These things come with yellow LEDs - not yellowISH, actual yellow LEDs. So in addition to installing a decoder, I replaced the LEDs with Miniatronics Yelo-Glo. They ended up being blindingly bright with the stock 470 ohm resistors so I replaced those with 1K. Probably could go higher and still be plenty bright, but at least the light is no longer yellow.
Here are some pictures (also on my web site)
Test fit to see if a TCS T-1 actually clears the shell
How I bent the LEDs to replace the stock ones. Plastic bracket on left is for the hood end, already has the new LED in place. LED on right is bent to fit in cab for backup light.
Board with resistors replaced with 1K, I also tacked the truck pickups and motor leads with solder because those slip-on connectors aren't very tight.
Everything connected, kapton tape to keep the decoder and wires in place. The only other possible harness that would work would have been a very short upside down one - there is not enough clearance above the diode bridge (black round thing) for the decoder to be in the front, and the decoder can't go much further to the rear without interfering with the light tabs or cab wall. The harness there is the TCS Medium harness which I got by mistake with the decoder - I asked for two with just the plain wires, but when I got home it turned out one had the plain wires and the other had the medium harness.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Randy
Great job of stuffing. I went with the MC2 with a VO harrness in all my Stewart switchers. I did the lights as you except replacing the resistor on the board I added another resistor to one leg of the LED.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
I like cheap - and using as many of the same decoders as possible. I had the T-1 for another loco and when this one arrived I deviced to see if it would fit without cutting anything, and it does. The T-1 is exactly as wide as the circuit board. Actually, I had a T-1 in a DS4-4-1000 previously, although on that one I stripped the circuit board and hard wired everything. I left the LEDs alone and modified the circuit board so I wouldn't have to mess with wires and micro connectors to get the shell off. It's hard enough getting it to release, I don't recall the DS4-4-1000 being so tough, but this one just does not want to come off easily. The DS all I had to do was push on the sides of the hood above the latche and gently wiggle it, the VO I have to go in with a screwdriver and push the tab while simultaneously trying to hold the loco, not let the screwdriver slip, and pull up on the shell. Luckily, I should be done openign it for a while.
Nice photos and excepional work! If I can EVER get an install to look that good, and I have done plenty, I might have the nerve to share it! No wonder you are all over this site!
Doug
I'm just a fanatic about keeping the wires neat. Comes from setting up network servers in racks, I use tons of wire ties and so forth - I can't see a customer spending lots of money get get a rack and then having wires hanging all over the place. In the confined space of an HO loco, it serves two purposes. One is the obvious neatness, the other is to keep the wires off any moving parts. The flywheen wears through one of the wire and poof goes the decoder. That peice of tape around the decoder also holds up the motor leads underneath the circuit board. Out of the box they just kind of hang there in close proximity to the flywheel. The toughest part of that one, if you aren't good with a soldering iron, it getting the old resistors out and putting the new ones in. And some people might like uber bright headlights and could just leave it alone. Trick there is a locking hemostat type of thing - grabs on to the resistor lead so you can steady the board and apply the soldering iron without also trying to pinch the pliers closed.
I draw the line at HO scale though. I thought about going to N scale since my space is somewhat limited, but I've seen what a friend of mine does with his N scale locos and no thanks. Now, his are scratchbuilt SMALL steamers, so he ends up using the smallest Z scale decoders you can find, which are about the size of FDR's head on a dime, and hard wires them in place with pieces of wire maybe 1/16" long. Even with a magnifier light and/or an opti-visor, and the finest tip on my soldering station - no thanks. I really don't know how he does it. But they all work.
As for photo quality, thank a very nice Canon point and shoot digital. Only thing I did was press the macro button before each shot because I was right on top of the loco. I have a lot more pics of older isntalls but the photo quality is lacking, thus they aren't posted. I'll have better ones to repalce some of those since I have additional versions of those same locos, and this time I'll do it right - no DH163L0 in a P2K S1 switcher, so no filing a chunk of the weight. I did go the strip and hardwire route with my new GP-7, instead of the super easy DH163L0, I'll take some pics of that too. The Stewart AS-16 will be a combo - the easiest decoder install is the TCS DP2X, since the socket is on the underside of the circuit board. I tried, a T-1 won't fit. Super simple, except it too has yellow LEDs. On that one the LEDs themselves are sodlered to the board, so I will be desoldering the LEDs and putting in the Miniatronics ones. The bigger 5mm size though - as that is what the stock ones are.
Ahhhhhhh...Kapton tape! LOVE that stuff for DCC installs! Nice work, Randy.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstage Ahhhhhhh...Kapton tape! LOVE that stuff for DCC installs! Nice work, Randy. Tom
Thanks. Yeah, I bought a whole roll this time. Should last me forever and then some. Given that with all the installs I did before, I started with 3 yards of it and never used it up...
The Tcs MC2 with a Vo (1000) harness is as easy as it gets.Also,wouldn"t the yellow glowing headlight be more accurate for an engine built in the 40's and used into the 70's? bob
bh2864 The Tcs MC2 with a Vo (1000) harness is as easy as it gets.Also,wouldn"t the yellow glowing headlight be more accurate for an engine built in the 40's and used into the 70's? bob
Not really, they are VERY yellow, not like a light bulb at all. ANd bright orange when off (visible through the lenses). The Yelo-Glo white LEDs are a yellowish white that is more like a bulb, compared ot the Sunny White types that are a brighter white like modern headlights. Or plain old white LEDs that are bluish and are best left to simulating a structure lit with flourescent lights.
See my reply in the thread about fitting a decoder to ANY loco - The T-1 fits just as easy as anything, and is $5 cheaper than an MC2 (both with a plug harness). If I didn;t have the harness from a mistake at the train show, I would have done what I've done before - make my own from the dummy plug.. I'm cheap like that. In which case the price difference between a T-1 with just wires and an MC2 with harness is $11.
Discounting swapping the LEDs, this was another one where it takes longer to get the shell off. In fact within an hour of receiving it in the mail, I had a T-1 in and it on the track, I wanted to test run it, and that Canon can motor will NOT handle running without a decoder on address 00. It onyl took an hour because in addition I received another loco, the whole year 1943 of MR, and another book on the same day and I opened EVERYTHING up. It's liek Christmas every few weeks when I order stuff from eBay