# just curious



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I am curious what the capacitor looking thingy is hanging on about 6 inches of wire from a decoder. Does it get hot, why was it not just put on the decoder board, whats the deal with it. Thanks for any info.


----------



## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Ease of installation makes sense to me...keeping the board decoder as slim as possible first then finding some spare room for the capacitor somewhere else is relatively easy in most cases.....


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Brakeman Jake nailed it!:thumbsup::thumbsup:
It's designed that way for ease of installation.


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks. Does it get warm? Wouldn't want to melt the shell somewhere.

I thought maybe it got warm and they didn't want the heat on the decoder.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

If it's a capacitor (I don't do DCC) it won't get warm unless the decoder is on fire.


----------



## Mrs.NIMT (Aug 17, 2012)

mopac - 

No, the capacitor doesn't get warm at all. It's purpose is a voltage buffer (quick rechargeable battery) for when the wheels lose momentary contact with the rails and it keeps the sound functions in sync. The only requirement to mounting the capacitor is: to not allow it to touch anything that will rub a hole in the case. Other than that... you are golden! FYI - you can mount it with double-stick foam tape (that's what we use).


----------

