zr2498

5 hours ago, Roger Sunderland said:

I have reduced CV63 down to 160 from 190 which has helped with the sound cutting out during start up- as suggested earlier in this thread. However I think the issue may be to do with the capacitor bank. The sound only cuts out if you try and start it immediately you apply power to the track. Leave it for a couple of mins , selected on your controller, and there doesn’t seem to be a problem. Are the capacitors having to charge up?

It would be interesting to know how the ACC capacitors are wired up and controlled. For ESU decoders, the stay alives are preferably 3 wire type connections; +ve, GND and control. That is why when connecting to ESU decoders, I use either the Zen 3 wire capacitors interfaced with their control board, or ESU's own integrated capacitor and control module.

For other makes, Zimo and D & H for example, the control circuitry is included in the decoder chip, so 2 wire direct attachment of the +ve and GND is possible.

I guess as ACCs PCB design is part ESU then there must be some stay alive control circuitry built into that?  I also expect that ACCs ESU decoders already have the stay alives enabled. This has to be done via CV changes when installing to ESU decoders separately.

So another idea. Perhaps the SPP time out is set to max'm? It may not be desirable to have the loco running on for too long, hence the CV113 timer.

This has popped up. be quick!!

Just had balance request from Deltic Preservation Society. So that route is gearing up 🙂

22 minutes ago, Metr0Land said:

It looks genuine but needless to say I've not clicked on anything.  Personal details correct on the email which I've redacted

 

Had the same today. I reckon these were just late coming out. I copied the tracking number, and entered via the UPS site directly. Shows already delivered, which it was.

Having said that, It did not include another later date due to be delivered, so best to be careful of scammers.

1 hour ago, Locoman58 said:

Alessandro is here

How can i help?

Good evening Alessandro.

@matchmaker found the installation into the Black 5 useful, but we would bth like to know when the D & H AS16A-2 8 pin decoders will be back in stock.

Dave

2 hours ago, matchmaker said:

Very useful - I've just bought the same loco. Unfortunately, the decoder you used is currently out of stock.

 

Pleased that the thread has proved useful.

It might be worth dropping Alessandro (Locoman Sounds) an email to see when those decoders are back in stock. The ESU V5 Loksound will not fit the smokebox. Might be worth the wait?

I have recently got some low profile LEDs from Kytes Lights so that 'stuck out' LED may get changed soon, and I will update the thread.

1 minute ago, Gilbert said:

Here we go....only 348 posts to go...

I wonder if No 1 certificate will end up on EBay 😄

7 minutes ago, Metr0Land said:

Likewise, no notification D6700 had been shipped and UPS man has just been.  Can anyone beat 20?

 

Higher or lower? 😀

D6700 from Locomotion arrived this morning. No notification, so a complete and welcome surprise 🙂

All parts intact, and it looks stunning.

On to the track this afternoon.

On 14/11/2018 at 11:29, trw1089 said:

Hi

 

As Locoman says, it’s a Loksound V4 using one of the downloadable Loksound templates (the US K27) with new whistles made from my own (and a friend’s) recordings. It isn’t a patch on Locoman’s projects but I am teaching myself how to build projects for my own interest. I’ve been using different templates to match the chuff sounds as best I can to the loco, but speakers are everything. The O4/1 uses an EM2 and it is an impressive speaker, really has some bass punch, but is a bit muffled so am considering putting in a sugar cube in series to improve the higher end. The sound project for the O4 is based on the NSWGR Z27 template which are actually my own recordings that were processed by ESU on behalf of an Australian manufacturer (Southern Rail Models). I made up a Beyer Peacock playable whistle to replace the original. It also has new brake and injector sounds as I wanted to play around with the loop files and the programming.

 

Cheers

Tony

I know it's 5 years hence! But did you add a sugar cube in series with the EM2 on the 04/1. Did it improve the sound. I was also wondering if the total impedence (in series), would be too high?

2 minutes ago, RBAGE said:

Thanks for the front end comparison.

The front doors on the model look as if they are a separate component. Was that a good idea?

Yes they are. I glued mine back on one end as detached on arrival. Easy fix, but it is best to have the body off to glue on the inside. Having said that, the body removal is relatively simple.

On 14/01/2022 at 08:50, RedgateModels said:

i fitted a class 50 decoder to my 10000 and deleted the high horn sound from the function list. 

Having read a number of threads on sound for 10000 & 10001, it would seem that there are quite differing opinions. The 50 has the same diesel engine EE16CSVT, but has greater power than the twins at 2,700 bhp including turbochargers. Having heard the Digitrains class 50 sound it seems great, and does not have the 'whistle' of the class 40 (which I read was not present?)

So 50 might be the route. I guess, that I cannot read a Zimo decoder on a Lokprogrammer, so not so easy to remove the high horn with mapping. Easy to remove from function list, but is there a CV change to do the same?

Found this sound recording:

Seems very close to the Class 50, rather than the 10000 in this Digitrains video.

On 07/09/2023 at 11:51, Ian Hargrave said:

There were actually three. Before the Bachmann  “twins “,Ajin of Korea did them.Forget the name they were marketed under here.A pretty solid FMJ one too. If you can find one now

FIA trains 10000 - some details on curve handling:

FIA advised curves no less than 31 inch radius.

An artlicle on theses trains was included in Model Railway Journal No.182.

2 hours ago, AyJay said:

Having contacted one of the traders who will be at Warley, to ask about DCC decoders, their reply was "Sound or no sound?".

Sound would be nice to have, but I have no experience with fitting sound. I have only ever purchased 'ready fitted' before.

 

The locomotive is Hornby R3617 Rebuilt Merchant Navy Class 'Elder Dempster Lines'.

Looking on the Hornby website, their range of TTS products is very limited.  They also have what appears to be chips which you program yourself with downloadable sound files.

 

"This is getting complicated!"  I thought.

 

Can anyone please advise me as to how to select a sound decoder, plus speaker, and how to fit them?

I also note that the model does not have pickups on the tender, so I think that I will also need the 'stay alive' capability.

Thank you.

Not my region, so have not fitted sound to one of these, but perhaps this will help. You might need access to Key Model World though.

https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/video-Hornby-merchant-navy-sound-upgrade

Sound added to the STD 2MT.

The new Hornby STD 2MT has quite a small tender, however I have managed to fit an ESU decoder, a descent size speaker, and stay alive inside. I considered the firebox flicker, but the cab interior and firebox is so well detailed , I did not have the heart to get a drill to it.

Here is the kit:

Inside the tender.

Board and weight removed.

Lead shot added, fixed with cyano glue. Part of the coal bunker removed, and most of the raised parts on the tender chassis clipped off to give the headroom.

A Zen 3-wire medium storage harness was soldered to the pads on the decoder.

Speaker and stay alive fixed with black tack, and speaker connections made.

Tender body back on.

Readty to go.

As usual the ESU decoder CV setting to enable the stay alive. CV 113 set to 150.

Excellent project from Locoman sounds, and the Rail Exclusive speaker pumps out a big sound from a small tender.

38 minutes ago, 55020 said:

 

And then the complaint will go something like "I've just paid £XXX  and I then have to fit my own headcodes, that's rediculous.  Every other manufacturer manages to get these fitted at the factory.  I am outraged!"

 

The real solution is to make the removal of the headcode box cover straightforward, but still have something fitted by the factory.

 

 

Steve

'Outraged' is a bit strong. The removal is straightforward, but for some reason the headcodes can either easily come off or the pins snap off during transportation. The design intent by Accurascale was 'spot on'. No need to take the body off, which I seem to remember was needed on some Heljan locos with no codes fitted.

12 hours ago, tlm said:

Got both 6702 and 6703 unboxed and on to the test track for the first time this evening. 6703 had one of the headcode box fronts loose in the box, both tiny securing pins broken unfortunately, and both had the annoying sound cut out before the start sequence is complete. Do I care ? Nope - not a bit.

The headcode box front secures with a couple of tiny dots of pva, and after draining the capacitors (lean the loco off the track until the lights go out), then sort the sound by reducing CV63 to 150 before restarting, let it rest for a minute or so, then set CV63=192, CV32=1 and CV259=255 and wowzer - absolutely stunning.

Had the same with a headcode box, and the pins were broken. I tested the removal / replacement on another which is easy to do.

A suggestion for future models: that the headcode boxes are supplied separately, and even without the codes on the frame. The preferred codes can then be added avoiding the need to change them.

6 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

Is my first job. Initial investigation suggests the frames are an interference fit… finger nail enough to budge them. Just beware of the superb detail on the boxes and frames 

That would have been useful in the instructions. I had taken the body off for access, as per the design for the Deltic. That is of no use, and the boxes are a push fit as you point out. Gave me a chance to fit the crew so not so bad after all.

Another Hornby Raven Q6. This time it was sound fitting to a locomotive that had been finely weathered, plus crew and real coal by TMC.

A particularly nice job of the coal load, which partly shows the relief of the coal bunker. So, I wanted to do the sound without the cut and carve job on the bunker, and at this time, leave the locomotive as is.

A different combination of kit was used to enable a sound decoder fitting, a reasonable speaker, and a stay alive into a very restricted space.

This is the kit used:

Parts dismantled from the tender chassis.

The speaker is similar to the Rail Exclusive 'Boom Box', but has 1mm less height making it possible to fit, providing chassis parts were trimmed off as below. The weight was glued in, and a little corner post left in place to locate the rear of the tender body.

The Zen 3-wire stay alive harness wires were soldered to the ESU V5 decoder.

Now to fit the components into the tender body. The ESU decoder is wide than the D & H previously used, but it will 'just' fit with the parts trimmed from the chassis. The 'small' Zen capacitor was the most that could be fitted.

Speaker wires soldered, and both the speaker and PC board / 8 pin pug were fixed to the chassis with black tack.

Tender body on ..... just!

Stay alive enabled with CV113 set to 250.

Good sound again from Locoman. I will have to do a direct comparison of speakers. First impressions of the whistles are rather piercing, so those volume levels for those sound slots might be reduced as the overall volume is fine.

The second WD decoder and stay alive installed.

Now there are two 🙂

Crew man behind shouts ...... 'my weathering is heavier than yours!'

On 25/10/2023 at 08:53, spamcan61 said:

Don't Hornby use the 'magnetic wand' approach on the lighting for their 4 wheel coaches? It's becoming commonplace from other manufacturers anyway. Seems bizarre to implement this squeezing thing.

Totally agree, much easier and common place for a magnetic switch.

For those that wish to weather their Turbo, finger and thumb prints on the tender sides will be a pain!

Both of the WD Austerities that I will fit sound to, have superb weathering by TMC. Also coal and crew fitted, so on this occasion I wanted to limit the amount of handling, and just fitted sound. A stay alive (3 wire) was also fitted, especially as the tender wheels are without pick-ups. The locos had DCC on board, so the function decoders were replaced by Loksound V5s.

This is the kit:

This is the tender opened up.

The thin weight was removed revealing the moulding for a standard speaker.

To get the required height for speaker clearance, the speaker moulding was completely removed.

And the rear lug for tender body fixing cut off. I tested the tightness of the body with just the two front screws beforehand, and found the rear screw wasn't needed.

The only option for this sound decoder was 8 pin, but the loco has a 21 pin socket, hence the 21 to 8 pin adaptor.

Speaker fitted using black tack, and the decoder fixed to the side of the speaker, with the harness routed around it.

Next the stay alive capacitors and control chip installed, again using black tack.

First, wiring connections for the stay alive. The decoder came with the 3 stay alive wires already attached (red, white, black), connected to corresponding Zen wires (blue, white, black)

Speaker wires connected.

Tidy up wiring.

Commissioned. The stay alive had to be switched on via CV settings.

CV 31=16,CV32=0, CV339=31. Timer set CV113 to 150.

Great sound project, and good range from the Rail Exclusive speaker. I was surprised at the slow running speed, but then the WD did not go above 40mph I believe, so protypical.

This project includes a Locoman Sounds D & H sound decoder, stay alive and firebox flicker to be installed to Hornby's 8F. Mike Wild did an installation, Hornby Magazine March 2021, and I have used most of the technique he described.

I have managed to fit a larger speaker, and an alternative stay alive by an different layout in the tender. The moulded coal load forms the 'ceiling' of the tender, so on this occasion no cutting out of a coal bunker is not required.

It was noticable just how dated this model is! The 8F could do with some retooling, and brought up to date.

This is the kit:

Stripping down the tender. The screws holding the weight were removed, and they glued in place instead. Unused lugs were cut off.

The PC board could easily come into contact with the front tender wheels, so a  platform was installed.

The speaker and stay alive fitted with black tack.

Decoder wiring for stay alive. Connections to the decoder pads 5 (GND) -ve, and 6 (VS) +ve.

The existing hole in the tender, for the original 4 X black wires was big enough to pass through extra wires for the firebox flicker.

The dark blue +ve LED wire was linked to the pale blue wire, which was cut from the 8 pin plug (constant voltage).

The black -ve LED wire was connected to another black wire soldered to the AUX 3 pad on the decoder.

The wire harness, decoder end was wrapped in 'hot' tape, black tack added to the hot tape, and fixed to the roof of the tender.

Now to the loco.  There is plenty of room available behind the back plate, and the Bachmann model already has a large hole at the firebox; so no drilling needed. It was possible to set the LED adjacent to the hole, rather than protruding through (more realist).

This is the kit used:

All assembled, and tested:

Fantastic sound. Needs to be weathered, and real coal added, albeit not much scope for the latter.

Sound and lights project completed: