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Athearn's N scale Challenger Micro-Tsunami retrofit,a few questions......

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  • Member since
    October 2002
  • From: City of Québec,Canada
  • 1,258 posts
Athearn's N scale Challenger Micro-Tsunami retrofit,a few questions......
Posted by Jacktal on Sunday, July 26, 2009 8:54 PM

I have received the Micro-Tsunami decoder intended for my Athearn N scale Challenger and am now in the process of installing it,but have met with few interrogations.Here goes...

First,the MRC decoder was installed with a five pin plug plus two separate wires for the speaker.While I can easily identify the outer wires as the track feeds,I'm not to sure about the three remaining ones.Obviously,two are for motor power and the other is for the headlight...but wich is wich?I could make sure by dismantling the loco but would love to avoid it if possible.

Second,will the original headlight be OK with the Tsunami or do I need some resistor so that it doesn't fry?

Lastly,could I reuse the original MRC speaker with the Tsunami?And if I can,would the sound be right?Sound wasn't too great before,was it the speaker's fault or the decoder,or both?Thanks for any info.

  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
  • 13,757 posts
Posted by cacole on Sunday, July 26, 2009 9:28 PM

 I can't help with the question about the wiring of the motor and headlight, but I strongly suggest that you trash the MRC speaker and get a better one that is properly baffled.

Try to use the largest oval speaker and enclosure that will fit, and then adjust the Tsunami's equalizer to the speaker size.

  • Member since
    February 2007
  • From: Christiana, TN
  • 2,134 posts
Posted by CSX Robert on Sunday, July 26, 2009 10:05 PM
Jacktal
...I'm not to sure about the three remaining ones.Obviously,two are for motor power and the other is for the headlight...but wich is wich?..
If you have a multimeter, you should be able to find the motor leads by checking the resistance between each pair of wires. The lead for the light should have infinite resistance between it and each of the motor leads, and the motor leads should have a measurable resistance between them.
  • Member since
    October 2002
  • From: City of Québec,Canada
  • 1,258 posts
Posted by Jacktal on Sunday, July 26, 2009 10:23 PM

I'll do just that.Checking the resistances is the right way to go indeed,however it hadn't crossed my mind.And I will also toss the whole MRC decoder/speaker away since I want things done right.Had the MRC speaker been any good,it would have saved me some work.I do have a half inch Soundtraxx speaker on hand that will fit,although tight,but I don,t mind the extra work to fabricate a nice baffle for it.Thanks.

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