# DCC to Arnold N Steamer...has someone done it?



## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I have what I think may be a quite challenging project...I'd like to buy an smoke generator equipped Arnold N scale steamer and have it converted to DCC but have no real knowledge about this brand of engine,so I have a few questions....here goes...
1)First,are these locos any good?I mean worth the effort of converting them.
2)Do their design allow DCC?Is the motor isolated?Some designs are next to impossible to convert in N scale.
3)The smoke generator is another issue...if connected directly to track,would it work on straight DCC or does it need regular DC?Then if I want to control it with the decoder,I don't think the decoder's accessory outlets are strong enough to do so,so where could I find a very small relay?

Desires (or dreams) know no limits but technology does so I'm wondering if it can be done.Such an engine would be nice amongst my collection indeed.

I certainly would love it with sound too but then I'd have another big problem.These locos are based on european (I believe german) prototypes and don't have large tenders and where could I find a decoder with the right sounds anyway?Dreaming...I know...but having one on regular DCC would be interesting.I wonder if someone has ever done it.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

UMMM... NIMT Raises his hand.
I think they run very well, but I don't normaly run N i just install The chips.
Sound can be done on most models, all though very tight.
The sound for steam is generally generic on the TSU-750 and is tweekable to copy the sound of almost all. The one problem is heat, they do get fairly warm.
In order to do the smoke right you need to drive the smoke unit off of a motor drive on a decoder not the function outputs, gives you variable amount of smoke. 
This can be done buy installing two small decoders, like the 851001 or the 851002.
Have a good set of googles and dive in!


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I haven't bought the loco yet.For now I'm tinkering with the idea of having one on DCC with smoke and then may be add sound.Using a motor decoder for the smoke generator is something I hadn't thought about...great idea as it is simple if space allows it.

Then having a second decoder is I think feasible too but that would probably be the extent of what I could fit in the tender.These european prototypes didn't have huge tenders like many american locos.I could fit a larger tender I guess but that would ruin the scale looks of the outfit.I also would like it to have scale sound...I don't think the TSU750 has such sounds in its sound files.But then I may be wrong.I think european locos didn't sound the same at all.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

If you want to do it I can send you up a pair of altered decoders to help you get the job done.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I'll keep the project on ice right now.It will all depend on how high the bids will go on the available units.I will pay a reasonable price but won't go crazy about it.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Sean...with "altered decoders"...do you mean Tsunami with German loco sounds?That would be great...
From what I heard so far,I'm under the impression that most european locos didn't sound even closely like the american ones,with much higher note wistles,etc.But then I may be wrong......


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Well,I did it.I bought one at a fair price and assuming the mail guys don't "lose" it,I should have in two to three weeks.I do have doubts that installing sound to it is feasible as the seller says it's very heavy and is a mammoth puller so my guess the whole loco is metal frame and since the tender is pretty small,it may be hard enough to have it DCC in the first place.
Anyway,I'll have to run the usual tests to see if it's a nice runner,current draw,etc. before I decide if I attempt it.Seller says it has about fifteen minutes run time and that the smoke generator works fine...to be confirmed.....


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Sounds great.
No alter like take 2 6 pin decoders and make them ganged and wireable to run the motor and the smoke unit for you.
Yes European and German steam sounds a little different but Tsunami's have some of those whistles and chimes programmed into them too. And the faster chuff rate can either be done with the cam or proper programming.
With the equilizer that's built into the Tsunami you can also tweak the sound to get it just the way you would like it to sound.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Welll...the loco came in last Thursday...an amazing three weeks shipping.To the point now...it seems pretty obvious that fitting a sound decoder in this one is out as it has one of the smallest tenders I've ever seen for a 2-8-2.Just fitting a regular decoder will probably be a challenge so a second one to drive the smoke generator will likely be impossible too.Right now I'm still studying how to open the tender.It won't pry off and there's no screw showing either...does someone know how to open an Arnold N scale tender?

Outside this the loco is probably one of the best designs I've seen...all metal...metal gears,etc,very sturdy and heavy too.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Of the one's I've done it was a matter of just the right force in just the right places. The last one I did had a cople of spots of glue on it. If it has a ladder on it take the ladder off. Is it a sloped back tender?


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