# What is this black thing??



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Okay I got this Athearn C44-9W on a track last night, finally, to give it a run. I got it used. We tried it on DC first and it ran like a champ, but slow like a DCC loco. It has what appears to be custom ditch lights that work great, flashing correctly. So based on how it ran, we decided to put it on a DCC program track and see if we could locate it. Got a "hum" telling us it was not DCC equipped. So we popped the shell and found this big black thing in the wiring. 

Any idea what it is? There was no printed numbers visible on it. It appears to be heat shrinked wrapped and nicely installed.














































I'm posting from smartphone. If pics don't show up, you can find them here:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/album.php?albumid=299


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## sbeck80 (May 14, 2012)

I Am Fasha said:


> Okay I got this Athearn C44-9W on a track last night, finally, to give it a run. I got it used. We tried it on DC first and it ran like a champ, but slow like a DCC loco. It has what appears to be custom ditch lights that work great, flashing correctly. So based on how it ran, we decided to put it on a DCC program track and see if we could locate it. Got a "hum" telling us it was not DCC equipped. So we popped the shell and found this big black thing in the wiring.
> 
> Any idea what it is? There was no printed numbers visible on it. It appears to be heat shrinked wrapped and nicely installed.


I see no pictures attached.....


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

I just added a link to them


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## sbeck80 (May 14, 2012)

I Am Fasha said:


> I just added a link to them


Odd - the black thing appears to be a decoder (Bachmann one maybe)....but the wires coming out of it don't look right....


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for both replies SB! Do you think it would be okay to open the shrink wrap or what I think is shrink wrap with an hobby knife to look inside? I'm at work now but could do it this evening and post pics.


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## sbeck80 (May 14, 2012)

I Am Fasha said:


> Thanks for both replies SB! Do you think it would be okay to open the shrink wrap or what I think is shrink wrap with an hobby knife to look inside? I'm at work now but could do it this evening and post pics.


I don't see what it would hurt if you took a look inside. Just be careful not to nick anything.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

I'll give it a try this evening and post what I find


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

Don't do it, you will cut your finger.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Personal Experience?


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

It's a custom done decoder installation. Someone took a decoder board, most likely a stock one and removed all of the wires. Then soldered on the current wires to make it easier to work on. Finally they put shrink wrap over everything to keep it safe and to not short. You will have a hard time finding out which brand or the reset code just by guessing.

Not every decoder uses the same reset code for CV 8 i'm afraid so go to this website (http://tonystrains.com/technews/dec_rescue.htm) and start going through the list until one of them resets the engine back to address 3 and then you know what decoder you have as well as how to proceed with future programming.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Looks like a small block of C4.


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

big ed said:


> Looks like a small block of C4.


 
I hope not! It was in my house last night.

I have never seen anything like it. JMRI did not recognize it on the programing track. The lower side of the Athearn motor is still grounded to the frame.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

Could it just be a board with a circuit for the directional lighting. Or resistors to lower the current? If it is using LEDs or has constant lighting that could be what it is. I have seen home made stuff to make constant and directional lighting for DC locomotives with shrink wrapped boards that look like decoders.


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## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

Looks like a throttle for some command control system.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

OKay, I play surgeon and opened it up, found a number: GS 9445 and then CD4093 "B" I think:


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## Hutch (Dec 19, 2012)

That is just a logic chip, NAND gate no DCC. Some kind of logic scheme for lighting.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Just a guess, never seen that before, but
Fasha said it was DC and had custom ditch lights that flash
correctly. The black twisted leads seem to
go in that direction. It's their controller. 

Don


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## Mayhem (Mar 25, 2013)

I agree with Don...Lighting control.


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

It runns the ditch ligths, and front head light in forward, then turns them off, and turn the rear lamp on in reverse. 

The odd part is that the upper power to the motor is running through it.


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## Pfunmo (Feb 21, 2013)

Need to look at the wiring. Does the motor go through it or do the wires all go to lights. It may have a wire going to a point to pick up power but not to run the motor. Looks like a lighting system from here. I can't imagine anybody wanting to take a decoder and remove the color codes wires to use it. 
The solder work indicates a certain level of experience but certainly is not what might come out of a factory level wave-solder machine. Likely a home built item from a pretty high level hobby guy. Likely somebody who has passed on. Not many folks left who do that sort of work!


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## Hutch (Dec 19, 2012)

DonR said:


> Just a guess, never seen that before, but
> Fasha said it was DC and had custom ditch lights that flash
> correctly. The black twisted leads seem to
> go in that direction. It's their controller.
> ...



That's what I said. I use these types of ICs regularly in my job. Even though it easier to program an Arduino for most things, it still makes sense to build this way if it's a simple circuit like the one in the picture.


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