The new Lenz Gold series decoders revolutionize model railroad control by incorporating three new technologies together with an advanced feature set to provide the industry’s most advanced NMRA DCC decoder. The Gold Series introduces a radical change in both performance and feature set.
SHS has chosen the Lenz Gold decoder series as our primary non-sound decoder for several reasons:
The Gold series includes three decoders: Gold-mini?, Gold-JST, and Gold-Maxi?
The Gold-mini? is rated at .5A continuous running, and is only (?) in size. This is ideal for many applications where space is a at a premium, as in the River Raisin 40 Tonner.
The Gold-maxi is the best choice for large current draw situations. This decoder will handle many of the original Gilbert motors, but we need to finish testing efore making a recommendation.
The Gold-JST is perfect for almost all current or recent production S scale. Its small size fits almost anywhere, and the power capacity is ideal. We plan to publish a table of S locomotives with the recommended decoder, but until that's done the Gold-JST is the one to start with.
The Gold-JST features a high frequency back emf motor control that can be configured to the particular motor characteristics in the locomotive. High frequency means quiet operation (no buzz). Back emf means steady speed. It allows very slow operation through switches without stalling. It also compensates for varying voltage on the layout. Configurable to the motor characteristics of the specific locomotive means that there are several adjustable characteristics of the decoder which effect different locomotive motors in different ways. These have been grouped into a set of (9?) "motor types". By trying each of the 9 motor types, you can chose the one that works best in your loco. We'll test these in all SHS locos, and set the decder to the one that works best for factory installed decoders. Our tests will also be reported here.
The Gold JST comes with the choice of the LY012, 9-pin NMRA JST socket to NMRA 8-pin Medium Plug which plugs into the socket in the SHS SW/NW socket (Gold JST-MP), LY011 4" wire harness, ideal for locos without a plug (Gold JST-W) or with out any harness (Gold JST)
Size: L 0.91" x W 0.66"x H 0.2" L 23.0 mm x W 16.5 mm x H 6.5 mm
Add to this all the high end DCC features common in Lenz Decoders, plus a broad array of advanced lighting features and function mapping capabilities. The decoder has 4 built- in function outputs plus a SUSI interface for sound and additional function control. Each of the 4 function outputs can be configured to one or more of 14 NMRA defined DCC functions, the effects can be activated by up to three separate configurable DCC functions and the decoder operation effected by 3 additional configurable function inputs.
Naturally Gold Series decoders come with our industry leading 10 year warranty. The motor and all function outputs are short and overload protected, and of course the decoder has already passed the automated NMRA tests (The decoder has been submitted for full NMRA conformance.)
Current Rating: Cool Continuous running: 1 A, peak running: 1.8 amp, Stall Current: N/A* (over load protected)
*Note: the Gold JST decoder is suitable for motors that have very high (6 amps and more) stall currents but do not peak over 1.8 amps
