Any Japanese steam locos DCC friendly? Or are there none?

[Hubbit200]

I've been trying to find a Japanese N scale steam engine that is DCC friendly (not requiring soldering) but so far am having no luck. I've looked at Kato's offerings but they seem to be pretty much only DCC friendly for the EMUs and a few diesels. I like the new Kato C11 171 but sadly have found no info on how difficult DCC installation would be.

 

Does anyone know if any Japanese manufacturer does any? Or should I just give up on this?

 

Thanks!

Edited July 30 by Hubbit200

[katoftw]

I dont believe there is one.

[marknewton]

Are you asking about N scale steam loco models?

 

I ask because most 1/80 scale steam loco models are either DCC equipped or at least DCC ready.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

Edited July 30 by marknewton

[SwallowAngel]

Afaik there are no DCC-ready SLs in N. An installation will inevitable require soldering work. DCC isn't really as popular in Japan as it is in the west afterall. In fact I'd argue it's better that the N-gauge SLs aren't DCC ready, it simplifies their construction and makes them easier to handle for DC. No need for a fancy tender-loco connection, just two copper wiresand a plastic bracket.

 

Maybe @Martijn Meerts can share some insights, he has quite the extensive SL fleet equipped with DCC iirc...

 

Giving up I think is a bad idea, anything is possible with a litlle handy-work. Don't let an inconvinience stop you from exploring this corner of the hobby 🙂

 

Edited July 29 by SwallowAngel

[Wolf]

I Remember at least one Kato SL has a replacable board, NGDCC sells it. Think they never made these layout again. But was a C62 or something, no cutie like an C11.

 

Edit:

 

Ok that was an easy find. Its made for Kato 2019-2, link to NGDCC here

 

https://www.snjpn.com/ngdcc/de29/de29x2_c62kj.htm

Edited July 29 by Wolf

[beakaboy]

Kato used to have their own separate DCC dept for installing decoders in Locos and coaches,etc. I have an old C57 steamer from early 2000 era that was converted to decoder by them. It has an early MRC sound decoder, but it runs well and the whistle is great. My friend in NZ used to travel frequently to Japan and I think he picked it up in a bargain bin at a retail store over there. I stripped it down and managed to get it working and paid him a low price to take it off his hands. Not sure how many Japanese locos were converted to DCC at the time and how many were steam. 

[Hubbit200]

7 hours ago, beakaboy said:

Kato used to have their own separate DCC dept for installing decoders in Locos and coaches,etc. I have an old C57 steamer from early 2000 era that was converted to decoder by them. It has an early MRC sound decoder, but it runs well and the whistle is great. My friend in NZ used to travel frequently to Japan and I think he picked it up in a bargain bin at a retail store over there. I stripped it down and managed to get it working and paid him a low price to take it off his hands. Not sure how many Japanese locos were converted to DCC at the time and how many were steam. 

Hmm, I'll keep an eye out for that when I go then. Good idea!

 

13 hours ago, Wolf said:

Ok that was an easy find. Its made for Kato 2019-2, link to NGDCC here

https://www.snjpn.com/ngdcc/de29/de29x2_c62kj.htm

Interesting. If I don't work out anything better then that indeed looks like the best option so far, and although the instructions aren't that detailed it doesn't look too complex!

 

Thank you all for the ideas!

[bill937ca]

Kato offers the Sound Box and sound cards for steam engines which fits the Japanese market better than DCC as most layouts are smaller and often temporary.

https://www.kato-start.com/soundbox

 

There are some SL sound cards.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/search?typ1_c=104&cat=rail&state=&sold=0&sortid=6&searchkey=sound+box

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10915557

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11103136

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10618185

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10605005

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10453181

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10389373

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10315909

 

 

Edited July 30 by bill937ca

[SwallowAngel]

17 hours ago, Wolf said:

I Remember at least one Kato SL has a replacable board, NGDCC sells it. Think they never made these layout again. But was a C62 or something, no cutie like an C11.

Interesting, I didn't know that was a thing...

However it should be noted that the decoder is only for KATO's "2019-X" C62's (as labeled in big, bold letters on the website lol).

While very similar (if not identical) in appearance, KATO made 2 versions of the C62. The "2019-X"s were released first, sporting a "regular" motor, while the newer "2017-X" versions have a different chassis using a coreless motor. I am not sure how the motors on the "2019-X" are, though I would personally recommend sticking to the newer "2017-X"s as KATO's modern SL constructions are mechanically excellent.

 

So unless you plan to acquire a "2019-X" C62 secondhand, that board is (unfortunatly) not really an option...

[Martijn Meerts]

Tramway has some steamers with 6 pin sockets. I have 2 of their C12s (I think) with the sockets, but I've not actually installed a decoder in them, so not sure how well they work.

 

Other then that, it's really a matter of hardwiring decoders. Considering how small the newest decoders are, there is usually enough space in a loco to hide them. The new Kato steamers can be difficult to take apart, but with a bit of patience and care, it's all quite doable.