Sapphire Decoder Q's

[Chrissaf]

The easiest way is to just test run the loco with the body of. If it runs the right way round  then fine. If not just unplug the chip turn it around and test again.

I don't have a sapphire chip but many chips have a little dot/star on one side of the plug which corresponds with one on the socket.  But I would still test run without the body to make sure all is well.  It's not unheard of the wiring to have been done the wrong way round. 

The purple wire is there for a extra function such as flickering fire box. If you're happy with the functions you have you can just cover the end. Or some people just cut it of.

[Paul60]

Thanks Fazy,

So I can do that without frying anything. I have read the booklet that came with the Sapphire & the maintenance sheet that came with the loco

but there is no mention of connection or a wiring schematic.

If I wanted to use the purple wire, where do I solder it to ? 

[Paul60]

 Anyway, thanks again.

One DCC Ready Loco now DCC Fitted!

I used a small piece of 3M DS tape to fix it to a spot near the front.

Fits a treat.

[Wobblinwheel]

If you plug it in backwards, it will run backwards, and the lights won't work. (that was a joke..."lights". get it?) On a serious note, isn't the number one pin the ORANGE wire? On the socket and the plug? The only wires used on most of these British locos is orange, red, black and grey, located on the four corners of the plug/socket. All the rest are lighting. If the colors on the four corners match up, then you've got it. You Brits apparently like darkness.....and silence.....and you drive on the wrong side of the road... 🤑

[96RAF]

@Paul

I have my Sapphire decoders in a piece of heat shrink sleeve but I only shrink the ends to grip the decoder a bit and leaving room for some ventilation. So far the decoder hasn't cooked the heat shrink down any further. I secure the heat shrink sleeve with a double sided pad to a suitable anchor point.

 

A very versatile and reliable decoder.

 

The Sapphire has some good features including being able to map F0, F1 and F2 as to how they work.

 

There are many CVs you can change to make the lights perform special effects, like dimming, strobe, flash, etc given there are lights fitted to your model, so well worth having a good read of the manual. I find the paper copy useless at the font size so download a copy to my desktop reader..

 

As stated the purple wire is the switch wire for F2 and would be connected to an led say for firebox glow just as you would connect the white, yellow and / or green wires to other switched functionable leds/services with the blue as the common return for all these functions.

[poliss]

The orange wire goes to pin 1.

For my DCC conversions I prefer to use Kapton (Polyimide) tape. It's heat resistand and the adhesive doesn't go all gooey as the adhesive on other tapes can over time.

Decoders can get very warm and need ventilation or they could overheat. Thick tape on top of the decoder may not be a good idea.

 

We don't need so many lights, (ditch lights etc.) Wobbly, because all our tracks are fenced in to keep the great unwashed from straying onto the track. 😆

[Paul60]

 Thanks Poliss,

I thought about that. I might just open her up and take that extra tape off.

[poliss]

There's a colour coded guide for what each wire does here. http://mrdccu.com/curriculum/ready.htm

 

You'll see that the 9th (purple wire) was really designed for JST 9-pin plugs and sockets.

[Paul60]

There's a colour coded guide for what each wire does here. http://mrdccu.com/curriculum/ready.htm

 

You'll see that the 9th (purple wire) was really designed for JST 9-pin plugs and sockets.

 

Thanks Poliss

That is excellent. Much appreciated.

[Andy Train]

Hi

what colour is  the wire for number one pin for the Sappire decoder when using it as a 21 pin decoder 

is it a mauve colour 

thanks Andy

[Chrissaf]

...is it a mauve colour.

.

No

.

Pin 1 on a 21 pin decoder is a pin reserved for connecting to a 'hall detector'. A 'hall detector' is magnet based detector used in this case to measure wheel revolutions. Not every 21 pin decoder will implement the '[hall Detector' feature. The 'mauve' wire (purple / violet) on most decoders is a switchable function wire.

.

This web site shows all the different pin assignments for the more common pin decoders.

https://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC_Page_1.html#Bookmark11

.

The Sapphire 21 pin to 8 pin adaptor pasted below states that the mauve (purple / violet) wire is AUX 2 on Pin 14 of the decoder and not Pin 1. Pin 14 is confirmed as AUX 2 on the page linked to above.

.

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.

[Chrissaf]

Hi,

I just took my new Sapphire decoder out of it's package to fit to my DCC Ready Mallard Loco.

The purple wire is not connected to the  8 pin connector, (where it plugs into the loco).

I guess that's correct as there are 8 various coloured wires that run from the main board to the 8 pin connector. The purple wire makes a total of 9 wires.

Do I just shield the end of the bare purple wire and tuck it out of the way ?

Also, As I look at the loco from the top down, which way does the decoder 8 pin plug connect ?

The way I have it plugged in at the moment is with the positive + ORANGE-RED-YELLOW-BLUE wires at the bogie/front end as looking from down from the top. Then WHITE-GREEN-BLACK-GREY etc to the rear.

Is that correct ?

TIA :)