Legomanbiffo earth movers fitting questions

[RD400]

Soon as I can get hold of some of legomanbiffo earth movers 1 or 2 not decided yet which ones will fit best into both the Bachmann class 37 and class 55 has anyone got some install picture of the speakers plus videos.

Also if either earth mover 1or 2will fit into either of the class 37/55 what would be the difference between them and would I also benefit adding a 20x40 speaker as well I the normal position.

Cheers

Mick

[Albie the plumber]

Soon as I can get hold of some of legomanbiffo earth movers 1 or 2 not decided yet which ones will fit best into both the Bachmann class 37 and class 55 has anyone got some install picture of the speakers plus videos.

Also if either earth mover 1or 2will fit into either of the class 37/55 what would be the difference between them and would I also benefit adding a 20x40 speaker as well I the normal position.

Cheers

Mick

 

Fitted an EM1 into the tanks of one of my 37's recently

They're slightly fatter then the bog standard 58mmx22mm bass reflex speaker so the small panel between the 2 tanks will have to be cut out

altogether and a thin piece of plasticard added and painted black.

The EM1 needs another 4ohm speaker wired in series for it to work so assuming its a V4 chip you're using, the 20x40 that comes with it can be

fitted under the fan although some work may be required to alter the height of the fan to make the body sit on its chassis properly .

 

Very much looking forward to acquiring an EM2 but its a lot larger than the EM1 so fitting one will not be a painless task .

My advice would be to befriend someone with a milling machine as I have  

[RD400]

Thanks for the reply albie yes been having a measure up with both the class 37/55 and the em1 would easily fit the tanks but seen the size of the em2 and boy that is big.

I do have the luxury of a milling machine but the em2 seams too big for the tanks so are you looking at machine else were to get it to fit I would be using V4 and Zimo decoders

[Albie the plumber]

Thanks for the reply albie yes been having a measure up with both the class 37/55 and the em1 would easily fit the tanks but seen the size of the em2 and boy that is big.

I do have the luxury of a milling machine but the em2 seams too big for the tanks so are you looking at machine else were to get it to fit I would be using V4 and Zimo decoders

 

Hi RD

It seems to me that the milling process would have to start from the top down , the tanks are out of the question , am I right in thinking the EM2 is 66mm long ?

Whichever loco you choose to have the treatment, the circuit board is going to have to go , the lights along with motor and pick up connections will have to be hard

wired which I've always preferred so an 8 pin decoder is much easier for that purpose than trying to tag wires to a 21 pin .

 

First on my list will be  a Heljan Hymek as I think that could accommodate an EM2

I know that the great Legomanbiffo has done it with a '33 but as yet, there are no videos on how he managed to achieve it .

When the EM2's eventually land onto these shores, I'm sure there will be plenty of RM Webbers including myself  only too willing to share their experiences

and perhaps their mistakes !

Now , all we need are those blooming EM2's ..........CHARLIE !!!!!!!

[charliepetty]

Hi RD

It seems to me that the milling process would have to start from the top down , the tanks are out of the question , am I right in thinking the EM2 is 66mm long ?

Whichever loco you choose to have the treatment, the circuit board is going to have to go , the lights along with motor and pick up connections will have to be hard

wired which I've always preferred so an 8 pin decoder is much easier for that purpose than trying to tag wires to a 21 pin .

 

First on my list will be  a Heljan Hymek as I think that could accommodate an EM2

I know that the great Legomanbiffo has done it with a '33 but as yet, there are no videos on how he managed to achieve it .

When the EM2's eventually land onto these shores, I'm sure there will be plenty of RM Webbers including myself  only too willing to share their experiences

and perhaps their mistakes !

Now , all we need are those blooming EM2's ..........CHARLIE !!!!!!!

 

shortly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't call me shortly!

[Revolution Mike B]

Hi RD

It seems to me that the milling process would have to start from the top down , the tanks are out of the question , am I right in thinking the EM2 is 66mm long ?

Whichever loco you choose to have the treatment, the circuit board is going to have to go , the lights along with motor and pick up connections will have to be hard

wired which I've always preferred so an 8 pin decoder is much easier for that purpose than trying to tag wires to a 21 pin .

 

First on my list will be  a Heljan Hymek as I think that could accommodate an EM2

I know that the great Legomanbiffo has done it with a '33 but as yet, there are no videos on how he managed to achieve it .

When the EM2's eventually land onto these shores, I'm sure there will be plenty of RM Webbers including myself  only too willing to share their experiences

and perhaps their mistakes !

Now , all we need are those blooming EM2's ..........CHARLIE !!!!!!!

 

I know Steve mills the chassis  but the EM2 does fit underneath a Bachmann 37 if you cut the mounting lugs off and stick the fuel tank sides to it - when I say the fuel tanks sides, it's literally that - nothing else. The speaker cones wont be protected though so it's not ideal.

[RD400]

Thanks for the replies about the em2 speakers

Looks like I'm in a que for the em2 speakers once the come in to Charlie

I found this on YouTube

Sounds amazing

Plus on his website there's some pictures and how he fitted it

[Albie the plumber]

I know Steve mills the chassis  but the EM2 does fit underneath a Bachmann 37 if you cut the mounting lugs off and stick the fuel tank sides to it - when I say the fuel tanks sides, it's literally that - nothing else. The speaker cones wont be protected though so it's not ideal.

 

Hi scoobyra !

Really ? Wow !  that would be great .

I had recently bought a 37 chassis block from ebay  with a view to milling it to death !

But when comparing the speaker dimensions to the actual chassis , I struggled to see how it could be fitted without completely compromising the structural integrity .

Now I  know why !

Talk about not being able to see the wood for the trees !

Thanks for pointing that out .

[RD400]

Yes had the verniers out and a em2 might be a tight fit in a class 37 it would fit in the tanks but as said don't think much of the tanks would be left as you'd only have the sides left and that's removing the lower chamfered edge on the tanks as well but until I can have one I my hand to see what other mods may be needed I'll have to wait for them to arrive

[Revolution Mike B]

I made a mock up of the EM2 from the dimensions and it is indeed a tight squeeze. The one Steve had in the 37 with the milled out chassis sounded awesome so it's going to be interesting to see what it'll sound like with an EM2 firing downwards and Martyn has fitted the EM2 to the Deltic exactly the same way.

 

I've tried all sorts of speaker / box combinations but nothing comes close to these speakers except one - a 40x28 4ohm one that I put in my non powered HST power car, and even then, it still wasn't quite right. 

 

 

 

Hopefully, they'll turn up soon and we can take things to the next level!

Edited March 13, 2017 by scoobyra

[bigal10]

Just to add my thoughts,

I'm going to get panned on this V4 based thread, but being a Zimo fan, and having read what Albie the Plumber said in post #4 that he would assume he'd remove the motherboard, and hardwire everything, some folks might find my approach interesting.

 

I've done a few conversions using the Zimo ADAPLU board for Plux22 decoders, for Zimo MX645P 22-pin decoders.

These adapter boards are far smaller than most OEM boards, and have enough connection pads for all but the most complex installs, (I like individual cab lights, and head and tail lights that are all separately controllable)

 

Like everyone on here, can't wait for Charlie's EMs to start arriving!

 

Alan.

[Albie the plumber]

Just to add my thoughts,

I'm going to get panned on this V4 based thread, but being a Zimo fan, and having read what Albie the Plumber said in post #4 that he would assume he'd remove the motherboard, and hardwire everything, some folks might find my approach interesting.

 

I've done a few conversions using the Zimo ADAPLU board for Plux22 decoders, for Zimo MX645P 22-pin decoders.

These adapter boards are far smaller than most OEM boards, and have enough connection pads for all but the most complex installs, (I like individual cab lights, and head and tail lights that are all separately controllable)

 

Like everyone on here, can't wait for Charlie's EMs to start arriving!

 

Alan.

 

Nothing wrong with Zimo sound decoders Bigal , especially if they have Paul Chetter's sound projects loaded on to them and I have 8 of them .

Just looked at the ADAPLU on ebay.

Looks like a very good alternative to hard wiring .

There's obviously more than one way of doing things right .

[legomanbiffo]

Just to add my thoughts,

I'm going to get panned on this V4 based thread

Alan.

Not by us you won't, we don't do that. Could that Zimo board be used with chips from other manufacturers?

[Revolution Mike B]

Well I can definitely confirm that an EM2 fits in a Bachmann 37 without the need to mill the chassis.

 

This is a good alternative for anyone that doesn't want to throw the circuit board away and leaves minimal damage to the loco itself. It's not for the faint hearted though as it requires about 4 hours and the inability to worry about trashing a) the plastic chassis with the tanks, and b) an EM2.

 

 

Ignore the feet....and the blue tack...

 

I've got another one to fit later.........would I do it for anyone else.....probably not...  

Edited March 26, 2017 by scoobyra

[RBAGE]

Great job. Any chance of a blow by blow account so I can copy your work?

[Albie the plumber]

Well I can definitely confirm that an EM2 fits in a Bachmann 37 without the need to mill the chassis.

 

This is a good alternative for anyone that doesn't want to throw the circuit board away and leaves minimal damage to the loco itself. It's not for the faint hearted though as it requires about 4 hours and the inability to worry about trashing a) the plastic chassis with the tanks, and b) an EM2.

 

Big Speaker.jpg

 

Ignore the feet....and the blue tack...

 

I've got another one to fit later.........would I do it for anyone else.....probably not...  

 

Impressive work that

Well done !

[Revolution Mike B]

For anyone that's interested, here's how to squeeze an EM2 in to the tanks of a Bachmann 37.

 

Before we start, this is just an alternative to Steve's (Merlin DCC) method and if I'm honest, I'd probably use Steve's method next time for reasons you'll see below!

 

Firstly, strip down the loco - 6 screws to remove the body and then literally dismantle everything. Bogie towers off, circuit board off, unsolder the lighting wires, remove the plastic chassis, and then you're left with this...

 

 

Next up, chop the mounting lugs off of the EM2 and offer it up.....you'll find it's too large for the tanks!

 

 

Now this is where things can go terribly wrong and you'll stand a good chance of wrecking a perfectly serviceable Bachmann 37, or £22.50 worth of EM2....or both!

 

The EM2 is 3mm too long, and 3mm too wide to fit in to the tanks so first up, remove all of the plastic that forms the base of the tanks, and then file the inside of the whole area flat, so you end up with....

 

 

So now we have the hole, but no speaker, and the next bit is going to make Bif and Charlie very rich.....because either way, you'll be buying more EM2s...... due to the fact that a) it sounds great, or b) you'e destroyed it!

 

Using a Dremmel and a file, I removed a load of material form the sides of the EM2 so that it would slot inside the now vacant space in the tanks...and this is critical as it's very easy to end up with an enclosure full of holes!

 

 

Once the EM2 is a snug fit inside the hole, the metal chassis needs to have the locating lugs filed down so that it'll mate up to the plastic one because the speaker is in the way...and it's probably a good idea to pop the motor out before you start filing the lugs to avoid swarf stuck to it!

 

 

All that remains is to solder some wires to the speaker terminals and then put the whole lot back together.

 

I've glued the speaker in to the tanks to keep everything square (which makes the speaker almost impossible to remove if it blows) so just beware if you decide to try my method. It does work, and sounds so real, I had it on tick over for nearly half an hour just listening to it. The EM2s give so much more depth to the sound and the thump from the loco is unbelievably real....considering it's size (cue the comments that it'll never sound real because it's a model, it's impossible to scale sound, you're wasting your time with sound etc etc - who cares, there's a whole load of other people that think the opposite!)

 

Just don't hold me responsible if you end up with £130 worth of scrap!       

 

 

[RBAGE]

I think I'll give it a go.

I'm thinking you could remove most of the speaker enclosure and use the plastic chassis section to create the enclosure.

Charlie! Speakers please.

Oh! And a couple of Bif's best 37/0's.

Bob

[Revolution Mike B]

I think I'll give it a go.

I'm thinking you could remove most of the speaker enclosure and use the plastic chassis section to create the enclosure.

Charlie! Speakers please.

Oh! And a couple of Bif's best 37/0's.

Bob

 

I'd be interested to see how good that would sound as the enclosure is a specific volume for the passive radiator. It's easy enough to separate the speaker plate from the rest of the enclosure but you'll still need to narrow it by 1mm

[RBAGE]

I wonder what the innards look like. Has anyone investigated?

 

Is it 2 speakers and 2 separate chambers?

[RD400]

1st thanks to scoobyra for showing a picture with the em2 fitted then the work to list with pictures

scoobyra you say you'd do it the same way that merlin dcc has fitted his how is this different from yours

 

 

Just need some speakers from you know who

[Revolution Mike B]

I wonder what the innards look like. Has anyone investigated?

 

Is it 2 speakers and 2 separate chambers?

 

Its one chamber Bob, with one powered speaker and one non powered.

[Revolution Mike B]

1st thanks to scoobyra for showing a picture with the em2 fitted then the work to list with pictures

scoobyra you say you'd do it the same way that merlin dcc has fitted his how is this different from yours

 

 

Just need some speakers from you know who

 

Steve removes the circuit board completely and throws it away - the chip is then hard wired. To fit the speaker, he mills the chassis out so that the speaker site inside the loco body.

 

Hope that helps.

Mike

[Steve Brammer]

Steve removes the circuit board completely and throws it away - the chip is then hard wired. To fit the speaker, he mills the chassis out so that the speaker site inside the loco body.

 

Hope that helps.

Mike

[Steve Brammer]

Hello Gents,

See the EM2 fit is creating interest. One thing you must do if milling the top of the chassis to accommodate an EM2 is to throw the motor mount as well as the PCB. The motor can then sit on top of the fuel tanks. I have found by experimentation that the EM2 sounds best when enclosed inside a body shell.

I have just completed a new Deltic installation using two EM2's and two chips. The results are not cheap, however they are BIBLICAL. With the use of two independent sound files through two independent EM2 speakers it sounds like there really are two Napiers in there!!!

Oooops I've done it now!