while back I messed around with DCC decoder and their cables. Then I switched over and used drop in decoders.
Now I am on a turning point again, as I want to convert my entire fleet to DCC with sound. There are some drop in decoders on the market that are plug’n play sound decoders.
But what if you want to fit a wired DCC decoder in your engine ?
Ok, you have the decoder, but need some modification on the DC board, you need a place for the LED and speakers. Well, all floating around somewhere ?! … Big mess in little space !
So I sat on the design board and drew some PCB boards.
One kind of adapter which fit into the original split frame notches for power pickup and where you can solder the wire for motor power and front/rear headlight.
And a second board where you can place a SMD LED and resistor of your choice, simply hook up two cables and you have your LED light board.
The PCB sitting on the split frame of a LifeLike GP18
The test-lab on rails. Wired adapter board and both LED boards. I am using a stripped down Digtrax SDN136PS sound decoder for testing purpose. The wire for the rear LED board needs to be longer to get the board down to the frame.
A close-up of the LED board and wired adapter.
Lights on, please !