ESU - LokSound - Select Direct decoders.
I originally got these to go into my new Athearn - Genesis RDG GP39-2 locomotives. I was however a little hesitant to attack two brand new locomotives before trying it on something a little less expensive.
So as a start I have upgraded an Athearn RTR - RDG GP35 & Atlas Silver Series - GP40-2. The Athearn RTR GP35 had already been weathered but I wanted to upgrade the truck power pick ups, replace the Athearn bulbs with LED's and give the motor a good service.
This unit will have one of ESU's Sugar Cube speakers (50321) which is a 15mm x 11mm 8Ohm speaker. The photo below shows the temporary location for the speaker, it will eventually be stuck inside the shell towards the rear series of fans.
The second unit being the Atlas Silver Series - GP40-2 was a straight forward change out. After doing the Athearn first which required a few fixes and servicing the Atlas was a easy changeover. It took around two hours even though I had to cut out sections of the weights and OEM speaker enclosure too.
The Atlas already comes with LED's so the installation of the board and wires was a 30min job. The only modifications required was to trim down the decoder lugs a little to get the decoder to sit down straight above the motor.
I also had to remove a small section of the Atlas speaker frame to get the decoder into place.
The speaker setup originally installed into this was the same ESU Sugar Cube setup as the GP35. I however changed my mind and tried out the "closed coupled" ESU sugar cubes by two in the supplied baffle and wired in parallel. This is an awesome combination in this unit!
The location is still in the same spot even though the size has double. The photo above shows a much deeper baffle for the single speaker too. The closed couple set is a little shorter in height to make the fit above decoder better.
Next step is to fine tune the unit with the LokProgammer and post a video too...
Jas...
Thanks for this info. A couple of questions:
ReplyDeleteDoes the LokSound support direct attachment of the LED lights without adding a resistor like Tsunami's?
And, for the Athearn, what did you use to replace the bulbs with LEDs - which LEDs did you use and do you have any pics showing how you installed those? This is something I want to try but really have no idea what to use for LEDs.
The "double" speaker you mention is something that comes as 1 unit and mounts in a single baffle box?
Thanks for any info you can provide!
Hi Mike, my LED's just arrived. They are the TCS 3mm Golden White LED kit. I'm going to install them tonight and will post some photos in the next day once finished. Jas...
DeleteHi Mike,
ReplyDeleteIt does allow for direct connection as the resistors are mounted on the board. The LED's are a Golden White color from a supplier here in Australia. I haven't received them yet but when I do I'll add a few photos to another post on their installation.
The ESU Sugar Cube speaker (50321) comes with a series of plastic pieces that can be made into a single baffle box (of varying depths) or you can make the dual "close coupled" baffle. You do need a second kit for the extra speaker.
Will do another update and post a photo of the dual, close coupled speaker arrangement too.
Jas...
Excellent, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete