Digitrax Decoder for Kato SD40 (Non-DCC Ready)?

[Kisatchie]

I really don't want to have the frame milled. I saw where TCS decoders (the CN and CN-GP) don't require milling. I'll look into that.


Hmm... if Kiz disassembled
the loco to send the frame
to Aztec, he'd never get it
back together...

[djconway]

My first two DCC conversions were using Aztec frames.  The taught me well as I have used what learned in over 150 other conversions.

Now get my donkey down to the basement to get photos.....

[djconway]

A couple of photos of the "old" and new decoder installs in a Kato SD40. 

OLD DN983 decoder
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NEW DZ123 decoder
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The big difference between the two is that smaller decoders came out and I was able to fit it under the light.  NOTE the DZ126T is even smaller.

-edited to get the right pic with the right words.

[jagged ben]

I really don't want to have the frame milled. I saw where TCS decoders (the CN and CN-GP) don't require milling. I'll look into that.

The CN-GP requires a little bit of "milling", to make room for some of the board components.  You can probably do it with a hand file in a half-hour.  I recall it taking about 10 mins with a dremel, with half of that time being repeatedly checking the fit. 

[peteski]

Kiz, I really would not like to mill or file the chassis halves still screwed together with plastic spacers and with the mechanical bits still inside. The metal shavings will get into all the greased components and stick to them (like to worms). So my recommendation would still be to totally disassemble the mechanism before removing metal from the chassis.