TGV - is this dcc chipped?

[GCS]

Hi guys,

 

I run DC and I’ve acquired a second hand TGV and on closer inspection the motor car chassis was loose, I’ve taken off the body and it looks like a dcc chip has been hardwired.

 

Can anyone confirm this with the photo?

 

Thanks,

 

Guy

[GCS]

I’ve also checked the dummy car, and it looks fine to me so I’m very confused lol 😑

 

Guy

[Martijn Meerts]

The colours of the wires are definitely standard DCC colours at least. No idea what decoder that is, can't remember seeing any with such a big chip on it.

 

It might be possible to get a replacement board for it to turn it back into DC. Or repair the board if you're comfortable with that. It's definitely been altered since some of the copper traces are cut.

 

[GCS]

2 minutes ago, Martijn Meerts said:

The colours of the wires are definitely standard DCC colours at least. No idea what decoder that is, can't remember seeing any with such a big chip on it.

 

It might be possible to get a replacement board for it to turn it back into DC. Or repair the board if you're comfortable with that. It's definitely been altered since some of the copper traces are cut.

 

Hi Martijn

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I got a really good deal on a very good condition Kato TGV POS, they neglected to tell me it was DCC chipped...

 

Any idea where I can get replacement boards from?

 

Guy

[Martijn Meerts]

Any place that sells Kato might be able to get them. Getting a new board isn't a guarantee it'll run though, I don't know if they've made changes to the motor's power tabs that normally go up to the long copper power pick up strips. I do see some wires going down the where the motor is, so it is fairly likely they cut the tabs when installing the decoder.

 

Do you know anyone local-ish that does installs? You could check with them to see if they can revert it back to DC. Also, a lot of decoders also have a DC option, so it might run on DC as is.

 

[GCS]

30 minutes ago, Martijn Meerts said:

Any place that sells Kato might be able to get them. Getting a new board isn't a guarantee it'll run though, I don't know if they've made changes to the motor's power tabs that normally go up to the long copper power pick up strips. I do see some wires going down the where the motor is, so it is fairly likely they cut the tabs when installing the decoder.

 

Do you know anyone local-ish that does installs? You could check with them to see if they can revert it back to DC. Also, a lot of decoders also have a DC option, so it might run on DC as is.

 

Good advice, looking at it though they’ve soldered into the core of the motor and it’s a really poor solder job. Might be hard to salvage.

 

just out curiosity, would you recommend just buying a new motor car, fitting the TGV body to the new one...might be a simpler fix as I’m very inexperienced with soldering / electrical work etc. 
 

Guy

[Martijn Meerts]

It should be salvageable with a bit of work really.

 

You could try finding a new motor car, or possibly a replacement board and motor. I don't know anything about the Kato TGVs to know how easy it is to get replacement parts, or if a board and motor replacement would be enough.

 

[GCS]

53 minutes ago, Martijn Meerts said:

It should be salvageable with a bit of work really.

 

You could try finding a new motor car, or possibly a replacement board and motor. I don't know anything about the Kato TGVs to know how easy it is to get replacement parts, or if a board and motor replacement would be enough.

 

Ok thanks, I’ll look online and see what I can find. If anyone else has any input that would be really appreciated 🙂

 

Guy

[chadbag]

Can you get some close ups of the install -- especially what looks like the decoder?  Would be useful to know the decoder so we can see any potential DC compatibility

 

[GCS]

So the good news is I’m now REALLY confident about taking everything apart and putting it back together in the motor car lol.

 

Can’t see any branding, or giveaway as to what the chip is. Also, I couldn’t get a shot but when the previous owner soldered they got some in the copper core...so it doesn’t turn fully and they’ve cut the copper pick up strips so short only 3 at any one time touch the wheels pickups. 
 

Im pretty certain I’ll need a new motor. Does anyone know if the new Kato Lyria / upcoming Kato Thalys PBKA motor would fit the body shell of a Kato TGV POS? They looks very similar to me..

 

Guy

[roadstar_na6]

It won’t run on DC power?

[GCS]

9 minutes ago, roadstar_na6 said:

It won’t run on DC power?

Nope. It’s dead as a dodo 😞