RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 7, 2014 Photo showing DCC sound install in a new Farish 37. Cab interiors removed (clip in) Speaker in cab space one end Chip in cab space the other. Standard GM DCC23 chip shown for size comparison Farish 37 DCC sound install by Steve Purves, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Steve, Is this the ZIMO MX646 from Digitrains with their Class 37 MultiDrive V2.0? Kind regards, Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted August 7, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 7, 2014 That is correct Paul. As seen in my other videos. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR PJ Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Steve, Is this the ZIMO MX646 from Digitrains with their Class 37 MultiDrive V2.0? Kind regards, Paul Crikey, didn't realise Zimo did a plug in sound chip! I am obviously behind the times. I think this also might work in a 47. I am currently wiring up a 47 with an MX648 and multi-drive. Sound etc all works okay, as the loco has boiler water tanks I have located the speaker here. The problem I have run into is wiring the lights up, the tiny wires that plug into the light units have all come loose, so I have had to re-solder, think I may have damaged one light unit in the process (doh!). If I could have retained the original ciruit-board it would haven been a lot easier, albeit possibly losing some cab detail at one end - also might be a problem with the lighting board? I will have to look at measurements of the MX646 and see if possible... Cheers Paul J Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted August 8, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted August 8, 2014 Crikey, didn't realise Zimo did a plug in sound chip! I am obviously behind the times. I think this also might work in a 47. I am currently wiring up a 47 with an MX648 and multi-drive. Sound etc all works okay, as the loco has boiler water tanks I have located the speaker here. The problem I have run into is wiring the lights up, the tiny wires that plug into the light units have all come loose, so I have had to re-solder, think I may have damaged one light unit in the process (doh!). If I could have retained the original ciruit-board it would haven been a lot easier, albeit possibly losing some cab detail at one end - also might be a problem with the lighting board? I will have to look at measurements of the MX646 and see if possible... Cheers Paul J Hi Paul, I am on the verge of ordering a chip for the 47 to do that also. I will report back when I get it as to its fit. I am expecting to have to remove cab interiors both ends again as per this install, This doesn't really bother me, unless you look at a cruel close up I don't think you can spot the difference. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR PJ Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Hi Paul, I am on the verge of ordering a chip for the 47 to do that also. I will report back when I get it as to its fit. I am expecting to have to remove cab interiors both ends again as per this install, This doesn't really bother me, unless you look at a cruel close up I don't think you can spot the difference. Steve Looking at measurements given on Digitrains site the MX646N is 28 x 10.5 x 4mm, so 8mm longer than the MX648 which I have used for all my previous installs. I am going to be measuring up the 47 a bit later to see what's possible. With the small engines, such as the 24 (and soon to arrive 25) it probably won't be feasible. I had considered the CT de-coders that are direct plug in - but from all accounts the Zimo decoders are superior. I do agree that losing cab interiors (which you can't really see as you say - unless you are within 6 inches viewing distance of the model - unlikely even on a small layout!) is a small price to pay for what is in reality "plug and play" DCC sound in "N" with some fantastic sounds on offer - especially as it will make fiddling around with the lights a lot easier. If only I had realised you could get these plug-in decoders before starting my latest project... Maybe at last we will get to see a few more people encouraged to do DCC sound in UK N gauge! Cheers Paul J Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Ripping out the Farish circuit boards makes things simpler in the medium term; you have to add back some series resistors and maybe capacitors to the light circuits (learn how to scribe your own PCB and fix down a few surface components and lots of space is saved! or it is sometimes possible to chop out parts of the maker's board). You also end up with independent lighting (no tail lights showing when they shouldn't, parking lamps, day/night running if a recent diesel), plus an opportunity for cab lights and other features. Speakers, again depends what you want. The cab interior is one option. But, another is to just use the sounding plate from the speaker and make your own box into the roof of the model, or the fuel tanks. The box need not be rectangular, just of adequate volume and sealed. The roof of the model is often a very simple place for the install. Decoder performance; for sound features available to sound writers, then ESU or Zimo (there are arguments for each on the details). For motor control, CT are a bit better on the smaller motors used in N, but the options for the sound writer are inferior with CT when compared to the capabilities in ESU or Zimo. For non-sound, CT have the edge, though having more than four function outputs on the alternatives might be useful. With sound, unless really strapped for space, I'd go with ESU or Zimo. - Nigel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 The ZIMO MX648 is considerably smaller than ESU micro, and may make the difference between easy fitment and impossibility. This is a 47, but shows the use of sugar cube speaker without its enclosure and instead 'built into' the roof of the loco. Kind regards Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR PJ Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I have ripped out the original circuit boards of loco's before, but I think a lot more people would be happy to install DCC sound in "N" if this can be circumnavigated, as its time consuming and fiddly especially when it comes to lighting. The 47 seems particularly difficult as it seems that the lighting boards contain their own directional diodes, resulting in a lot of testing and experimentation to get them to work! It would be interesting to see if an MX646 would slot into a 47. I am tempted to do a 37 since seeing this article, though my personal preference may be to put the speaker in the fuel/boiler water tanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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