What does “DCC Ready” mean when applied to a loco?
A. This is an interesting question. The term is misunderstood by many including, apparently, manufacturers. Essentially all the term means is that a 6, 8 or 21-pin NMRA socket has been installed into the loco. This should enable a decoder to be installed by just plugging it in to the socket. Whether the decoder will actually fit into the loco is another question! UK steam locos seem to be the worst offenders where manufacturers install a socket but leave little room for the decoder. Also check under the socket to ensure that none of the solder pinnacles come into contact with the metal body and also that there has not been any solder “bleed” between one pin and another. Both of these are faults we have discovered whilst installing decoders into DCC Ready locos.
