Installing DCC in HO Scale Locomotives

Digital Command Control offers myriad advantages over using simple direct current to control your trains, however the trade-off is that you need a decoder in each locomotive.

HO DCC Installs 1 starts with a few simple drop-in type installations, but quickly progresses to jobs that require some soldering. Some of the installations even feature sound! Follow along as TSG Multimedia's Dan Cortopassi performs each installation in front of the camera.

Many HO locomotives are similar under the hood, so even if you don't have the same locomotives or decoders we used, the principles will still apply. Likewise, if you aren't interested in sound, just skip past the part where we put in a speaker.

After being a "DC holdout" for many years, I converted to DCC in 2004 and have never looked back. Like a lot of modelers, I've accumulated quite a few models over the years. Many of these have been languishing in storage, so I thought, why not finish some of them, install decoders, and document the process on video while I was at it?

We've put more effort into these two DCC Install videos than any of the other projects we've done so far, but I think the results are worth it. I don't claim to have a monopoly on "the right way to do things", but I hope at the very least people will get some ideas from my work.

- Dan Cortopassi

Be sure to check out the photo gallery, as each photo includes a mini-article on the locomotives featured on the DVD!

View Trailer

Get a taste of what's in HO DCC Installs Volume 1 in this Sample Clip.

HO DCC Installs Volume 1 Photo Gallery

Take a look at our HO DCC Installs 1 Photos for additional information on each of the locomotives featured on the DVD!

The DVD of HO DCC Installs Volume 1 includes a bonus still photo library with 99 images accessible from the DVD menu!

HO DCC Installs Volume 1 DVD $29.95