[QUESTION] HO SCALE LifeLike GP30s DCC?

[Noel]

Hey everyone.

I have a question for all you DCC control buffs out there. I recently purchased two Lifelike GP30s from a friend, but I don't know if they were DCC. I popped the shell of this one, and I found this.



There's what I'm assuming the chip that controls the loco, but what is that small chiop on top? Is that for the lights? Or is it a DCC chip? Because there's 8 wires feeding into it.

I have never been to keen on DCC, because I have always ran straight DC trains.
Thanks,
Noel.

[JohnS]

Everything I could look at on the Google looks to me that is the standard DC board. You would unplug that 8-Pin plug and plug-in a decoder. Best way to find out is setup a little test track with a standard DC power pack and try it out. If it moves it's DC if not it could be DCC or have other issues. Does your friend operate DCC or DC? Start there if you can.

[Noel]

My buddy ran DCC, and he said this engine ran on his DCC layout. But, it CAN run on a DC test track.

[Bcbuhler]

That top piece is a plug that allows the engine to run on DC it can be replaced with a DCC decoder for DCC.

[Noel]

Ah ok. Thanks for that.

[Chacal]

They have chips on HO engines now?

[TVRRMAN]

thought I'd jump in here, having some experience with model railroading and DC / DCC.

As John said, that plug you're seeing on top the PC Board is an eight-pin dummy plug that jumpers the unit to DC operations. To go DCC, you'd simply need a standard DCC Motor Decoder. Just pull that eight-pin plug and plug in your DCC Decoder and you'd be good to go. That looks to be one of the easier conversions. The Proto 1000 RDC's require slashing several traces on the PC Board and to hardwire the decoder. probably more information that you were looking for, but I hope this helps you a bit...

@ Chacal: They've had boards in the majority of Ho Locomotives since the early 90's.

[Chacal]

I've missed a few episodes.
I put all my HO rolling stock in boxes around 1985, and they were all stolen around 2000.
One engine was my father's Athearn Burlington F7 with rubber-band drive, I don't think it had a PC board...