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 Posted - March 23 2021 : 12:57:50 AM
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Long story short, I'd like to bump the "DCC Ready" Bachmann American types
to DCC. I assumed that "DCC Ready" meant the same as "Plug and Play," but
I see nothing on the diagrams to indicate there is any ready attachment socket
for any decoder. The Bachmann web site is equally unhelpful.
Anyone have any experience with Bachmann EZ decoders? Are they reliable?
Do they have Stay Alive?
 
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Posted - November 15 2021 : 6:14:37 PM
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I realize it's been awhile since you posted this. I've been away from the forum for a while.
My experience with Bachmann decoders is limited to the DCC OnBoard diesels and a couple of Sound Value units.
As usual, Bachmann took a good idea and bunted. The DCC OnBoard decoders are cheap and do not support some of the most basic CVs like the ones that control mid and max voltage to the motor. This makes speed matching two Bachmann units next to impossible. Also, they are not silent running, and make the normally quiet running Bachmann engines sound like coffee grinders. There are far better options out there.
I have successfully converted numerous Bachmann steam locomotives (mostly the 0-6-0s) with a z scale decoder, the Digitrax DZ126. These are a hard wired install, and I had to remove the smoke unit to provide a place for the decoder, but the converted locomotives run silent and well. Since the locomotive is listed as DCC ready it means the motor is isolated from the chassis, so the hardest part of the conversion is already done for you. All that's left is hooking up the motor leads, the track power leads, and wiring the headlight. All in all it should be pretty simple if you have any experience with hard wired decoders. Best of all, the decoder I used retails for about $20, far less than the Bachmann decoders.
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Posted - November 16 2021 : 01:13:40 AM
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Thanks, Jward, I will be taking your advice, as I have not
taken the plunge on the decoders just yet; waiting for it
to get too cold to work in the garage.
And welcome back! Please be aware that the server here has
a nasty habit of winking out every other week or so, so if
it goes down, try again in a few days. Usually, by Sunday
it is operational again.
My next question for you, is does this Digitrax decoder, of which
you speak, compatible with the Bachmann Command Control
system? In theory, it should be....but as with all thing Bachmann
it is never wise to guess.
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Posted - November 17 2021 : 1:06:00 PM
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| The Digitrax decoders should be compatible with the EZ Command. They conform to NMRA standards and I've run them on NCE, Digitrax and MRC systems without problems. But EZ Command is DCC lite. It's limited capabilities don't meet my needs so I took a hard pass on the system, and none of my friends have one so I've never actually operated one.
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Posted - November 18 2021 : 12:44:04 AM
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Thanks for the tip, Jward. I'm not too brilliant when it
comes to these gizmos, so "lite" is about my top
voltage. This fool shall now rush in!
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