Q: I have an HO Bachmann Alaska EMD GP40 (Bachmann item #63548) that I have kept in the box for about a year. I recently received a Digitrax Zephyr and I want to put a decoder in the locomotive. I used your reference guide and did not see it listed. Does that mean it's not available?
A: There are many reasons why a particular locomotive is not listed in our database. The most common is that we have never been asked about that particular model. There are so many new models it is a difficult task to keep up with them all.
Your local dealer will probably be happy to help you determine which decoder will fit best in a particular locomotive. If your dealer can't help, please contact our tech support department and we will assist you.
Go ahead and remove the shell and see if the locomotive has a DCC socket or if it has a circuit board inside. If it has a socket, you can choose from any decoder designed to fit the socket. If there is a circuit board, you should check to see if there is a board replacement decoder for that model. If neither of these is present, you'll probably need to use a DH, DN or DZ wired decoder.
If you find a locomotive without a recommendation, please let us know by e-mailing techsupport@digitrax.com. We would love to add the information you discover to our database to help other modelers.