Kato SD70M DCC Problem


J

JHansen

Member
I just got in a NCE Power Cab starter set. It works perfectly with my Walthers (Proto) 2-8-8-2 steamer that came equipped with DCC and sound. My Kato EMD SD70M is another story. It has a DCC circuit board but the NCE system doesn't recognize it. I hear the data transmission noise and then get a message indicating the decoder isn't responding. The loco runs fine on straight DC. Any thoughts? Has anyone come across this? Oh, and everything is N Scale.

Thanks,
John
 
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John, are you sure the engine actually has a decoder? The SD70M's were sold with a DCC ready board and plug but they didn't come with a decoder. If you read back CV 8, it should come back with a number that tells you what company's decoder is installed, if any. There's a list of all the manufacturer's codes at http://www.nmra.org/standards/DCC/mfgnumbers.html.
 
I'm starting to think that I'm too old for this...stuff. ;-) There is a board in the loco. I didn't see a plug. When I ordered the NCE system from Klein's (modeltrainstuff.com) I also ordered a DCC w/sound decoder. The one they sent me doesn't come close to fitting and says it is for a SD70MAC or ACE. Doesn't fit in the loco I have. I'll be giving them a call tomorrow. So I guess the truth is that I have one loco that will work with my new DCC system? The Walther's 2-8-8-2 steamer with all the bells and whistles runs great. Please pardon the pun. I have four other locos that won't work for one reason or another. Ebay is going to love me. LOL!

John
 
John, if you can't see an 8 or 9 pin plug, it may just be covered with a jumper. Look at the board again and see if there's a piece of black plastic sitting somewhere near the end of the board. That's what you pull out to add the decoder. In N scale, it's really hard to jam a decoder and speaker in the shell and it sometimes take removing weights or milling them out. Did you try doing the CV 8 readback test? That will at least tell you if ther's already a decoder in there.
 
The Kato N-scale SD70M does NOT have a plug. To install a decoder you have to replace the circuit board(or modify the circuit board and hardwire a decoder).

As far as the sound decoder not fitting, there are a few possibilities:

(1)If the decoder you got is the MRC 1644, this decoder is actually listed as being for the SD70MAC AND AC4400, so it may not fit the SD70M due to shell differences between the SD70M and SD70MAC.

(2)I have heard that for some of the "drop-in" sound decoders, you have to trim some tabs off of the inside of the shell to get them to fit.

(3)Kato has updated the design of the SD70M chassis. If the circuit board looks like this:
928047.jpg

Then it is the old style. If it looks like this:
928043.jpg

then it is the new style.

If it is the new style, then according to N Scale Supply, the MRC 1806 should fit.
 
Guys, thanks for all the help. The loco has the old style circuit board. I spent some time with a rep from M.B. Klein this morning and they are letting me send the decoder back for a refund. I think I'll pass this loco and the Great Northern 4-8-4 along to someone who isn't doing DCC. Both are great locos but I went DCC mostly for the sound and it seems that technology is slow in catching up with N Scale.

Thanks again,
John
 
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