A DCC READY loco is simply a DC loco
with a jack into which you can plug a
matching decoder to make it DCC, In
some cases you can run such a loco
on a DCC track but you must do so
with caution. The modified AC DCC track voltage
can quickly damage the loco motor if left idle.
You would best be advised to obtain
the decoder and avoid any possible damage.

Don

 

If the literature in your DCC system's manual says how to do it, it must be safe to do. However, anybody I know who has tried it for giggles, and that includes me, has learned that it is NOT a rewarding experience. The pulsed and changing frequency of instructions on the AC wave to the rails makes the drive-train groan and squeal. I urge you to try it for yourself and see.

Just don't leave your loco on the rails, with power to the rails, and sitting there. You'll fry the can motor within a few minutes because it heats up.

I know that my Digitrax system, the Super Empire Builder, allows me to do this. I did it exactly once. I dialed in Add '00", the universal address for all decoders in the world of DCC, and then dialed in speed on the throttle. Good luck.

 

Not all DCC systems allow a DC engine to be run on DCC. For example NCE does not include that provision. I believe Digitrax will allow a DC engine to run on address 0. The DC engine isn't running on DC, it's running on a DCC signal that is pulsed to make the DC motor work. When a DC motor operates on a pulsed power it heats up and there is the potential to damage the motor, small but possible.

In the words of the that renown philosopher and sage, Harry Callahan, "Do you feel lucky?"

 

To make things simple:

Want to burn out that "dcc ready" engine quickly?
Then... try running it on dcc power without putting a decoder into it.

So...
If an engine is "DC" -- run only on DC power.

If an engine is "dcc ready" -- run on DC power (or... put a decoder into it and run on dcc). NOT READY YET for dcc without a decoder.

If an engine is dcc equipped -- run on dcc (some will also run on DC power, but not quite as well as they would on dcc).

 

Depends on the motor and how much amperage it draws. Digitrax says to switch to N scale voltage (12V) if you plan to run a DC loco to limit the power going to the loco. If you DCC locos are sound equipped they may not work well at the lower voltage. As others have said, the DC loco will sound funny and not perform well. If it is DCC ready I suspect it has a fairly modern motor so damage is unlikely unless you let it sit idle for a very long (hours) time. Remember it will have the full voltage of the system going to it constantly.

 

you CAN run DC locos off a DCC layout , but you have to be careful ..newer locos seem to have more trouble with DCC Ready, especially coreless motors .. remember that the DC motor get full power to the windings, with a rate of -about- 9 khz power that reverses itself with an amplitude of about 15 volts, , hence why the loco sits still ...
so basically keep occasionally touching the shell where the motor is, if it feels more than warm to the touch, the motor -may- be getting enough power impulses to damage it , so best off putting it on a piece of dead track, or off the layout entirely ...
i haven't had any trouble with having a DC loco on a live DCC track, but that doesn't mean others are as lucky ..