Seven Mills Sidings, from TOPS to the POD, Page 169 and Bench Road, Stabling and Fuelling Point from Page 245

[PeterBB]

If you hadn't done so many other layouts would not have been made and this thread would not have existed so you would not be referring to the 'idiot' who sold it!

 

[dmeaden]

Hi Andy

 

A little while back you did a class 40 sound install and I wonder if you could provide a little insight on the speaker housing. 
 

I can see from the photo that the speaker appears to be facing down and I wondered if you had to create any holes in the fuel tank to facilitate the sound. 
 

On my 40 there is a formed grille in the metal chassis which seems just about adequate but wondered if you needed to do anymore holes to plastic tanks beneath.

 

Thanks in anticipation, DM.

Edited November 30, 2019 by dmeaden

[Andrew P]

5 hours ago, dmeaden said:

Hi Andy

 

A little while back you did a class 40 sound install and I wonder if you could provide a little insight on the speaker housing. 
 

I can see from the photo that the speaker appears to be facing down and I wondered if you had to create any holes in the fuel tank to facilitate the sound. 
 

On my 40 there is a formed grille in the metal chassis which seems just about adequate but wondered if you needed to do anymore holes to plastic tanks beneath.

 

Thanks in anticipation, DM.

Hi DM, I've just been out to have a look as I couldn't remember. I fitted the speaker as you are doing from inside above the grill, but never looked underneath as far as I can remember. Now mine is not as sharp / whistly sound as I would like, and I thought it was probably the speaker.

BUT BUT BUT, Having now been out to have a look, and taken off the cover / Fuel Tank marked with the Heljan Logo, I will probably try it tomorrow with out the cover on, and if it's better I will definitely be drilling some holes.

I hope this helps mate.

[dmeaden]

Thanks Andy

 

i have my (very large) speaker pointing up and it provides plenty of noise and good whistling but the bass is a little over- powered by the higher pitched sound using the body shell as an “amplifier”. 
 

I will create a bespoke box around it which might help? Alternatively I can substitute a reduced speaker size like yours that fits in the recess below the decoder and fire it out the base.

 

will be interested to see if the sound is any better with the tanks off....

 

will work on mine tomorrow and report findings....

 

DM

[dmeaden]

Thanks Andy

 

i have my (very large) speaker pointing up and it provides plenty of noise and good whistling but the bass is a little over- powered by the higher pitched sound using the body shell as an “amplifier”. 
 

I will create a bespoke box around it which might help? Alternatively I can substitute a reduced speaker size like yours that fits in the recess below the decoder and fire it out the base.

 

will be interested to see if the sound is any better with the tanks off....

 

will work on mine tomorrow and report findings....

 

DM

[Andrew P]

3 hours ago, dmeaden said:

Thanks Andy

 

i have my (very large) speaker pointing up and it provides plenty of noise and good whistling but the bass is a little over- powered by the higher pitched sound using the body shell as an “amplifier”. 
 

I will create a bespoke box around it which might help? Alternatively I can substitute a reduced speaker size like yours that fits in the recess below the decoder and fire it out the base.

 

will be interested to see if the sound is any better with the tanks off....

 

will work on mine tomorrow and report findings....

 

DM

Been out after my Post, tested it, and happy to report that it is a little less Bassey and more Whistly which is just what I wanted, so 4 large holes were drilld and now it's much better.

SO, Thanks for giving me the push, and getting me to have a look at it.

[Andrew P]

Another pic from the Road bridge the other day and the Rats are still on the Fuel.

[PannierTanker14]

I think that there may be a leak in their fuel tanks if they’re always at the fuel pumps  

Edited December 1, 2019 by PannierTanker14
A perfect example of all three ‘there’

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, PannierTanker14 said:

I think that there may be a leak in their fuel tanks if they’re always at the fuel pumps  

They shouldn't run out, I don't run them enough, It must be the Fuel Fairies that nick it, haha

[dmeaden]

On 30/11/2019 at 18:48, Andrew P said:

Been out after my Post, tested it, and happy to report that it is a little less Bassey and more Whistly which is just what I wanted, so 4 large holes were drilld and now it's much better.

SO, Thanks for giving me the push, and getting me to have a look at it.

Hi Andy

I decided to replace the large speaker facing up with a smaller bass reflex facing down. Sounds better now and the bass chatter of the Diesel engine is much more discernible.

Not sure I need to drill out the tanks as the sound is quite well balanced but will run it for a week or so and decide ( after Reading trade show next weekend)

As a matter of interest I wired the roof fan to Aux4. Works ok but a bit noisy. Tuning down the brightness of the lighting with CV60 causes the fan to hum and below a setting of 50 it doesn’t start. Did you connect up your roof fan. Wondering if it will work better on one of the servo motor connections? 

(Have the same problem with the Class 20)

 

Regards DM

[dmeaden]

Re: the rats - maybe the holes in the bottom of the tanks for the sound are a clue...!

[Andrew P]

5 minutes ago, dmeaden said:

Hi Andy

I decided to replace the large speaker facing up with a smaller bass reflex facing down. Sounds better now and the bass chatter of the Diesel engine is much more discernible.

Not sure I need to drill out the tanks as the sound is quite well balanced but will run it for a week or so and decide ( after Reading trade show next weekend)

As a matter of interest I wired the roof fan to Aux4. Works ok but a bit noisy. Tuning down the brightness of the lighting with CV60 causes the fan to hum and below a setting of 50 it doesn’t start. Did you connect up your roof fan. Wondering if it will work better on one of the servo motor connections? 

(Have the same problem with the Class 20)

 

Regards DM

My roof fans are not connected, but that doesn't worry me, and my sound is now better balanced than before, so well chuffed. Likewise with the Lights, it's something I've never looked to alter, but thanks for the info.

[Andrew P]

Early evening at Seven Mills.

[Jintyman]

2 hours ago, dmeaden said:

Hi Andy

I decided to replace the large speaker facing up with a smaller bass reflex facing down. Sounds better now and the bass chatter of the Diesel engine is much more discernible.

Not sure I need to drill out the tanks as the sound is quite well balanced but will run it for a week or so and decide ( after Reading trade show next weekend)

As a matter of interest I wired the roof fan to Aux4. Works ok but a bit noisy. Tuning down the brightness of the lighting with CV60 causes the fan to hum and below a setting of 50 it doesn’t start. Did you connect up your roof fan. Wondering if it will work better on one of the servo motor connections? 

(Have the same problem with the Class 20)

 

Regards DM

 

 

I've fitted sound to many many Heljan locos, and have never had much luck with the roof fan.

They either make a noise from the beginning or start quietly but within a short period of operation, they become noisy.

Not sure if it's anything to do with the signal from the decoder causing interference or not, but I just don't bother now.

 

As for speakers, I am currently  fitting quite a few Heljan 37/4's with sound and I'm actually using the tanks as the speaker chamber. I'm also fitting a reflex tube between the speaker chamber (tanks) and the inside of the body. This creates a Bass Reflex speaker in essence, and the deep tones are much more crisper, as I'm sure Andy will vouch for after hearing the class 37/4 I took to our meet up.

Also Andy's two 'Rat's' have been fitted with two Bass reflex speakers mounted on pedestals facing down over the gear towers, allowing the sound to come out through the bogie apertures. This gives a nice crisp sound, again, I'm sure Andy will comment with his view on this.

 

Jinty

[dmeaden]

8 minutes ago, Jintyman said:

 

 

I've fitted sound to many many Heljan locos, and have never had much luck with the roof fan.

They either make a noise from the beginning or start quietly but within a short period of operation, they become noisy.

Not sure if it's anything to do with the signal from the decoder causing interference or not, but I just don't bother now.

 

As for speakers, I am currently  fitting quite a few Heljan 37/4's with sound and I'm actually using the tanks as the speaker chamber. I'm also fitting a reflex tube between the speaker chamber (tanks) and the inside of the body. This creates a Bass Reflex speaker in essence, and the deep tones are much more crisper, as I'm sure Andy will vouch for after hearing the class 37/4 I took to our meet up.

Also Andy's two 'Rat's' have been fitted with two Bass reflex speakers mounted on pedestals facing down over the gear towers, allowing the sound to come out through the bogie apertures. This gives a nice crisp sound, again, I'm sure Andy will comment with his view on this.

 

Jinty

Interesting to hear your Heljan experiences Jintyman, thanks and I have found your 7mm thread which has also been helpful. I think the output to the aux is pulsed by the decoder to lower brightness of LED’s which seems to cause the fan motor to be noisy or just hum when the setting is too low. I’m not sure a servo output will work but I will let you know if I get any positive results....

As for speakers I have a large range and tried them all in different settings and locations with varying success. I will look at a tank install at some point and assume you drill out the metal chassis to get adequate routing for the bass reflex tube.

As I’m new to O Gauge I’m taking it one step at a time! Sorting out the lights has been fun but now I’ve made an LED tester it is easier to figure out Heljans  wiring!

 

Best Regards DM

[Andrew P]

The Rats sound that Jint's is referring two was the main reason I decided to stick to Heljan O with Paul Chetter / Zimo Sounds and using Jint's 2 x Bass speaker per Loco.  The sound is sharp as the last three Video's posted on the previous pages will testify, a nice bark and a most realistic sound.

[Hal Nail]

6 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

The Rats sound that Jint's is referring two was the main reason I decided to stick to Heljan O with Paul Chetter / Zimo Sounds and using Jint's 2 x Bass speaker per Loco.  The sound is sharp as the last three Video's posted on the previous pages will testify, a nice bark and a most realistic sound.

Sorry if this is repeating old ground but have all your locos had a motor removed?

[Andrew P]

10 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

Sorry if this is repeating old ground but have all your locos had a motor removed?

Hi Hal Nail, I have done a full breakdown of this very question in the 14th Post down on the previous page.

It's well worth a read, because if your running a small Layout as I am here, you don't need the two Motors, as that is over kill. Also one Motor will save about £50 a Chip by using special OO Chips and so basically every 3rd Loco is a free Chip.

 

As I say, have a look at that post, back a page and if you have any more question on it, contact me on here or Jintyman who fitted most of them for me.

 

Cheers.

[Andrew P]

Early morning at Seven Mills and the Railfreight 20 arrives from the MOD Branch.

[Hal Nail]

8 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Hi Hal Nail, I have done a full breakdown of this very question in the 14th Post down on the previous page.

Many thanks! I always read this thread but it moves so fast, sometimes a page slips by!

[dmeaden]

9 hours ago, Andrew P said:

The Rats sound that Jint's is referring two was the main reason I decided to stick to Heljan O with Paul Chetter / Zimo Sounds and using Jint's 2 x Bass speaker per Loco.  The sound is sharp as the last three Video's posted on the previous pages will testify, a nice bark and a most realistic sound.

Your videos always sound good Andy. I only normally listen on my phone and the speaker is not really a descent reflection of the real life sound ( normally too tinny).

i did make some progress with the fan and found that you can omit the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) that controls the brightness of the lights with CV114 settings which cover aux 1to 4 ( 7 to 12 are covered by CV152).

 

the only problem is the fan gets full load and whizzes around like crazy! Time to put the original Heljan fan controller board back me thinks!

 

will try later and hope this works....

 

Best Regards DM

[Andrew P]

19 minutes ago, dmeaden said:

Your videos always sound good Andy. I only normally listen on my phone and the speaker is not really a descent reflection of the real life sound ( normally too tinny).

i did make some progress with the fan and found that you can omit the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) that controls the brightness of the lights with CV114 settings which cover aux 1to 4 ( 7 to 12 are covered by CV152).

 

the only problem is the fan gets full load and whizzes around like crazy! Time to put the original Heljan fan controller board back me thinks!

 

will try later and hope this works....

 

Best Regards DM

Sounds good but way over my head on the technical stuff, I can adjust Volumes and that is all I've ever tried in 7mm. In 4mm I adjust CV's 2, 3, and 4 if required, i.e Start Voltage, Acceleration, Deceleration and Top Voltage if required, plus of course overall Volume which is easy on a Zimo Chip as it's Functions 27 and 28, or CV 63 on an ESU, or CV 188 on a Hornby TTS Chip.

 

Good luck.

Edited December 2, 2019 by Andrew P

[Andrew P]

Back in 2010 I bought a Bachmann Brassworks 03, still in Brass. George T of this Parish painted and numbered it and I detailed the interior. The paint job was actually done outside in the rain under an umbrella, how MAD is that?

It's seen here on St Budoc.

 

 

 

 

[JeffP]

13 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Hi Hal Nail, I have done a full breakdown of this very question in the 14th Post down on the previous page.

It's well worth a read, because if your running a small Layout as I am here, you don't need the two Motors, as that is over kill. Also one Motor will save about £50 a Chip by using special OO Chips and so basically every 3rd Loco is a free Chip.

 

As I say, have a look at that post, back a page and if you have any more question on it, contact me on here or Jintyman who fitted most of them for me.

 

Cheers.

How do you remove a motor? Aren't they integral?

And what do you do with the removed ones, please?

[Andrew P]

10 minutes ago, JeffP said:

How do you remove a motor? Aren't they integral?

And what do you do with the removed ones, please?

Hi Jeff, If you send a note to Jintyman, (he has posted on here yesterday) as he undertook the ones with the Motor removal, I have kept the Motors in case I ever want to sell, and the Buyer wants to use both Motors or in case I have a problem with one.

I believer there is also a You Tube tutorial on how to remove them as well.