Tracking Your DCC Tips for Quick Reference Of DCC Installations
Engine Fleet I usually build or rebuild locomoti ves in batches of ten or more units. This approach helps me match paint, mill, and the paint frames in groups, as well as install decoders in a standard- ized manner. A good labeling system will help identi fy what decoder is in each piece of moti ve power, which helps with future upgrades, loco- moti ve maintenance, or replacing a damaged or failed decoder.
CRAFTSMAN/Stephen M. Priest, MMR, photographs by the author
“Okay, Priest, what are you doing now?” quipped my friend and fellow modeler Stephen Hottle as he walked into the shop and saw me sticking labels to a freshly up- graded Atlas GP39–2. It took me a while to explain the logic of having each locomotive carry the identity of its internal decoder where it is visible. I pointed to a freshly out- shopped Atlas B23–7, “How will I know what decoder to purchase if the one in that unit fails?” A failed decoder most like-
ly will not even identify itself in JMRI, forcing me to pull the shell to make a positive identification. Because there are multiple decod- er manufacturers, I wanted to be able to identify the manufacturer quickly in case there was an issue with the electronics or, more like- ly, my JMRI programming of the decoder. Because of my concerns about having too many dissimilar decoders attempting to work to-
46 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
gether in my fleet, I have already narrowed my sound decoder pur- chases to LokSound and Tsu- nami, and my non-sound decod- ers to SoundTraxx. It is entirely possible I will decide on only one sound decoder in the near future due to programming dissimilari- ties between the two.
I showed Steve how I made two
identical labels: one for the loco- motive and one for its box. This helps me identify what locomo- tives have DCC installed, as well as the decoder itself. This data helps me budget for additional de- coders as the operable portions of my railroad increase and I press
TRACKING YOUR DCC
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