DCC in kato Shinkansen 800

[dottney]

Ok, between these forums & working with the hobby shop that's got all the Japanese stuff coming in I've been hooked. I'm pretty sure I'll buy a Kato Shinkansen 800 set and I'll put a digitax dz125 into it. I've done quite a few decoder installations including a couple of Tomix powered chassis . But this does bring up a couple of questions.

1-how the heck do you take the shell off the chassis off the powered coach and the head end units?

2-what are these EM13 & FL12 boards you guys talk about? Are they light boards or actual decoders?

 

Thanks from a JR novice.

Dave

Edited June 28, 2013 by dottney

[Martijn Meerts]

Shells are pretty much all clipped on, so just get a fingernail in their and widen the shell a little, and it should come right off.

 

EM13 is a motor decoder, FL12 is a cab car decoder, FR11 is an interior light decoder. EM13 and FL12 only work in trains that are designed for them though.

[dottney]

Thanks Martijn. So I assume to run lights in the 800 end cars you put FL12s in and consist them with an EM13 or a digitax/NCE/tics decoder.

Dave

[Darklighter]

Unfortunately, this model isn't designed for the FL12 and EM13 (in other words: it's not DCC-friendly). You could use these decoders nonetheless, but they are relatively large and other decoders would probably be a better choice.

[dottney]

I just put one of the end cars on the track with the DCC system turned on. Both the red and white lights lit up. To tell the truth this didn't bother me all that much as the reds are pretty small. I know purists will shutter but I'll probably just leave these alone for right now and just put a dz125 into the power coach. Down the line I'll figure out what I need to light the correct lights at each end and maybe go a bit wild and light the coaches also. Oh I can see a slippery slope here with these passenger trains!!!!!

Thanks for the info guys.

Dave

[Bernard]

dottney - I have put decoders in both my Tomix & Kato 800 Shinkansen....the Kato version is much easier to install a motor decoder!

If you don't what to have both the white and red lights on the head and tail cars on and don't want to put in a decoder in the cars....you can always disconnect the red lights in the head car and disconnect the white lights in the tail car. If at a later date you decide to put in decoders just re-connect the lights. (Disconnecting would involve de-soldering the leads.)

[KenS]

So I assume to run lights in the 800 end cars you put FL12s in and consist them with an EM13 or a digitax/NCE/tics decoder. Dave

 

If you end up later wth a train that has both FL12s and an EM13, you don't need to consist them, just given them each the same address when you program them.

[dottney]

Ah good idea Ken, I hadn't thought of that.

Dave