jagger14 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 i wish more people would post pictures of there locos before and after the DCC sound Conversion. I am after an "easy" N gauge loco thats not a DMU for my next project. Its very difficult to see which are easier than others just from watching a video of it going round and round... anyone point me in the right direction of a thread or even better post some of there locos internal shots? Thanks in advance for any help Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Easy ones are: Tender steam locos where the entire drive is in the locomotive. eg. some older Farish designs, the ancient Hornby Minitrix, etc.. Those are a doddle as the tender is an empty box for decoder and speaker. Larger diesels where there is plenty of space above the chassis in the roof line, eg. Farish 37, 24. With those a CT/Zimo "sugar cube" resonator can be built into the roof (loose the resonator body, and fabricate a new one from thick plasticard, exact shape not critical, it just needs to create a tight air space for the resonator to work against). - Nigel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
s182ggu Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Hi Rob You may want to have a look here: https://clarahost.clara.net/www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/decoderinstallation2mm.htm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger14 Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Thanks for your help guys... some good info for me to have a look through, i think i have been on that website before .. Nigel, I dont think i have the bottle to go and spend $$$ on a 37 and chip without seeing pictures of one which has already been done, I just dont want to spend all that cash and end up taking the engine to bits, if that makes sence? also, i am struggling to find which new DCC Ready steam locos are not tender drive and would be suitable? for my second DCC Sound install i dont fancy a non DCC ready one . Thanks again Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 DCC-ready = lots of space wasted by chip socket and only enough space for a non-sound chip. The reduced space will make it much harder to install sound. - Nigel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger14 Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 DCC-ready = lots of space wasted by chip socket and only enough space for a non-sound chip. The reduced space will make it much harder to install sound. - Nigel Intresting way to look at it, i didnt think of it like that. I guess the most troubling part of it is fitting the speaker in, so if you create more room in the first place the whole thing should be easier to do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted March 25, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2013 You can get a Zimo chip + sugar cube speaker in a new 47 by removing one of the cab desks and putting the speaker in the cab. No need to take out the circuit board, though Nigel's solution is better and will give you better sound. Cheers, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger14 Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 You can get a Zimo chip + sugar cube speaker in a new 47 by removing one of the cab desks and putting the speaker in the cab. No need to take out the circuit board, though Nigel's solution is better and will give you better sound. Cheers, Mike thats the ticket i am after i think,,, now to find a 47 thank you... will keep you updated on progress.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Mc Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 If you take my advice,I would go for a Farish class 50 or Deltic.Both are non dcc ready loco's but provide more space on top of the chassis to accomodate the speaker and decoder. For instance,these only require a medium amount of chassis grinding and filing to make space for the speaker.The sound decoder can jusr be sat on top of the chassis at the other end.With a class 47 it would require mods to the wiring to makw the lights work and also,trying to make an exclosure to fit the roof area could take as long to get right as it would to strip down the loco and grind the chassis.Neither approach is a half hour job,it will take time so this is why I would try a non dcc rwady Farish as a first "easy" conversion. The motor is dead easy to isolate by filing the surrounding metal of the chassis block and a channel filed to allow the wires to the motor to fit flush without filing the body.Another thing worth of a mention is that the CT sugarcube speaker,the one with the clear enclosure can be trimmed down by filing the edges to make them more rounded to suot the roof's profile.They also can stand having 1 to 2mm cut off of the height and lose no volume either as they also use the loco body as a secondary resonator,although they won't be quite as loud as oo gauge due to the speaker sizes. Farish non dcc ready loco's only require 4 connections,2 for current collection,2 for the motor terminals and 2 for the speaker,all the others are just clipped back.With the later dcc ready loco's,you will need to add in the additional wires for lights plus the space needed to accomodate resistors which is much harder.I have just completed a dutch liveried class 37 and it has,by far and away the most complicated conversion I have done to date and this has an identical chassis to the class 47 with the exception of the light unit os on board the chassis of the 47 whereas on the class 37,it has lightboards on the chassis ends with contacts to the bodyshell's nose where the bulbs are fitted.Hope this is of help to you. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger14 Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Thanks for the info pete.... i am guessing an old class 47 would be nearly the same as class 55... prior to reading your thread i have ordered a digihat or two and a class 47 sound decorder with sugar cube speaker..... i will report how i get on but i am not planning on taking the thing to bits if i can help it!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Mc Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I second what Evilnoodle has written,unfortunately,if you do decide to attack the chassis block with a dremel or files or both,a full strip down of the chassis is the way to go.You don't want any of the metal particles entering the motor or the area where the driveshafts and gears are located or it spells death in no time for the loco.Trust me when I say this,there is not a lot to get wrong when dissassembling and reassembling the loco.It will also give you an idea on what to do if you decide to service/repair faulty or bad running loco's. Since I started doing my own dcc sound conversions,I have also taken it upon myself to thoroughly service,clean up the mechanisms of packing grease,oil and generally fettle all the pickups to provide excellent current collection which is essential to the satisfactory running of dcc sound fitted loco's without stay alive caps. If you do decide to do a later Farish dcc ready loco,don't forget to unclip the bogies from the gearbox/tower section that fits into the chassis.Its an absolute pig to line up with one pair of hands and not damage the little brass pickup strips that the bogie touches in order to supply power to the chassis.Once the bogies are unclipped,these just sit in their recesses and the whole thing screws and clips together very easy indeed. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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