant go wrong with Digitrax decoders. Some guys are even happy with the MRC decoders with sound, espicaly the new Brilliance model. You will have to remove the Athearn motor from the frame to put a piece of black electrical tape or Kapton tape under it to isolate it from the frame, then its all soldering work and setting up the lights, mounting the circuit board. I usualy consult with Tony's Train Exchange on DCC questions, they are very good and even offer installs if you need help. Mike
 
Obviously I'm completely ignorant on this subject. If I could convince my dad that there really is a lot of good information online, I'd try to get him to hang out here. But for the time being he's a paper-magazine, read a catalog, get-on-the-phone guy.

Again, many thanks. I'll try to do a bit of inquiry to see what he wants to do, and grab him what he needs.

Happy holidays, folks!
 
The clips on the Digitrax no-solders are the same as the existing clips on the Athearn locos with that motor configuration (no circuit board). From a soldering standpoint, you can pop those clips off the motor and solder the wires to them.

I bought a no-solder setup initially, and once I figured out the secret, it's easy to convert. The toughest part is where to attach the ground. I generally ground to the frame, but that's a problem if you MU locos, which will cause a short unless you use insulated couplers.

Kennedy
 
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