It is for me.. I buy a Hamo Re460 for A$80. Then add a decoder for A$60 and a new front bogie for $10 - I have a mFx loco for A$150.. Can add a 5-pole motor for another A$40 and get the real smooth runner.. Alternatively, you can get the motor kits and decoders for old deltas and analogues.

If you are talking about sound then the value proposition is not always there - the sound decoders are around A$260 down here.. It gets very close to a good second-hand loco with sound.

Some locos have never appeared in digital (e.g. VT 133) and the only way to run them on the layout is to add a decoder.

Then there is the satisfaction that comes with making something with your own hands - especially when it works correctly..

I rarely replace a decoder in an already digital loco - unless it is faulty.. I might replace the armature with a 5 pole unit... The seem to run very well for me - especially when I take the time to clean the wheels on any second hand locos that I buy..

analog - digital conversions can be priced as Adrian demonstrated but when it comes to sound you may ask more questions about the quality of the sound otherwise you can spend Euro 80.00 and upwards.

I do my digital conversions mainly for sound and aux functions, ball bearings, 5 pole high efficiency motors.

John

You are completely right. I inherited 28 analog locomotives from my uncle. We spent together many hours building his layout and running trains. I have converted them all to digital, although financially it would have made more sense to replace some of them with other, digital versions.

I never consider the trains as an investment anyway.

Best regards,
Gregor

Any particular reason for avoiding the 6080 and delta decoders?

I had only analog and was deeply reluctant to switch to digital. How ever I did and will stay digital, analog seems so old! I still like my older analog rolling stock and the older M track, but the mFx rolling stock and locos are just amazing. I can switch 21 turnouts without a single additional piece of wire, that was enough for me to switch.

I echo the opinions expressed by most on here. I enjoy digital conversions of analogue locos, and also make extensive use of the 60760 decoder kits to transform the performance of Delta and 6080 locos.

I don't give much importance to sound, and only have it on locos that are sound equipped from the factory. I place a lot more importance on good running characteristics in so far as slow speed running and acceleration and braking delay is concerned.

I keep a small collection of analogue locos for the nostalgic appeal, and those will not be converted for now. Everything else is converted to digital.

From the point of functionality and of course running quality only the locos with 5 pole motor (or better) and 6090 decoder or newer are acceptable. Better of course the fx -mfx (609xx decoders)
6080, 6081, DELTA, AC motors, 5***** are for the scrap yard. Are just good for collections and for display models.
Costas

Regarding the running characteristics, I have seen locomotives advertised as keeping a constant speed when they go up and down ramps when they have a certain motor/decoder. The Marklin terminology for this escapes me at the moment. Do you get this as well after you have converted a locomotive with one of those 60760 kits or does that depend on the unit having a specific motor to start with?

This is called load regulation. The 60760 is indeed a load regulated decoder. This decoder comes in a kit which includes a 5 pole motor conversion for DCM motors. You can also use the decoder in conjunction with 60943/60944 5 pole motor kits for SFCM and LFCM motors. It does not work too well with other motors such as 3 pole or can motors, and for these it's best to buy an ESU lokpilot decoder or similar.

Helmut Kern's website is very useful for this. It has most Marklin models up to about 2005. Models from after that date will have good decoders anyway.

http://www.hfkern.gmxhome.de/

Just a quick thought if you buy any loco secondhand, I would just open it up before you plan to do anything, as you will not be the first person to have bought a model that may already have been upgraded in some way and the before different from the original version, I for one have had a few surprises buying secondhand locos.

BR

I have glasses to view my computer monitor and TV, glasses to view my laptop or cell phone. Neither of them allows me to work close up with small objects, making repairs and modifications of my model trains much harder than it was a decade ago. What I have done in a few cases was to obtain a digital model at a reasonable price and then to swap shells with the model that I wanted to convert. In many cases, this simultaneously allowed me to upgrade the model to white LEDs or to a model with sound.

Here are a few examples:

I purchased a Trix 22631 with the intent to convert it to AC digital
When Maerklin released the similar 37446, I was tempted to go for it, but was not pleased with the paint job of the new model.
I managed to find a pair of 37446 at a very good price, as well as a Trix 22631 and 22636 for just over 100 EUR each. I was thus able to swap shells and I now have a SBB Re 482 and a Crossrail 185 in AC with sound and Swiss light changeover. The total cost came out to under 300 EUR per model and I intend to offer the DC (Trix) chassis with 37446 shells for a reasonable price to recover more of my investment.

I managed to find a number of 37342 Re 4/4IIs at a good price and swapped the chassis with other Re 4/4II to have white LEDs and digital instead of yellow LEDs and delta. The Delta chassis and 37342 shells were sold to recover some of the costs. I also swapped the shell of my 37349 with a spare from a red 37344 and I use the digital model for Era IV NPZ trains. I already have enough digital Re 4/4II TEE, so that was beneficial. Currently, the 37349 shell sits on the Delta chassis from my 83434 technology edition, the shell is stored in reserve.

I have also managed to do the same for most of my Re 460s and Ae 6/6s, including replacing the pantographs on many of the Era V models with the grey ones from the 37360.
The same applies to my Re 6/6. I swapped the chassis of my 37320 with one from a 37322 to get full sound and all my models now have the grey pantographs too.

I would love to do the same for my Hag loks at some point in the future.

Regards

Mike C

Thanks Costas,

That puts some numbers on it specifically that steamer would have been good oldfashined made in germany quality for a very good price as it appears to be in totally mint condition.

I havent seen any deals that well priced on ebay. Did the other bidders sleep?


On the newer one, if you deduct a little bit of the new list price and then take the VAT off the difference between the new and the conversion gets squeezed a bit. Still worth considering though.


Thanks,

Mike

I thought I'd add my 2 cents worth now

After buying 2 digital loco's one with and one without sound, I am now going to convert at least half of the 14 I already have to digital

I have four that are my favourite ones

1 103
2 194
3 110
4 111

then there is

5 1120
6 V220

converting about 200 locos to digital says something in itself but it is the end product your seeking, ok for some and a waste of money for others. however there is a change in technology within the Märklin camp, especially electric locos, more of them come out now with a DC motor and powers all axles, therefore smoother running and less noise, suppose the 36... and 37... series which have the 5 pole motor is worth converting, sound in M♪2rklin locos has also improved 100 %, and another vital point is you can now program your Märklin decoder.

I still buy locos on offer at a heavily reduced price and than convert them to my likings. there are always bargains with train sets , keep the loco and rolling stock and sell the rest.

John

some additional thoughts... I find sound decoders overrated. Yes, get one or two for the 'wow' factor but having a room with multiple sound decoders gets tiresome very fast.

They are typically way too loud (and yes volume can sometimes be controlled)
The steamers often have the same inane shoveling sound effect and sometimes it cannot be switched off while leaving other nice sounds on.

You can cut the hassle of finding space for a speaker.
Non-sound decoders are cheaper.

I'm glad others here share my opinion on sound locos.

I only rarely run my locos with the sounds on, and when I do I never run more than one with sound at any one time. I find it a quick way of getting a headache!

Also depends on the actual model.

Older models tend to have less detail (no brakes etc) and shiny metal wheels - I won't run anything without burnished wheels/rods.

In that case there is often negligible difference in price, except buying factory with digital/sound avoids the hassle of doing conversion and programming (which to do right usually means you also need lokprogrammer)

Some models I have regretted buying then going through the conversion process, others I have been quite happy with.

Delta = digital.

As a result, what advantage do you see in upgrading the decoder( unless you add sound)?

Thanks.

I haven't read all the above comments but will just add my two cents worth. Anything "Train wise" purchased in Australia / New Zealand is hellishly expensive. Like John I have done heaps of conversions for myself and others. I got a lot of satisfaction doing the job to as near perfection as possible & felt really good at the final outcome / Achievement. Financially it was just way too expensive & just as soon as you have done the conversion, a newer later & possibly cheaper decoder kit comes on the market. So in a nutshell what I have learned in 20 yrs of doing this my suggestion is buy smart & get the loco you really want with all the bell's & whistles at a bargain price on eBay / model auctions & yes you may have to wait for a while for your item to surface.I cannot speak for Europe or USA but we are doing it a little tough down under & one has to be practical & sense able when doing purchases this side of the globe.