Everything on model trains, model railroads, model railways, locomotives, model train layouts, scenery, wiring, DCC and more. Enjoy the world's best hobby... model railroading!
How to tell if a loco is DC or DCC
Gene asks readers for advice:
“I have 9 HO scale locos (steam & diesel), that I have purchased over time. How can I tell if a loco I bought (don’t have the boxes anymore) is DC, DCC-Ready, or DCC inclusive? I can’t find markings on the locos themselves.”
Add your comment.
5 Responses to How to tell if a loco is DC or DCC
Leave a Reply
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
Download Your Free Catalog
Use Tiny Railroad Micro Controllers
Model Train Help Ebook
About the only way to tell is to take the bodies off and see what lays beneath.
if you put a locomotive on a dcc system and it makes a buzzing sound it’s a DC locomotive.
if it does nothing crazy then its a DCC locomotive, if you didn’t use it’s road number as it’s address you might need to put it on your test track and reprogram it .
Take a look under the body. If you see only the wiring for the motor and lights then it’s DC.
If there is a small circuit board usually mounted on the chassis with a section of pins ( anything between 8 and 21 ) then it’s DCC ready.
If you find a small decoder chip mounted on the circuit board then it’s DCC fitted.
Best to check out what you have got before running the loco on analogue power as there is a risk of shorting out on ,say a set of points. This can sometimes damage the chip if fitted.
Good luck.
DC loco on DC track: speed and direction (roughly) proportional to DC track voltage.
DC loco on DCC track: no movement, might hum, take it off immediately ! (DCC power is 12-18V AC)
DCC loco on DC track: most DCC locos have an automatic DC capability: but it will start only moving at a higher voltage, about 9 – 10 volts.
DCC loco on DCC track: loco will respond to commands from the controller.
What about rail pro by ring engineering
Is anyone using it?