Model Railway Forum

hi i am thinking of dcc fitting some of my older dc locos and would like some advice on which budget decoders would be the best to use and where to buy them from regards bob clifford

Hi Bob

I have been DCC now since 2017.
Since then I have used Hattons (own brand), Gaugemaster and Lenz decoders and pretty much have had no issues with any.

I tend not to bother so much with decoders because I prefer sound as I upgrade my current loco's or I have purchased loco's as sound fitted.

Hattons & Gaugemaster decoders have always been my choice and I have a tin full of unused decoders that I have replaced with sound..

Don't go spending 40 quid on a Hornby sapphire when a 20 quid Hatton's or Gaugemaster decoder will do!

Hope this helps

dtb

Ditto the Hattons decoders, cheap and cheerful and provide basic functionality.

Check the current draw on the loco to make sure the chip of choice can take the load

Before you do anything, your older locos, Must run perfectly, on DC they will not perform , on DCC, if they are at all weak.

Having learned things the hard way, I would not recommend 'budget' decoders on old models. I have bought a couple of LaisDCC decoders and they are OK, but come with no documentation, you have to look that up on line.

Also they are significantly bigger than say the equivalent Digitrax decoder. I bought one for an L&Y pug and couldn't comfortably fit it in. So I fitted it to an old Hornby Fowler 264T instead and it died instantly! Despite theoretically being able to handle the current.

I would recommend the Zimo range. £20 per decoder and there's one for every socket type. Not only do they have superb motor control and reliability, they also have short circuit and overload protection, unlike some cheap decoders that indicate overload by emitting a puff of blue smoke.

Lenz decoders are also very good, especially the Standard+. Also has short circuit and overload protection.

I think the situation with budget decoders is probably a bit hit and miss. I bought five Hattons budget decoders and they do not work with my Hornby Elite - some Elite users have not had problems. The Hattons site does say that the budget decoder may not work with some Hornby controllers - which I find strange considering that everything is supposed to be compliant under NMRA rules. I have many loco's with the TCS DP2X-UK direct plug-in decoder (no harness) - I have had no problems with these. They are now available from TCS-UK for £20.00. They also have a version of the DP2X-UK which is pre-wired so that Stay-alive can be attached easily. I think everyone has there favourite make of decoder, and what works for one may not work for another.

Lenz standards are a good 8 pin decoder from around £18.50 and have a 10 year warranty. TCS offer a one year goof proof warranty (i.e no matter how stupid you have been they will replace it) Zimo have a two year warranty.

thank you for replys i am using a hornby select till get use to dcc and my locos may have to be hard wired has they have no pre fitted plugs and only the best runners will be getting the decoders fitted regards bob