What To Expect From Unitrack After Using Other Brands Of N Scale Track?

What To Expect From Unitrack After Using Other Brands Of N Scale Track?

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Many modelers experience all kinds of track and electrical problems when building layouts using other major brands of N scale track. Many as a last resort switch to Unitrack and experience spectacular results running trains on a layout.

What are the reasons for this, one might ask?

Unitrack happens to be a well designed piece of equipment. The code 80 rail is mounted on a gray plastic roadbed which can easily be weathered and ballasted. The track comes in sections for all straight, curved, turnouts and odd sizes of track..

Unitrack uses a Uni-Joiner that locks one track section to another and this mechanism performs adequately for many years unlike regular rail joiners used by other major brands of track. These rail joiners tend to loosen and often require soldering to stay in place.

Unitrack turnouts, although limited in number perform flawlessly. The double crossover is a work of art and is one of the only double crossovers in N scale. Many users of other brands of track often use the Unitrack double crossover on their layouts.

Unitrack stays remarkably clean when compared to other brands of track. This is due to Kato composition of the nickel silver rails. Rarely do these rails accumulate the gunk and debris found on the brands of track after running trains for days at a time.
The curved sections of track come in radii that include 19" and 28 1/2" radii. A combination of these two radii produce a radii of 23-24" which is more than acceptable for sweeping curves on larger layouts.

The cost of Unitrack is comparable to other brands of track when the added purchase of cork road bed is needed.

Train operation on Unitrack is outstanding. No matter what size the layout,trains can run for hours at a time with no track or electrical issues. Users of Unitrack enjoy train operations without the added aggravations and frustrations experienced by users of other conventional brands of track.

Non users of Unitrack, buy Unitrack for test layouts. Trains run flawlessly on these "test ovals" and then return to problematic operation when the same trains are run on other major brands of track.

Unitrack can be set up easily and many different layout configurations can be "tested" in a short period of time.

Users of DCC find that their locomotives perform much better on Unitrack than on conventional track.

Unitrack can be used for any layout size. It;s no longer limited to "test ovals", and small layouts. I can attest to this fact as the "new" JJJ&E is a large layout by conventional standards. The "original JJJ&E , a layout on multiple levels (10x15') ran for over nine years without track or electrical issues. The layout on average was run daily for at least an hour in that time span.

The list goes on and on...

What are your thoughts about this subject? and how has Unitrack enhanced your enjoyment of running a layout?

Wiring Atlas Drop_In Decoders In Diesels

Atlas Diesel Locomotives that Utilize a Drop-In Decoder (From North Raleigh Model Railroad Club)

Atlas diesel locomotives that feature a drop-in decoder installation have a potential issue with the motor brush leads making good contact with the motor pads on the bottom of the decoder; the motor brush leads can move. This may result in no or intermittent operation. Repeated attempts to align the motor brush leads may or may not be successful.

Recent decoders for Atlas locomotives have slots into which the motor tabs can be inserted. Inserting the tabs in the slots, installing the decoder in the frame and then fastening the two halves of the frames together successfully can be very difficult, and frustrating.

The best solution is to solder wires between the decoder motor pads and the motor brush leads. Use a very small gauge stranded wire for this purpose (such as the wire used in Digitrax wired decoders). About ¾" long is enough. Strip 1/16" insulation from the ends of each wire. Cut the motor brush leads back about ¼" so they cannot interfere with the solder connection to the decoder motor pads. Solder one wire to the left motor brush lead, then to the left decoder motor pad. Repeat for the right side. Be sure there are no solder bridges between the two decoder motor pads.

You must be sure that neither the installed wires nor the copper brush leads can touch the metal frame or you will destroy the decoder. Use small pieces of Kapton tape to prevent shorts.

Some recent Atlas locomotives have small metal clips mounted on the four corners of the light board where they contact the frame. Removing the light board may cause the clips to come off the light board (fly off never to be found again; order replacements from Atlas). These clips are very difficult to attach to the decoder so they will stay in place. The solution is to spot solder then in place using a little solder as possible, and then install the decoder. Even after doing this the above issues with the motor tabs may be encountered.

Installing DCC Decoders in N Scale Locomotives - North Raleigh Model Railroad Club

Installing DCC Decoders in N Scale Locomotives 

(North Raleigh Model Railroad Club)

Introduction

Prior to 1997, N-Scale locomotives were not designed for Command Control. There was no space within the shells of diesel locomotives to install the DCC decoder, nor was it easy to make the electrical connections required. With steam locomotives, the DCC decoder could usually be placed in the tender, but the electrical connections required were still generally difficult to make.
In 1997 both Atlas and Kato introduced production-run diesel locomotives designed for easy conversion to DCC, and locomotives introduced since have been DCC-ready. Several decoder manufacturers have designed decoders to fit in these locomotives. Athearn, Atlas, Bachmann, Broadway Limited, PCM, Walthers and others now offer many or all of their locomotives with decoders already installed. Almost all manufacturers are making their locomotives "DCC ready" or "DCC Equipped."
How do we define "DCC Ready"? Visit our DCC Friendly Definitions page. The comprehensive Decoder Installation Standards proposed on that page, developed by Ron Beardon and published in the November/December 2006 issue of N-Scale Magazine, are used throughout this and the other pages relating to DCC decoder installs.
Modifying or adapting Non-DCC Ready locomotives for Digital Command Control can be done, either on our own (for steam and diesel locomotives) or with products manufactured by two companies (for diesel locomotives). See below for details.

Plug & Play Decoders

Just as Plug & Play doesn't always work as advertised on computers, sometimes some extra effort is required to make Plug & Play (PnP) decoder installations work just as they should in N-scale locomotives. The following are some general problems encountered and suggested solutions.

General

There is usually more than one decoder from more than one manufacturer that will fit or work in your particular locomotive; check each out then select the one with the desired features, best price, best reputation, etc. For some locomotives, even though the decoder is essentially "drop-in" you may have to do some soldering, such as the wires to the headlight.

Kato E5, E8/9 A/B, F3/7 A/B, F40PH, P42, PA/PB-1

To remove the original light board and install the decoder, you must remove the plastic clip holding the motor brush leads against the light board and bend the leads up. After the decoder is installed you are directed to bend the leads back down against the decoder contact pads and secure them with the plastic clip.
The problem is that in bending the motor brush leads up so you can remove the original light board and insert the decoder, you cannot bend them back to the exact same tension. Thus when the retainer clip is inserted the motor brush leads may or may not be making a good contact with the decoder motor pads. Even if they are when first installed, simply replacing the shell on the frame or the vibration of running the locomotive may cause the contact to go bad.
The solution is to spot solder the motor brush lead to the decoder motor pad, using a very small amount of solder. (You may sometime in the future need to disassemble the locomotive for maintenance.) Be sure the soldering iron is 15 watts maximum and has a small round tip. Be sure to use resin core solder only.

All Atlas Diesel Locomotives that Utilize a Drop-In Decoder

Atlas diesel locomotives that feature a drop-in decoder installation have a potential issue with the motor brush leads making good contact with the motor pads on the bottom of the decoder; the motor brush leads can move. This may result in no or intermittent operation. Repeated attempts to align the motor brush leads may or may not be successful.
Recent decoders for Atlas locomotives have slots into which the motor tabs can be inserted. Inserting the tabs in the slots, installing the decoder in the frame and then fastening the two halves of the frames together successfully can be very difficult, and frustrating.
The best solution is to solder wires between the decoder motor pads and the motor brush leads. Use a very small gauge stranded wire for this purpose (such as the wire used in Digitrax wired decoders). About ¾" long is enough. Strip 1/16" insulation from the ends of each wire. Cut the motor brush leads back about ¼" so they cannot interfere with the solder connection to the decoder motor pads. Solder one wire to the left motor brush lead, then to the left decoder motor pad. Repeat for the right side. Be sure there are no solder bridges between the two decoder motor pads.

You must be sure that neither the installed wires nor the copper brush leads can touch the metal frame or you will destroy the decoder. Use small pieces of Kapton tape to prevent shorts.

Some recent Atlas locomotives have small metal clips mounted on the four corners of the light board where they contact the frame. Removing the light board may cause the clips to come off the light board (fly off never to be found again; order replacements from Atlas). These clips are very difficult to attach to the decoder so they will stay in place. The solution is to spot solder then in place using a little solder as possible, and then install the decoder. Even after doing this the above issues with the motor tabs may be encountered.

Thickness of Plug & Play Decoder Circuit Boards

The circuit board of the Plug & Play decoder that you select for your locomotive may not be exactly the same thickness as the light board it is replacing. This may result in poor electrical contact with the frame, particularly if the decoder board is slightly thinner than the light board.
If the decoder board is slightly thicker than the light board use some extra but gentle force to place the decoder in the correct position in the locomotive frame. Don't use too much force as the circuit board is easily damaged.
If the decoder board is slightly thinner than the light board and does not fit snugly then you will need to build a very small solder dome on the power contact points at the four corners of the decoder. Do this very carefully, as you want to end up with a snug fit, but remember that the decoder must slip into the slots in the frame. Use a soldering iron with a small round tip and 15 watts maximum. Heat the decoder power pad with the soldering iron while applying solder until a very thin dome forms, then remove the soldering iron and allow to cool. Very carefully insert (do not overly force) the decoder in the Atlas frame and re-assemble the locomotive. If a great deal of force is required then the solder dome is too high; remove some solder with the soldering iron and try again.

Wired Decoders

Older locomotives generally must use a wired decoder to convert the locomotive to DCC. This may require the purchase of a retroframe or milling of the OEM frame, or you may modify the frame yourself. Information about retroframes and modifying frames, as well as the tools you will need to perform your conversion are listed below.
Even if your locomotive is DCC-ready you can generally install a wired decoder, probably without modifying the frame. Several of the descriptions below give directions on installing wired decoders in such locomotives.

Retroframes

Locomotive frames must be precisely manufactured to give the correct orientation and tolerances for drive train components, and alignment of the motor and electrical pickups, etc. to produce a smooth-running and quiet locomotive. Aztec and Southern Digital follow different approaches in the way they produce their retroframes.
Aztec uses OEM frames from the locomotive manufacturer or the customer and mills them on precise computer-controlled milling machines to create wiring channels and space for the decoder. These frames do not void the manufacturer's warranty, and most manufacturers will accept locomotives with Aztec frames for repair.
Southern Digital creates a copy of the die cast original frame modified with the wiring channels and space for the decoder. These are then copy cast in rubber molds in lower temperature, but more dense, alloys than the original.
Each approach achieves its purpose of converting an analog locomotive into a digital locomotive. The following table indicates some of the differences between the approaches and the companies:

Comparison of retro-frame manufacturers

Aztec TrackMaster Frame	Southern Digital Digi-Frame
Milled OEM frame	New cast frame
Less weight than original frame	More weight than OEM frame
No filing of frame or adjustments required	Hardened frame but brittle, touch up filing only required
Individual, detailed instructions per frame	Individual, detailed instructions per frame
Decoder wire lengths specified	Decoder wire lengths specified
Shell mounting "nubs" retained	Shell mounting "nubs" retained
Strong, straight frame	Strong, straight frame

Both companies offer a wide range of DCC-ready frames. Aztec also offers frames milled for speakers for drop-in sound decoders. Check the Aztec and Southern Digital web sites for specific information, availability and pricing.