AdeRail Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Hi, Back again with another question, I have just opened a second hand 37 loco I got from the bay, and I have found a dcc chip in it! detached but there!As the front bogie had fell off there was no way of testing it on dc like I normally do so I didn't even know it was there... Question is though, how can I test to see if the chip is in working order? The loco it came from is in bits being serviced and I have never converted to dcc before, so I am wondering if there is a way of testing the chip before I install it back into the loco so I know it's not my installation. I know you can get testers like ESU but these are expensive.. Just a thought but could I attach the wires that go to the bogie pickups directly to the program track and see if it could be read like a normal loco? Or would this blow something!!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 If you have any DCC ready loco's to hand, take the blanking plug out, and put the decoder in, and see!Most decoders need the 'load' of a motor, before they will behave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeRail Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 The wires are all snipped, it had been in the loco before with excess wires taped out of the way, it doesn't have a plug on the end so I can't do this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Only suited to decoders with the 8 pin plug still attached..Although I do have one of those ESU Decoder testers. I also made one of these. It is an adapter that allows a standard 8 pin DCC Decoder to plug into a standard electronics experimenters breadboard. Once the decoder is plugged into a breadboard via this little adapter. Then it is child's play to make additional connections as required to track, dummy motor load resistor and LEDs for lighting circuits. The spacing of the holes in the small copper strip-board line up perfectly with a standard breadboard../media/tinymce_upload/a677f7adfdd88a2eefb40c853ee6f39a.jpg.EDIT: In the situation where the original DCC Decoder 8 pin plug has been cut off. Then the PCB Header Pins shown above can be soldered directly to the decoder wires and the header pins can then plug straight into a breadboard to make convenient connections to other wiring and components..PS - As long as you are careful not to short wires out. You can make direct connection from the decoder black and red wires to your programming track without damaging anything. In the absence of a real genuine motor load you could possibly use a 150 ohm resistor at 2 watt power rating or higher to simulate the motor. Using a resistor, of course, will not provide any 'back EMF' conditions that the decoder may need to see..I have connected a decoder in the manner described above (WITHOUT the resistor) to the main track output of a controller for LED lighting testing purposes and it worked absolutely fine without a dummy motor load. It is only the act of programming the DCC decoder that usually needs to have a motor load present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I also have an ESU trester, great bit of kit, but in true Blue Peter fashion here's one I made earlier.... DIY Decoder Tester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdeRail Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Fantastic guys thankyou, great information there 😎 For now though I just clamped the decoder track wires to the actual program track and railmaster managed to read the chip, so I assume it must be at least a semi working chip. Thanks for the info it will come in handy later 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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