richg1998 I am curious about which decoder you are using. I have found some links about his loco and a couple brands of decoders are available that do not require milling the frame. Rich
I am curious about which decoder you are using. I have found some links about his loco and a couple brands of decoders are available that do not require milling the frame.
Rich
Ok, I was reading a control decoder only, not a sound decoder.
I have used a bench mounted belt sander, bench mounted 4 inch diameter rotary sander and a Dremel using diamond coated cutoff wheels. Dremel and others sell diamond coated cutoff wheels. I keep a cup of cold water nearby as the metal does heat up. Don't forget, eye protection.
You have to strip the frame completely. I have heard of some who tried to do this with the geared trucks still in place.
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
I installed the NCE SW9SR 18 months ago and the loco runs great. Now I'm adding sound using the MRC Sounder (1866). I changed the speaker to a Soundtraxx 810112 (mini-oval) and installed it under the cab, but have no room for the Sounder's board and capacitor.
If you want the frame milled, find someone, perhaps a retired guy, that has a milling machine in their garage. Ask at your LHS or local club. They may be able to direct you to someone. If you have to go to a real machine shop, expect to pay at least $40.00, if they will even do the job. If that is your only option, you'd be better off packing it up and sending it to one of the shops that specialize in decoder installations. You can probably get the whole install done for close to $40.00 and you'll have a pro job.
Most installers do it themselves with a dremel and hack saw. I suppose you could take the bare frame to a local machine shop. Expect to pay a good amount of money if the job is accepted.
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 need to mill out some space on the weight on a p2k Sw9 for installation of the small decoder. How do find someone to do the milling of small parts like that?