Hello all!

After many years I am coming back to model railroading- specifically Marklin. It is very nice to be here. I have a fairly sizeable collection of 1st generation Marklin digital trains (I used the 6021 control unit and all my loco's have F1-F4 functions) which had to be boxed up for years after I moved and which I never got the opportunity to use again- until now.
I have designed a new layout and I would be interested in knowing if the decoders of my trains could be upgraded to mfx ones. I have been amazed by the # of new functions the new decoders offer not to mention that I would no longer have to use the internal dip switches for locomotive addresses etc. And I guess having mfx decoder would also facilitate use of the new central station.

I would like to know if the upgrade to mfx is possible and if it would be very involved/costly. I would have this done professionally.

Many tanks in advance for your thoughts.

There will be always discussions about which new digital controller should you use, my preference is the ECoS and if you don't want a new controller or use ESU decoders you could ask yourself why ? the answer is simply: with ESU decoders you can use your current 6021 and you be able to have 16 Aux functions, each 4 Aux functions having its own address., all you need is a Lokprogrammer., If you want a new digital controller stay with the same brand "ESU" and all your decoders (locos) will be automatically recognized (RailcomPlus) but of course its up to the individual modeler to choose their own brand. with an ECoS you can also connect your 6021 and any controller., your 6021 will be upgraded to handle 255 addresses instead of 80.

John

Hi
If your locomotives have a permanent magnet DC motor (c90 etc), you can in most cases just replace the decoder. eg with an msd3 or mld3, depend on if you want sound or not.
If your locomotives have a field coil motor (AC) you will have two choices, either upgrade with a 60906 decoder or get a motor replacement kit and a suitable decoder when possible. Be sure to get the right motor kit. There might be some locomotives that are not easily upgradeable. eg like an early sinus drive locomotives or an early digital crane etc.

but remember, you can operate all your old digital locomotives on a new Märklin central station/controller. And you can operate all Märklin mfx locomotives on an old 6021 and use up to 16 functions, (assigning several addresses to a single locomotive). You can also program a modern locomotive using 6021 (MM protocol). (changing addresses and settings etc using cv programming).

before you start to upgrade it could be sensible to choose if you want to go with ESU/ controller decoders, or Märklin decoders and controller. it’s not a must and you can mix. Both makers have their strengths and weaknesses. You will find more information when you search the web. There are of course other makers etc.

As for the Märklin and the mfx ""can't find loco" etc", I believe later software has solved most of this. but there is also the human factor......... (I have had the cs3 for a while now, and have yet to experience this “issue”)

If you getting a professional to do the upgrade, make sure to use one who actually knows what he is doing and not one who thinks he knows it. In some cases, it might also be more economical to sell the old and buy a new modern locomotive. Or buy a used locomotive with a modern mfx/dcc decoder.

Personally, I upgraded from a 6021 to a Märklin CS3 and am quite happy. I have upgraded a good portion of my old digital locomotives to Märklin mfx, but not all. I do have a few with ESU mfx decoders and are happy with them, but currently, I only use Märklin mfx decoders. I install and program the decoders myself (i have a Märklin decoder programmer). My main reason for upgrading to cs3 was that I was running out of addresses to use with the 6021. I looked deeply into the ESU Command Station, but in the end, I landed on a Märklin cs3+, and Märklin decoders only. if I had landed on ESU I would also have used more ESU M4 decoders. I do find that mfx works well on cs3, and currently, I have no need for the DCC protocol, so I have disabled that protocol. But that might change in the future. I still have around 15 old locomotives that “only” operate on the MM protocol.

Both the Marklin and ESU sound decoders are a little over Euro 100. Non-sound decoders are somewhere around Euro 30.



The Brawa loco may be quite simple to do as it may already have an 8 pin or 21 pin decoder in it. In this case it will be as simple as unplugging the old decoder and plugging in a new one, then setting it up to drive the motor nicely.

The Roco one I am unfamiliar with, but may have an 8 pin decoder, and so would also be a simple plug in job as well.

Hi Dale
This is a matter of choice.
My choice is about using exclusively very quiet locos with sound volume adjusted so that the sound can be heard only if you are nearby.
The layout must also be quiet (avoid M track or C track on plywood without any landscape)
The result is very realistic and when of my locos has a dead sound system I notice it immediately and consider replacing the Sound decoder rapidly.
Cheers
Jean