Here is another dcc/sound install with the new loksound nano. Kinda annoyed with this one as I thought it was settled as a functional DCC/sound loco which I converted years back with a MRC "drop in " sound decoder. Sound was always tinny but I coped till a few weeks back and I was unable to update any of the CVs. The vintage BN is my favorite of the liveries and this is a really well done loco so I couldn't just let it languish as a sub par performer. I had to mill out the front of the chassis to make room for a speaker. I also had to chop up the original PC board (glad I never threw it away after the dcc update) and cut up the wire traces to isolate the motor power. This operation removed the original LEDs so I'll have to install my own to get lighting back.
RS11 sound install complete. ESU had an updated RS11 sound file in "Hi-Fi" which I uploaded into the decoder and wow does that sound crisp! I cut up some 1/16" styrene to make plates for mounting the nano leds then used bondic UV glue to fix them to said plates as well as create a bulb like contour for better light dispersal. The styrene and speaker is held in place with liquid tape so they can be easily removed for maintenance down the road. Another issue that got cleared up over the old MRC decoder is that it runs really silent motor wise. Before there was a lot of buzzing so that alone was a worthy update and an unexpected but nice surprise. Now I'm thinking to update my ATLAS high nose SD35 and low nose SD24 as those both make the same noise with the factory installed NCE (dcc only) decoders. Creeps very nice and smooth just like a kato so happy with that too. This nano board is really impressing me. The loksound micro works nice too but I always felt the zimo had the best out of the box motor control until I started installing these.
Moose slowly making progress towards finishing six -- count'em -- six MoW cars this weekend ... Actually, Moose started a flatcar MoW car this morning, so it's actually seven MoW cars in the works. Probably won't finish them all this weekend, sooo many other things to do... First of the decals being applied:
This is my newest addition to my workbench, an Xacto knife set from wally world for about six dollars. All I was wanting was just the blades but couldn't pass up this deal. It has several different blades and two nice handles. Joe
Moose only had time today to apply decals to one half of each of two MoW cars. They don't quite look right without the clear coat...
Designing templates for cardstock 'signs'. The signs will be adhered to flat cars and gondolas as part of my 'Special Days' train which will celebrate various birthdays / holidays. When the layout is in the living room it is imiportant to include the family. Also designing cardstock mods for my excursion train based on flat cars and gondolas. Also working on designs etc for various other structures on the layout.
Painting my last sprue of dumpsters, trashcans, trash bags, and manhole covers. 100_1499-1 by John Moore posted Nov 29, 2021 at 8:02 AM
I've been working on adding dcc to a Bachmann 2-8-0 consolidation. I wanted to add sound but memory had me thinking there were some performance issues with the loco and I should go no sound first to see what is what. I've added a decoder, got that working and it tends to wallow as it makes it's way along the track. Not bad but not one of those that I'd want to video rolling down the track. The off center drivers that cause the wallowing also decrease traction making it useless to pull any more than a couple of cars unless I bullfrog snot the rest of the drivers which isn't going to happen. My final decision is to not add sound which will make it the only silent steamer in my North American fleet. This loco is causing me to lose my patience though. It's a fantastic looker and is the only reason I want to keep it in my collection but besides the tracking issue the paint for the lettering comes off easy and needs to be redone as most of the cab and some tender lettering is worn off. The test decoder has an issue with reverse power and resetting to factory defaults doesn't work so now I need to get a new decoder to fix that issue. I've had the same problem with this very decoder installed in other locos so pretty sure that is the issue. Then the MTL coupling conversion using the original rapido coupler pocket has always been problematic with excess play and the long shank causes it to stick out too far so that is getting replaced while on the bench. I shave off everything to prep for an MTL 1015 and there is no plastic left in the tender floor where I need to drill and tap for a screw to hold the coupler in place. To fix that I'm going to cover the hole with styrene from the inside, fill the recess with epoxy to make a stable mating surface for the draft box then drill into that when cured. If I get this all worked out I have to decide if I want to spend the money to get a decoder and then decals to refresh the cab numbers and tender lettering.
My Bachmann 2-8-0 does the same thing and I've tried everything to fix it with no success. SO frustrating, as it's such a beautiful locomotive.
I had their challenger at one point too and same issue but even more pronounced. Even my 1st gen Kato Mikado without a traction driver could pull more cars up a grade than that engine. I knew better than to take the plunge on that but at the time (~2000) steam offerings with that level of detail were far and few between so I took a chance and lost lol.
My atlas SD35 got picked for a sound upgrade. No milling necessary on this frame so to keep things interesting I separated lighting between the main lights and number boards. First pic is cutting up the analog light board which consists of chopping off the lights since they wont clear the speaker or decoder I will be installing. I pretty much use this part for power pickup and motor power. If one looks you the can see the cuts I made in the wire traces so the motor is isolated from track power via the frame. Next is making all the connections from the decoder to the light board. All the components installed. The headlamps are glued directly to the shell while the number boards are lit from the styrene panel mounted lights affixed to the frame. Back together. I uploaded a "Hi-Fi" sound file from the ESU's growing selection of these nice sounding files on their site.
This is another analog loco that I updated to dcc only. It's an early model (~1990) kato C30-7 which was one of the original chassis designs that gave kato the excellent reputation they have. Upside is that maximum metal so weight/traction is phenomenal but downside is they weren't designed for DCC so no room for sound unless I do a bunch of frame milling which would rob it of it's tractive abilities. I installed a TCS Z2 decoder which tucked in real nice under the front light board. I also swapped out the dim factory LEDs with some bright whites. One thing that is typical of the early Kato's is they did not detail their number boards and in this case the only thing there was glazing. I wanted to fix this so initially I painted the lenses white with the idea to decal them but the surface area was so thin that there was not enough height to apply decent font sized decals. So I cut up and shaped some 1/32" thick styrene to fit in the number plate holes and sanded down the glazing so that when installed they wouldn't push out the number plates I fabbed. Still the characters are a little too small but it's the biggest size I had that would still fit on the new number plates. Pics of before and after. The numbering on the left plate looks a little off kilter but it's actually because the number plate is pushed in a little too far at the top creating that illusion. I had to cut up individual numbers from a decal sheet to get the "8050". The only way to get the decals to stick to the styrene was to mix up some elmers and decal set for a thin setting solution. I had to let each number dry before I could add the next number. Once all in place and dried I added more solution over the top and let dry like a clear coat. I might later on decide to add some ditch lights but will leave as is for now.
Next up is adding power caps to the DCC passenger car lighting system I installed in my morning daylight set a while back. When these are fully charged they can provide power 15-20 seconds depending on the number of lights in each car. Some of this length depends on brightness levels where I tend to like about 40% of max. I'd already done a couple of cars so this means 8 more to do. There happens to be just enough room between the light board and roof to sandwich a cap in there but this means complete disassembly of the shell to get the top off. Not a big deal but adds a little bit of work over a all-in-one board like a model train technology board. There are soldering pads on the light side of the board labeled "cap +/-" where one wires up the cap leads. CORRECTION: there are pads for ESU power packs which are called "PP" to be used with their power packs. The "cap" terminals are for non ESU power pack caps rated at 35 volts which the ESU ones are 5.5V. Could be some smoking if one uses the wrong terminals. Cap sitting on top and wired to the board and ready to reassemble the car. I saved all the left over magnet wire that came with a bunch of "just light it" accessories thinking I might one day have a use for it and this is one of the several projects so far where it's come in handy.
freddy, Thanks for sharing the decoder installs with us, I find them to be encouraging for what I need to do. Much appreciated! On your number board work, with decals, you are doing them the hard way. Do you have a PC with Excel on it? If so, you can make #'s as small as #2 font. I have used this technique, which I learned from John Sing, for quite a while now and it works well and is easy. How: 1. I set a cell on an Excel spreadsheet with a black fill, then I set the font for whatever size fits the # board (usually #2 or 3 font), then I type it in which comes out as a clear image. Then I print on good quality extra bright white computer paper., it ends up with the #'s being white and the surrounding fill in black. I can do black on white board by leaving the cell fill as is and type in the # with black, heck could make the # any color, cool purple #'s. I usually have to adjust font size a few times and I do many at one time for future use. 2. I put the light bar in the loco # board area and fill with gallery glass clear until it is level, then I cut the paper board down to fit, glue it in with Aleene's tacky glue on backside. Afterwards I seal with dull coat when I do the loco. They look good and are straight in line assuming I glue them on that way. I know, clear as mud! Be well, Carl
