SOUND INSTALLATION - Bachmann 45XX & 4575 PRAIRIES

[Compbck]

For anyone contemplating installing sound in the new Bachmann Class 45XX Prairies, I have just completed two successful installations.

 

As with many Bachmann locos, both required some minor cutting of the interior in order to satisfactorily locate the speaker in the tender section on a ledge beneath the coal bunker.

 

The installation requires that the loco is dismantled into three separate parts, the lower body section containing the wheels and motor, a mid-body frame, and the upper main body. A small screw at each end located beneath the front and rear wheels allows the main body to be removed from the lower body of the loco, and two further screws located under the upper body allows the mid-section to be removed. The mid-body section needs to be removed in order to provide access to the cab and coal bunker area, where the speaker is to be located.

 

The decoder used was a Zimo Micro Decoder, but with a small rectangular speaker soldered on, as the sugar-cube speaker supplied provided a bit of tinny sound.

 

After removing some access plastic from around the cab and coal bunker area a neat recess was created under the coal bunker, into which the speaker could be mounted facing downwards in a bed of Blu-Tac. Three small holes were drilled in the mid-section immediately under the speaker to help improve the escape of sound. The speaker wires were then neatly channelled through the cab to the decoder. The decoder was attached to the loco using the 8-pin socket, and the decoder itself was slotted into the boiler well wrapped in installation tape to help secure and insulate it.

 

The three pieces of bodywork were then re-assembled in reverse order. At this stage, it is particularly important to attach the mid-body section to the upper body before inserting the 8-pin plug into the socket located on the lower body section housing the motor, in order to allow the wires to be passed through to be eventually attached to the 8-pin socket.

 

Both are now working well on a test track layout.

 

I apologise for the extent of the text used to describe this upgrade process, but I am also preparing a PDF document with images if anyone requires a copy please do contact me. Unfortunately, the document may well be larger than the 1MB image upload permitted otherwise I would have attached it here.

[Simond]

Hi

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but whose/which sound project please?

 

Thx

Simon