Stefano Tests LE077XF.

Lenz product page

Cambridge, MA, February 14th, 2000

I was really impressed when I got a sample of the new LE077XF from Deb Ames during the last Springfield train show to beta test it. She gave me this microscopic decoder, smiling since she knew how important this product is for the N scale community.

I went home, and I immediately started installing this decoder in the Life Like SW9/1200, which is one of the reference installations for the digital modelers. The nose method, suggested for the D*121, becomes even easier with the LE077XF. The short length of the new decoder, leaves room for an extra smd resistor and a led (digikey sells very small white smd leds). The cables are attached along one side, making it easy to solder a new cable if one gets broken. No more nightmares searching for soldering pins in the board components !!!

I connected my Digitrax Chief system and ... everything works perfectly. The "page" and "ops" programmings work fine (as they should), and I am able to program everything I need. I am a modeler, not a tester, so I don't care about checking all capabilities. Everything I need for a switcher (also the 128 speeds for very slow starting speed, the advaced consist control and the 4 digit addressing) is working perfectly.

After a while I moved to another kind of installation: brass steamers !! Recently I got one Precision Scale Pennsy K-4 4-6-2 and a Pecos River Brass ATSF Pacific. The LE077XF (inside the tenders) drives the engines perfectly to every possible speed. The movements are really smooth (the chassis were modified by me) giving these loco dignity: steamers have to run slowly showing moving rods and pistons. Anyway I was quite suspicious, since the decoder dimensions seemed similar to the Mashima motor. So I opened the two boilers and I realized that the decoder could fit inside the boilers vertically, just behind the motors !!!

Other small space locomotive can be converted with this decoder: actually a Life Life SD7/9 costs 20-25$, so I would never spend more money on the decoder than in the loco itself. With a bit of digital work also these generic engines can get a second youth. Some for the Bachmann engines. Also Fleishmann N scale European steamers can easily be converted. I have a Mikado and a Pacific with FMZ decoders to be substituted as soon as the LE077XF will be available in large quantity. The LE077XF is the ideal decoder for most of non plug & play installations.

This new decoder is probably one of the key stones of digital N scale modeling. The low price and the broad range of capabilities help all the modelers with a large fleet to convert. Only with a cheap (and good) decoder is possible to convert the massive fleet of the modern modeler.

Stefano Curtarolo

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