A diesel (or electric) locomotive's headcode was a four-digit code displayed on the front of the loco in the 1960s...
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How many pins should a decoder have to fit my DCC ready locomotive?
If you are planning to install a decoder into a DCC ready locomotive, it will need to be the correct one. There are many different factors to consider when ascertaining which decoder is the absolute best one for your model, including, the number of amps drawn by your loco at maximum capacity, and how many functions it is expected to handle. But the most fundamental criteria a decoder must fulfil is a matching interface.
What that means is, your locomotive's socket must match the decoder you are going to be plugging into it, i.e., if your locomotive is fitted with an 8-pin socket, an 8-pin decoder is required, if your locomotive has a 21-pin socket, a 21-pin decoder is required, and so on. But what if you don't know which socket your locomotive has?
Annoyingly, not all manufacturers supply this information with their models when new. Bachmann are probably the best for being forthcoming, so it's always worth taking a quick look at the manual if you have one of those, but otherwise, you will likely have to contact your supplier, check online or take a peek inside your loco.
If you decide on the latter, pretty much all manufacturers redeem themselves with good information in their boxes regarding the location of decoder sockets, so taking a peek should be a fairly easy process. After all, you will need to access your decoder's socket anyway when it comes to fitting.
Once you have located the decoder socket, it is simply a case of counting the pins or holes on either the blanking plate or the socket (counting pins is more accurate as sometimes the sockets have an extra hole incorporated). The most common number of pins for decoders/sockets to feature are 8 and 21, but 4, 6, 18, 22 and 26 pinned versions are also out there, so be careful not to miscount.
It is also worth mentioning that you can get conversion cables supplied with some decoders to enable the marriage of decoders and sockets that do not have a corresponding interface. But if you are new to DCC, it is advisable to seek advice from your supplier before choosing this as an option.
Posted in: Power and control
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