New connectors make life difficut

[Vecchio]

May be I am just grumpy, but the old days with either wires only or a 6 pole or 8 pol nem connector made life easy. Your lovely sound chip had its 2 wires for the speakers, and you find accessible pads if you want to add also to add a stay alive.

 

Recently I purchased a OBB X626 (Liliput 133002), for the non continental guys this is the Austrian version of a Wickham trolley. I looked at the different Zimo sound files and found a file with the sound of the sister engine (same but narrow gauge). I downloaded the file on my tester (a chassis only Klein Modellbahn loco with a Zimo 645, stay alive and a speaker) and the sound is acceptable. The speciality is that this little trolley had a lorry engine and gearbox, so you hear it shifting up one gear after the other.

 

OK. A good look at the loco showed me that I may have success with the new Zimo 659n18. The (expensive) decoder arrived and with a small modification of the gearbox cover it fits into the tiny thing. And now it comes. The loco works nicely, directional lights and all. But our Bachmann friends didn't think that anybody could be so crazy and put a sound decoder into this loco. Means there are no pads for the speaker connection and who of you has seen the next 18 connector - it is so tiny that I think soldering a wire to it is almost impossible...

 

Has anybody of you ever been in such a situation??

 

 

Another example - this time it's the headlight. As some of you may know I am getting older and play also with bigger scales... So I have some rolling stock for our club 7mm layout. My lovely Dapol Pannier tank runs with a Zimo MX 644D direct plugged into their 21 pin socket. Perfect, found a matching speaker, even found the right plug for the speaker so all works well and the loco runs through the world with Youchoose immersive drive. Best sound I ever had. So far so good. Recently I found nice 0-scale lanterns, whitemetal casting with a kind of swarovsky diamond for the glass lens. I drilled that out from the bottom, made the end of the lens flat, a 2 colour SMD led and on we go. It was a bit difficult to find an invisible pass from the lamp irons to the decoder, but finally I am there. And now: the same dilemma. Why did Dapol's engineers not make a pad on their little circuit board for the lights and for the common plus? Well the plus is not so difficult to get as they have the firebox flicker on a function output. But the white and yellow wire? Nothing. Minimum the 21 pin socket is a bit bigger so with a bit of patience and a look in the decoder manual the missing wires can be soldered to the decoder socket.

 

I have to say life would be much easier if the companies using direct plug in decoders would have a pad for all function keys! And I understand the space argument in the small trolley - but not at Dapols 0-scale loco...

 

Anybody else with this experience?

Vecchio

Edited January 18, 2019 by Vecchio

[Vecchio]

Having started to moan - I have also another example, this time a positive one. But first the pictures about the trolley (Liliput by Bachmann): 

 

This is how the thing looks

 

DSC_0210 by Gerhard Novak

 

And this is where the decoder sits

 

DSC_0211 by Gerhard Novak

 

And finally the decoder plugged out to show the next 18 socket. 

 

DSC_0212 by Gerhard Novak

 

If you see the buffer in the picture you can imagine how small this socket is... 

 

OK, now the positive example. 

 

Rivarossi (by Hornby) OBB 1046 023-6. First the model, already opened. 

 

DSC_0222 by Gerhard Novak

 

And now the surprise

 

DSC_0219 by Gerhard Novak

 

Speaker pads on the PCB. I am impressed. I always thought Bachmann looks rather at details but this time Hornby clearly did beat them.... 

Enough for today. Of course I will try to get the sound into the little one. Would be a waste of money otherwise to go around with a 99€ sound chip....

Vecchio

[Suzie]

There are two implementations of Next-18 (non-sound) and Next-18S (with sound) so potentially some models with Next-18 sockets will not be intended to have sound, but I suspect that this one does not use all eight function outputs that would preclude having a speaker!

 

The space available is larger on the sound version. You have probably been lucky in that the Zimo sound decoder (Next-18S) fits in to the space intended for a non-sound decoder (Next-18).

[Vecchio]

Actually the model of the X626 was a special offer so I couldn't resist. I know that the space for the decoder was not intended for a sound decoder. But I wouldn't call it lucky that the decoder fits as I have a vernier calliper and know ho to use it...

Vecchio

[A4CML]

Hi Vecchio,

I know a few months have passed but did you have any luck wiring the Zimo 659n18? What was your solution in the end? I'm in a similar position, this decoder would fit just in a Bemo G3/4 to provide sound but would ideally have to be wired. Any suggestions?

Regards,

Chris

[Vecchio]

@A4CML A few month have passed and I gave myself a kick to go on with the X625. First you need a pointy soldering iron... 

The tip is already a bit used (parts oxidised away) so I allowed myself to shape it a bit further with a file. 

20200531_155317 

 

As wire I used 0.08mm enamelled wire from a relay coil. With a visor, lots of light and patience it was possible to solder the wires to the next 18 socket. I am sorry I didn't make a picture but I am happy all is together again and working... 

So you see here just the wires for the stay alive and the speakers coming out. 

20200531_155002 

 

for the stay alive I made a capacitor bank from 150uF tantalum capacitors - gives 750uF - enough for the tiny motor. I painted the capacitor bank so it "hides" in the cab. The speaker is glued to the roof, the roof itself functions as part of the resonance box. 

Also a driver torso was glued on, he sits in the middle, where the gearbox of the motor is. Must have been rather loud in this trolley, practically sitting on a lorry diesel. 

 

Even after stay alive and speaker you can still see through the model. 

20200531_162407 

 

20200531_162501 

 

and finally a little video (click on the photo to get there)

20200531_164052 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Vecchio