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Heljan 7mm Class 20


brian daniels
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Towers first batch is now due sometime between Christmas and New Year as Heljan currently have sent these but it is not know which ones they are.

 

First of two batches is going to all model shops so do not know about Hattons Disc fitted examples.

 

Information taken from Tower Models Homepage. I am in no way connected to Tower or any other Modelshop!

Edited by HullCityB17
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I had a call from Tower Models at 09:25 today and my BR Blue Domino Headcode fitted Class 20 is going to be delivered tomorrow by courier. Money already taken from the account and someone will be in to accept delivery of a nice last minute Xmas present/early New Years present :)

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Blue headcode box double header on its way from Liverpool to York tomorrow! Anyone having thoughts on which sound system to use in the locos, was thinking Paul Chetter if he does one, Legomanbiffo or Howes?

Picking my blue/dominos up from Antics on Saturday morning. Howes sound going inside.

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Blue headcode box double header on its way from Liverpool to York tomorrow! Anyone having thoughts on which sound system to use in the locos, was thinking Paul Chetter if he does one, Legomanbiffo or Howes?

I have purchased from Legomanbiffo for my Class 20 for my sound and speaker.

I purchased these when I was at Warley NEC when I was getting my Class 37 Sound chip reblown.

 

I have not tried the others so I cannot comment.

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Two blue 20’s arrived from Hattons in good condition, they were screwed to wooden boards as per the Class 45. Just spent an amusing half hour explaining to the wife why I bought two and why they are coupled together, I think she got it in the end! Just contemplating whether there is any benefit in both having dcc sound or if it’s a bit overkill.

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Two blue 20’s arrived from Hattons in good condition, they were screwed to wooden boards as per the Class 45. Just spent an amusing half hour explaining to the wife why I bought two and why they are coupled together, I think she got it in the end! Just contemplating whether there is any benefit in both having dcc sound or if it’s a bit overkill.

 

,might initially be a good thought but have you ever got a bit teed off at the constant whistle you can hear from an idling class 40 or class 20 with sound fitted on the other side of an exhibition hall and wanted to throw something at  at it? 

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,might initially be a good thought but have you ever got a bit teed off at the constant whistle you can hear from an idling class 40 or class 20 with sound fitted on the other side of an exhibition hall and wanted to throw something at  at it? 

Music to my ears LOL

Norman

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Standard factory sound maybes....a quality soundchip and installation and it's music to my ears. I install quite a few Legoman 'paired' chips, which means they work slightly independantly, slightly different acceleration rates, horns brakes etc, absolute music to my ears. I have 3 7mm pairs to fit on the workbench  :sungum:

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  • RMweb Gold

Is that a factory weathered one?

 

No. Weathered (rather crudely) by me.  I think the factory weathered version has the earlier cabside BR emblem and 0000 head code.

Edited by uk_pm
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I have a second to do, so will post some pics when I do it.  

 

The difficulty stems from the narrow body and the lack of any proper space for any decent speaker or suitable decoder.  I have tried both the Loksound L and the XL and neither can be very easily accommodated. In the end, the safer bet (in my view) is the XL slid sideways into the space beneath the circuit board.  Whatever decoder you use, care must be taken to ensure that it is insulated against contact with the metal chassis.  Use of this space for the decoder leaves nowhere for a decent sized speaker, leaving no choice but to remove one of the motors - a compromise which is fine if, like me, you have a layout which is little more than a plank.  The lights require some care - but the existing Heljan wiring uses blue for the positive with each of the lights having a different coloured negative (the head code boxes are yellow and white, with the red lights being purple and green, I think).  I added a resistor to each lighting circuit just in case.

 

Once all that is done, you have to put the loco back together again. Be very careful; those footsteps are fragile!  

 

PS: The speaker I use is 3W and its dimensions (including enclosure) are 69x31x9 (L/W/D).  It fits perfectly in the body in the space vacated by the removed motor and emits its sound direct through the fan grille.  Plenty of power, nice and bassy.

 

Looks great weathered. Comment on sound noted is there any advice on how to fit, number and type of speaker

Edited by uk_pm
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Thanks I’ll look forward to the pics. I’ll be running my two locos as a pair so taking one motor out of each makes sense as four motors must be over kill any way. I can keep the motors as spares, the gears won’t be under load so can stay in as spares also. I did consider a speaker in the loco without the decoder linked with a wire and plug on the buffer beam.

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Two blue 20’s arrived from Hattons in good condition, they were screwed to wooden boards as per the Class 45. Just spent an amusing half hour explaining to the wife why I bought two and why they are coupled together, I think she got it in the end! Just contemplating whether there is any benefit in both having dcc sound or if it’s a bit overkill.

Got my Railfreight 20 over weekend from C and M models,must say the wooden mounts are a reassuring addition to the packaging, especially after the smashed 60 I received before Christmas.

Modelman

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  • 1 month later...

I have to say, Heljan have made a right cock up of this one..see pic. I had to do a double take! That can't be an accident.. :sarcastichand:

 

Currently doing a small batch of these in red stripe/BR blue for TTCdiecast, so feel free to have a looky! Great packaging for a change. Nice model. Alex

post-9660-0-85511600-1519037182_thumb.jpg

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I have a second to do, so will post some pics when I do it.  

 

The difficulty stems from the narrow body and the lack of any proper space for any decent speaker or suitable decoder.  I have tried both the Loksound L and the XL and neither can be very easily accommodated. In the end, the safer bet (in my view) is the XL slid sideways into the space beneath the circuit board.  Whatever decoder you use, care must be taken to ensure that it is insulated against contact with the metal chassis.  Use of this space for the decoder leaves nowhere for a decent sized speaker, leaving no choice but to remove one of the motors - a compromise which is fine if, like me, you have a layout which is little more than a plank.  The lights require some care - but the existing Heljan wiring uses blue for the positive with each of the lights having a different coloured negative (the head code boxes are yellow and white, with the red lights being purple and green, I think).  I added a resistor to each lighting circuit just in case.

 

Once all that is done, you have to put the loco back together again. Be very careful; those footsteps are fragile!  

 

PS: The speaker I use is 3W and its dimensions (including enclosure) are 69x31x9 (L/W/D).  It fits perfectly in the body in the space vacated by the removed motor and emits its sound direct through the fan grille.  Plenty of power, nice and bassy.

A Zimo MX696 fits, just, but without the breakout board.  Having removed the Heljan board I thought no way would the MX696 fit but if it's inverted the pins go into the space where the Heljan board was fitted and there's room for the wires to exit.  So discard the breakout board and solder wires direct to the pins, sounds scary but really quite straight forward, add some shrink tube and it looks good. Oh and I applied insulation tape around the void in the chassis, it's aclose fit but amazingly does fit. And no need to remove one of the motors as a Zimo LS40x20x09 optimised 3D speaker fits in the roof.  Sounds great!!!!!!!

Those corner steps are very easy to knock off but I'll replace them after transfers and weathering.

Norman

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  • 3 months later...

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