# Decoder for Athearn blue box



## cbarm (Apr 15, 2011)

Hey guys, I have a fleet of Athearn blue box SD40-2's and I am in the pre planning stages of DCC'ing my loco fleet. I have a few that already have the quik plug connection n a couple that are factory DCC. My question is what decoder is best for sound for a blue box SD40-2, and also a sound decoder for an Athearn RTR GP60M & GP60B?? These units will also eventually have the motor function decoders too so I need some insight on whats best for those as well. Any help would be great, but I do want realistic prototype sounds if possible for these units and I dont know alot about this DCC sound stuff yet. Thanks, Chris


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

I have used the Digitrax DH123 for them. I would say to get the wired harness without the plug then mod the metal stickup prongs so it all works well or just get the one that just plugs into different parts of the old BB engine to run. Both will work equally well.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Digitrax makes a kit that allows the DH123 or DH163 decoders to almost drop into the BB engines. While this sounds good it still leaves some of the poor quality pickups of the BB engines in place. Get which ever brand of decoder you want and solder it to the pickup points on the trucks and to the tabs on the motor. Make sure to remove the tangs on the bottom of the motor that pickup current from the chassis or it will mess up the decoder. I did some mods to an Athearn BB SD40-2 that may help you with your project. Check it out at www.model-rails.com then click workshop and the bottom link has the story.

Massey


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## cbarm (Apr 15, 2011)

WOW! Great tutorial Massy! Does the Digitrax decoder do the motor functions and sound? Is it the right sound for an SD40-2 prime mover and also a GP60 prime mover?? What is the big difference between the DH123 n DH163? I found a couple that look like they have the older athearn motor clips already soldered onto the wires for basically a "no solder application" (on ebay). I am also wondering how many wires I am going to need cause some have a 9 pin and some have 8... 
Sorry for all the questions, I am about as green as fresh broccoli when it comes to DCC and sound...


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

No sound in that engine. I just improved the lighting onboard by adding the Kato light board. The Kato light board also provided the DCC quick plug for the decoder. I do not like having alot of engines with sound because it gets too noisy and too much confusion. The key to that build was the wiring I did on the pickups and to the motor.

Massey


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Chris,
I think you might have a few things out of wack.
Athearn Blue box units were never DCC equipped or even DCC ready with a Quick plug? It sounds like you have Athearn Genesis units. Whole differnt ball game!
If you have B B units they will have simple lighting and no electronics or circuit boards. You will need to Isolate the bottom of the motor in order to turn it into a DCC unit! then you could use a SDH164D sound and motor decoder to DCC it!


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

some of the RTR engines are based on the old BB engines but have a little better details. Some have no change to the chassis and some will have a light board on the top with a DCC plug usually. Most of the Genesis engines were completely retooled and share very few if any components with the RTR or BB.

Massey


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

My basic point was that Blue Box engines never had DCC Anything in them!


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## cbarm (Apr 15, 2011)

I know that the blue box loco's never had DCC or sound, but I guess my basic question was what is the easiest way to go about adding DCC and sound to them, and what decoders would work best. Please keep in mind that I am new to the DCC world, so be gentle please... haha


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Chris,
A Digitrax SDH164D sound and motor decoder will work great for it!


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Here is a thread that some one did with a basic conversion. Nothing like what I did but he did hard wire the decoder instead of using the clips that Digitrax makes for the BB engines.

http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7257

Massey


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## cbarm (Apr 15, 2011)

OK great, thanks guys. I actually just found about a guy here that said that he can also adjust the sound on those SDH164 decoders to make it the proper sound for the loco. Do these decoders also do light functions? I want to add ditch lights to my SD40-2's and are these decoders compatible with that? I guess its just a matter of soldering a wire to an LED light and then using fiber optics it will work?? Thanks guys...


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