Kato 10719-1 AVE TGV decoder question

Hello again. I just acquired a Kato 10719 - 1 AVE set (yes I know it's non Japanese lol). I already have Kato 10714 TGV POS train which I am assuming is exactly the same. When I purchased the POS I was able to purchase a drop in board that would accept a Nem plug decoder. For the life of me I can't seem to find that board anywhere for purchase so it looks like I may need to hard wire a decoder.  I was wondering does anyone know what the part number of the board would be and if its available anywhere? If the board is not available anywhere what hard wired decoders have folks used?

Cheers

Spiff

No idea about the board, but I've noticed that decoders with a plug can cause issues, especially the NEM651 plugs have caused me some headaches. Sometimes the decoder is a really loose fit causing bad response from the decoder. In fact, at the (semi-)local hobby shop, they recommend always soldering in a decoder if you're going for maximum reliability.

Which decoder to pick depends much on the kind of features you want. Personally, I'm more than happy with the Lenz Silver+ mini. It's small, has lots of features, and is reasonably priced (although it's easy to find cheaper decoders.) They're not readily available at the moment though, because a newer version is coming out which adds RailComPlus and the option to use it as a bi-polar function decoder.

Thanks for the reply Martijn.  As luck would have it I had an extra board kicking around. I'd still like to find a couple more boards so I can get the rear cab lighting to work :).  My POS TGV has the Lenz Gold which has been good but no one carries it locally. I will probably have to go the Digitrax route.

Spiff

Spliff - Can you post a photo of the TGV motor car apart, exposing the inside so members can advice you what decoder might work and how to do it? (plus we like seeing the inside of trains  )

Hi Bernard, attached is the pic.  The board not attached is the OEM Kato board and the one installed is the drop in ESU board that accepts NEM decoders.

Spiff

I had been getting the ESU boards from eurolokshop online, but they've been out and weren't sure when they were getting any.  Tried another place in the UK and they were out, so I'm concerned that I won't be able to (easily) convert my AVE (oddly, I just need one board, not the 2 that come in a set).

For our Thalys and AVE, I found that one couldn't get the body shell to go back on with the NEM651 decoder.  As quinn pointed out, one needed to add a harness, which added other problems (the typical harness was too long).  TCS recently introduced a NEM651 decoder with a very short harness and it works like a champ in these models.  That decoder is a little hard to find, unless you order direct ($$$) or can get your LHS to special order one (which I did).

Anyway, if someone finds a source for the ESU lightboards, let me know.

I was lucky enough to have a spare board from my initial TGV POS so I cna use that for now. I am also looking for new boards for cab lighting. If I have any luck I will let you know nic_n_dad. I will be trying out the Digitrax 125in later on today. We see what happens.

Spiff

Ran the Digitrax 125IN today and it seem to run ok. I had the usual finicky Kato TGV contact issues with the board but it seemed ok after tinkering with it for abit.

Spiff