Looks good Jim. Keep up the great work. Take it slow and easy. Make sure of your electrical connections and you'll be fine! I can't wait to here her.
I finally got the decoder wired up all except the speaker and backup light. It looks as if there's plenty of room for the speaker in the rear. Eventually I'll rig up some removable coal load to hide everything.
I haven't really thought about decals. Is there a source for Frisco steam lettering and engine numbers? If so, I need to order them now. If not, I'll use the dry transfer lettering which is not fun.
Thanks for checking for me. I hate using dry transfer lettering piece by piece. Now I need speaker advice. The little 10mm diameter speaker that I ordered is very tiny (and I think I ruined it while trying to solder wires to the microscopic terminals) and I have just enough room for a 9/16 x 1" oval speaker that I see in Walthers catalogl. Any speaker advice? Do I make a "soundbox" by enclosing one side of the speaker with styrene walls or something of that nature? Land sakes alive. This project has turned into an epic journey.
I see a 1/2" speaker made by Soundtraxx and they have an enclosure available for it for only $3 more. that might be better than stuffing a 9/16 x 1" into the tender. Anybody here ever use Sountraxx speakers? My decoder is made by Soundtraxx.
Jim, I've never used anything by soundtraxx, but I can't see anything they offer being below par. I'd call Tony's train in CT., and ask them which speaker they recommend. I'd also call around to other DCC shops and ask. Get a consensus to help make a decision. That is what I would do. Manny
Everything I order and have on hand, I spec in millimeter dimensions. I think that a 14x25 oval with rectangular frame may work for you. All of the Soundtraxx speakers are quality units - the same ones that I buy in large quantities for Tsunami installations, so I would not worry about their quality. They also have done a good job of mating enclosure to speaker for tight installations - I just build my own. I buy speakers from either Digikey or Mouser; both have good online catalogs.
Sherrel, Manny, I fianally got the spoked wheels installed. NWSL 26". Right on Manny! I also received my new oval speaker with enclosure. My question is do I mount it face down into the enclosure? The wires have no where to go if installed backside down. I shouldn't matter which side faces out should it?
Hey Jim, The 26" spoke wheels look awesome. They really set the locomotive right. Please check out Bethlehem Steel for your tender trucks. They have a variety of arch bar trucks in different sizes, all periodically correct, that will look so much better than the 1860 you have right now. I would not suggest putting the speaker facing down. This would cause reverberation in the tender shell and distort the sound. Face up, with holes in the coal load. The plastic encasement will also insulate against any electric shorts. Keep up the good work! Manny
It lives! What a great surprise for me tonight. As you can see in the photo I have fit everything into the tender quite nicely and I even got the backup light hooked up. The capacitator is underneath the speaker. This will be all hidden by a coal load that is yet to be fabricated. The big surprise was when I placed the tender on my DC tracks and applied power I heard the most beautiful soft chuffing sound and the clarity is amazing to me. Big clean sound coming from a 14mm x 24mm speaker! Anyhoos, here's a shot of how it all fit. Thank goodness old #151 had an extended height tender.
Why thank you very much. This is by far my favorite locomotive The spoked pilot wheels really helped. I would have left the solid ones on if you hadn't pointed it out. So thanks goes out to you. I hope to get my Sprog DCC system tomorrow maybe. I can't wait to see it all in action.
Jim, Bethlehem has arch bar trucks, 4 foot distance, kit no. KB134. They should do the trick for your tender. They are on eBay right now through one of my favorite vendors! 261011608925 Manny
Thanks, Manny. I'll check that out but that's going to be on the back burner for a while. I have two spare tenders to test fit them on but right now this set up performs flawlessly for excellent eight wheel electrical pick up. I just don't want to mess with it. I'm sure some day it'll bug me enough to switch them out.
Still waiting for my Sprog DCC system but last night I made a cover to hide all the electronic gizmos stuffed into the tender. I made a styrene deck and drilled holes over the speaker area. This was followed by black paint and scale coal sprinkled over it. I blew through the holes from the backside to clear them of coal and the holes are still not noticeable to casual viewing. It still sounds great. I also moved the headlight plug to underneath the decoder. I still need cover the top of the decoder with coal bits. So far so fun!
Lookin' good. Can't wait to hear it. Question, where is the water fill for the tender going? Where are you mounting the back up light since the coal is all the way in the back of the tender?
I'll add a circular water fill piece to suggest it's presence and suggest that coal has spilled out onto the rear deck. The backup light will sit on a small platform sitting up on the edge of the tender with angle braces. Much like the braces on the ends of boxcar wooden roof walks. I am bad about using my modeler's liscense as I can't find a photo showing the back of #151's tender. I'm not even sure it had a backup light but nooooo....Manny had to have a backup light. Just kiddin' of course, Manny. I may even fabricate a coal rake and poker to lay on top somewhere. Maybe an oil can. I love details.
