Kato HO EF81 1-320 dcc Install

[Jack]

Can this locomotive be converted to DCC, with a board change. If so, who makes the board, and what is the model number

[Kamome]

The loco cannot be converted with a simple board change although I found some replacement boards that make it a bit easier, in the blog case, Desktop Station 10031.

 

The construction of this loco is much the same as the Kato HO EF510.

 

Each lead bogie has an independent n scale sized motor rather than the more traditional model design.  There is no gearing inside the chassis at all and the board gives only lighting function options by twisting a primitive function switch.

 

There is plenty of space inside the chassis for a decoder and even spaces have been milled out for speakers, be it a little old fashioned by todays standards. So essentially a hard-wire

 

Lots of pictures here if you want to Google translate it.

 

https://desktopstation.net/blog/2021/05/19/kato-ho-ef81のdccサウンド化手順（アップデート版）/

Edited August 6 by Kamome