TTS steam decoders

[JSpencer]

Hi all

 

I just brought a class 47 TTs chip to try in a Heljan 47....anybody got fitted advise.....links to pictures....how best to fit round speaker?

 

thanks

B

I would change it for a long thin oblong one or a smaller round speaker, unless you find space under the roof.

[JSpencer]

Continuing the 9F conversion. I opted for chip in loco and speaker in the tender.

 

First test the chip works and which way round it should go!

 

 

I then cut a grove in the rear chassis with a dremel and grinding disc, this will be used to pass a wire between loco and tender:

 

 

Then focus moved to the tender. There is a nice space to the rear just behind the coal trimmer:

 

 

So all holes for sound to escape will be towards the rear in the tender chassis floor:

 

 

 

Unlike the A1, the tender weights don,t need any modification as they A: leave the rear clear

(Note the single hole in front of the weights in the middle, this is where the wire from the loco will enter)

 

And B are raised 2-3 mm from the floor

 

 

More later.

Edited March 14, 2018 by JSpencer

[SDJR7F88]

Continuing the 9F conversion. I opted for chip in loco and speaker in the tender.

 

First test the chip works and which way round it should go!

 

image.jpg

 

I then cut a grove in the rear chassis with a dremel and grinding disc, this will be used to pass a wire between loco and tender:

 

image.jpgimage.jpg

 

Then focus moved to the tender. There is a nice space to the rear just behind the coal trimmer:

 

image.jpg

 

So all holes for sound to escape will be towards the rear in the tender chassis floor:

 

 

image.jpg

 

Unlike the A1, the tender weights don,t need any modification as they A: leave the rear clear

(Note the single hole in front of the weights in the middle, this is where the wire from the loco will enter)

image.jpg

 

And B are raised 2-3 mm from the floor

 

image.jpg

 

More later.

Superb work indeed! Will there be any videos to follow showing how the models sound? Been wondering if the chuffs when fitted to other models, might line up better (due to the different motors and gearing? 

[JSpencer]

Superb work indeed! Will there be any videos to follow showing how the models sound? Been wondering if the chuffs when fitted to other models, might line up better (due to the different motors and gearing?

 

Thanks for the kind comments. I had not planned to. But I could do one featuring all the TTS conversions here.

[brenn]

I would change it for a long thin oblong one or a smaller round speaker, unless you find space under the roof.

Yes i did wondor why the class 31 has a long square speaker but the 47 doesn't?....Any suggestion as to what type and where best to get it.

 

 

Ta

 

B

[JSpencer]

Ok some more pics on the 9F. I found the speaker as fitted previously above was pushing the screw retaining lugs to the rear making refitting the tender top impossible. So I ground parts of the sound box away to allow that to fit better.

 

Another issue was the magnet in the speaker kept pulling the speaker to the tender weights. So we reduced the tender weights in length and super glued (rather than just tacking) the soundbox in place.

 

Not mentioned before, you also need to drill a hole in a vertical plate just below the cab floor. To my surprise, these thin sections are metal (Mazak)! finally I took the opportunity to touch up the weathering that had fallen off and paint the wires in the same colour.

 

I did run it on the layout with the hopes of doing a video, but found that the layout needs a good track cleaning causing locos DCC stall. The video is here:

 

DC locos don't show it yet but I tried several sound fitted models without stay alive capacitors and they were all a little hesitant.

 

  

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2018 by JSpencer

[RAF96]

Did my A4 tother way up.

 

Rob

Edited March 23, 2018 by RAFHAAA96

[SDJR7F88]

Order a R8113 Crosti 9F Decoder a few weeks back, and finally had a go at fitting it yesterday. 

The sound is quite generic, so I decided to have a go at fitting it to a Hornby J15, which is going to be used on a future project. The Decoder and speak fit a dream and speak fitted a dream, so I pop the loco on the track for a test run, before fitting the body back on. All seemed good, whistle, and all the feature functioning well... Then I set the engine off. The engine made a few chuffs, then the sound stopped (the engine still moving). I tried the whistle, nothing. The model seems to run fine, as if it's just has a normal DCC Decoder fitted. I reset the loco a number of times, still no sound. 

Anyone had this issue? 

 

[DonnyRailMan]

Did my A4 tother way up.

 

Rob

IMG_0402.JPG

 

Might try this method on my Bachmann two A4s .

[Pete the Elaner]

Order a R8113 Crosti 9F Decoder a few weeks back, and finally had a go at fitting it yesterday. 

The sound is quite generic, so I decided to have a go at fitting it to a Hornby J15, which is going to be used on a future project. The Decoder and speak fit a dream and speak fitted a dream, so I pop the loco on the track for a test run, before fitting the body back on. All seemed good, whistle, and all the feature functioning well... Then I set the engine off. The engine made a few chuffs, then the sound stopped (the engine still moving). I tried the whistle, nothing. The model seems to run fine, as if it's just has a normal DCC Decoder fitted. I reset the loco a number of times, still no sound. 

Anyone had this issue? 

I would start by looking for a bad electrical connection between decoder & speaker.

[Pete the Elaner]

Hi all

 

I just brought a class 47 TTs chip to try in a Heljan 47....anybody got fitted advise.....links to pictures....how best to fit round speaker?

 

thanks

B

I am guessing that this is a steam heat 47 because it is a 'steam decoder' thread 

Heljan locos tend to draw a high current, which overload an R8249 (non-sound) chip. I would check the chip's capacity is 1A continuous or higher before using it.

[brenn]

I am guessing that this is a steam heat 47 because it is a 'steam decoder' thread 

Heljan locos tend to draw a high current, which overload an R8249 (non-sound) chip. I would check the chip's capacity is 1A continuous or higher before using it.

Funny 

 

Well i got a Zimo speaker at Ally pally and so just working out how best to fit it to the fuel tank......seems to work fine on the rolling road.

[JSpencer]

The S15 sound chip has arrived.

 

A fairly straight forwards fit but if you use the sound box supplied, you cannot fit the tender weight squarely back on. Leave the supplied sound box off, the speaker rattles around a bit. Bit of blue tack to hold it together.

 

Sound wise, the chuffs are more in synchro with wheels than previous TTS chips. Hornby is clearly listening to feedback

 

To remove the tender body, the bogies need to be removed.

.

 

 

 

 

[Hilux5972]

Good to know the sound is more in sync than before.

[RAF96]

In the case where the speaker enclosure has to be abandonded to fit the speaker under a weight i have used ‘tak both to secure it and to seal around the gaps, taking care not to foul the speaker diaphragm.

Rob

[JSpencer]

The TTS decoder for the Coronation class has arrived, so I decided to fit one in Sir William Stanier.

 

Here is what you get (with the tender already opened):

 

 

Now the hardest thing about this conversion is getting the tender top off. This is because at the rear there are 3 lugs. The big lug faces the opposite direction to the two smaller rear facing lugs, which means pull it hard one direction, one set of lugs remains firmly clipped, pull in the opposite and the other remains firmly clipped. It is actually is to easy to remove once you understand what you are up against and find a mid point between the push me pull you lugs!

 

Here are my recommendations for getting the body off:

1/ remove tender from loco (drawbar and devils plug)

2/ undo the two screws, that straddle the drawbar in front of the wheels as per instructions with the loco

3/ The instructions then say pull down the tender chassis and then push to the rear. The angle you need to pull down is about half that shown on the Hornby tender body removal instructions

4/ waggle the angle (up and and down), pushing tender top slightly back and pulling up from the rear. You do not need to use force, once the perfect position is found, it pops off.

5/ If 4 fails, be patiant and try later. Until you find that position, you will have the impression that you need hydraulic jacks to prise the tender body from the tender chassis!!!!

 

Here are some pics showing the lugs you are up against - know your enemy!

 

 

 

Once open, this is what you have inside:

 

 

The weight is held into place two screws, one is hiding behind the circuit board which takes the 8 pin plug, so you have to unscrew that first (4 screws to remove the weight).

 

 

Once out, I saw the speaker fiitted loosely like the S15, I checked to see if the sound box can be used, it cannot:

 

 

So operation blue tack to fit it soundly into place after fitting the weight back into place and the plug holding circuit

 

 

 

 

Next clip the chip into place

 

 

I then looked for best position to secure the chip and keep wires clear of those lugs (the chip still needs isolation covering...)

 

 

More later....

 

[RAF96]

I would cut a square of plasticard to fit over that speaker hole, which will help isolate the sound top to bottom and also keep the decoder away from all that bare metal.

Rob

[JSpencer]

I would cut a square of plasticard to fit over that speaker hole, which will help isolate the sound top to bottom and also keep the decoder away from all that bare metal.

Rob

 

Nice idea, I will explore that. Need to see if the chip will pass though. The problem is I don't want to fight getting the tender top off again if the lugs take hold but I cannot join the front up because the chip is fowling the coal trimming chute.

Edited August 8, 2018 by JSpencer

[DonnyRailMan]

 

Why have Hornby met around with the tenders . It is straight forward with the A3 & A4 tenders a

screw under the tender coupler to remove tender top and that was that.

[JSpencer]

Ok, here the next pics. You can indeed close off the weight with thin card to create a sound box and mighty fine it works too. The only thin plastic I had was transparent. Not the coal shoot fits directly above the front part of the weight so I made sure the thin card did not fowl the start of this.

 

 

Some Sellotape to insulate and hold the chip into place (before this I test the entire set up worked with a DCC controller).

 

 

Before putting the body on, make sure the wires hanging over the rear are to one side otherwise it fowl the big clip. Indeed if when putting the body back on you feel the tender top easing to one side, that will be the wires getting in the way.

 

 

Now put the body on, rear lugs first, when the body front is about 3 or 4 mm above from making contact with the top of the chassis, everything pop together with ease (it comes apart with ease at the same angle, more than this and it blocks).

 

 

Put back the devils plug and coupling....

 

 

Put back the drawbar screw, job done...

 

[DonnyRailMan]

In the time it took you to do that one Dutches class , l bet you could have done at least two A3/A4 TTS sound decoders.

In the time it took you to do that one Dutches class , l bet you could have fitted at least two A3/A4 TTS sound decoders.

[JaymzHatstand]

Yes, but Duchess sound chip would sound odd in an A3 or A4!

 

Hat, coat, out the door!

 

Seriously, will there be a video of it in action, I'd like to hear what the chip/speaker sound like as I'm thinking about one for my Atholl! The only ones I've found thus far are poor quality, and hopefully that's the actual video and not the speaker!

 

Cheers

 

J

[JSpencer]

In the time it took you to do that one Dutches class , l bet you could have done at least two A3/A4 TTS sound decoders.

In the time it took you to do that one Dutches class , l bet you could have fitted at least two A3/A4 TTS sound decoders.

 

Yes, but Duchess sound chip would sound odd in an A3 or A4!

 

Hat, coat, out the door!

 

Seriously, will there be a video of it in action, I'd like to hear what the chip/speaker sound like as I'm thinking about one for my Atholl! The only ones I've found thus far are poor quality, and hopefully that's the actual video and not the speaker!

 

Cheers

 

J

 

These days, I don't have much time in the rail room with kids, jobs to do around the house, kids, jobs to do outside the house, kids, jobs to do for my wife, kids.... So I only had 30 minutes here, and then 30 minutes there. The A1 is faster to get apart, the latest versions probably has speaker spaces, but my own dates from 2005 and has the chip holder on the loco, no speaker space - so someone fitting sound should check which version of the A1 they have. Fitting my 2005 Great Northern would need as much work as my Bachmann Peppercorn A1 shown earlier in the thread. 

 

I,ve only run her on a rolling road. The Duchess that was pre-fitted is said to be by some as being in sync, for my post-fitted(!) Duchess it was not the impression I had on the rolling road , but in fairness it did not need to shift the full weight of a loco nor a train which would slow it down a bit. There may be CVs to sync it, the instructions tell you which CVs are for motor values but it does not tell you the extremes of what the values mean. I could change them and make matters a lot worse (what I want is something in plain in English that says something like "setting the value higher increases the chuff rate per revolution"). Or maybe it is impossible.

When I get time, I'll do a video of her chuffing around the layout with the S15 and other recently converted locos.

 

I have a program of 19 further DCC sound conversions, 6 will be TTS just to save cost and once Hornby do the chips, the remainder to be done at a rate of 4 or 6 a year.

On the list:

Original West Country "Bude" the dude engine (will get the MN chip when released)

Q1

Nelson

Original HST

Britannia

Duke Of Gloucester

Edited August 17, 2018 by JSpencer

[DonnyRailMan]

These days, I don't have much time in the rail room with kids, jobs to do around the house, kids, jobs to do outside the house, kids, jobs to do for my wife, kids.... So I only had 30 minutes here, and then 30 minutes there. The A1 is faster to get apart, the latest versions probably has speaker spaces, but my own dates from 2005 and has the chip holder on the loco, no speaker space - so someone fitting sound should check which version of the A1 they have. Fitting my 2005 Great Northern would need as much work as my Bachmann Peppercorn A1 shown earlier in the thread. 

 

I,ve only run her on a rolling road. The Duchess that was pre-fitted is said to be by some as being in sync, for my post-fitted(!) Duchess it was not the impression I had on the rolling road , but in fairness it did not need to shift the full weight of a loco nor a train which would slow it down a bit. There may be CVs to sync it, the instructions tell you which CVs are for motor values but it does not tell you the extremes of what the values mean. I could change them and make matters a lot worse (what I want is something in plain in English that says something like "setting the value higher increases the chuff rate per revolution"). Or maybe it is impossible.

When I get time, I'll do a video of her chuffing around the layout with the S15 and other recently converted locos.

 

I have a program of 19 further DCC sound conversions, 6 will be TTS just to save cost and once Hornby do the chips, the remainder to be done at a rate of 4 or 6 a year.

On the list:

Original West Country "Bude" the dude engine (will get the MN chip when released)

Q1

Nelson

Original HST

Britannia

Duke Of Gloucester

Anyway thank you for sharing your information with us all on RMWEB.

[Merlin242]

The S15 sound chip has arrived.

 

A fairly straight forwards fit but if you use the sound box supplied, you cannot fit the tender weight squarely back on. Leave the supplied sound box off, the speaker rattles around a bit. Bit of blue tack to hold it together.

 

Sound wise, the chuffs are more in synchro with wheels than previous TTS chips. Hornby is clearly listening to feedback

 

To remove the tender body, the bogies need to be removed.

.image.jpg

 

image.jpg

 

image.jpg

 

image.jpg

 

image.jpg

 

I fitted a TTS S15 decoder into a Bachmann crab and agree the wheels are synchronised far better than any of my other TTS decoders. Sadly the new Duchess TTS decoder seems to have reverted to square one