I purchased the DC version of Bowser's RS-3 because the DCC version had sold out. I bought a 21 pin Econami decoder and then purchased the Bowser speaker kit. The speaker kit arrived yesterday and this morning I thought I'd start the day with a quick five minute project to plug it into the sound receptacle.
It started off well. The plug proved to be a little stubborn but eventually I got it into place and took it to my test track and the sound was outstanding. The fun started when I put the shell back on and tried to reinstall the couplers which have to be removed in order to take the shell off. I discovered that the shell wouldn't go all the way down preventing the coupler on the long hood end from going into place. After removing the shell, I discovered that Bowser's RS-3 doesn't have enough room to house their speaker kit. The double sugar cube and baffle fit nicely into a place at the end of the long hood. Unfortunately the housing for the fan is at that end and it takes up too much space to allow the baffle to fit properly. It is 25mm to the top of the baffle from the floor but there is only 23mm of space under the fan housing. I looked at numerous possible solutions including performing surgery on the baffle but finally figure out I could fit a single sugar cube speaker under the short hood. I would have to cut the wires off the Bowser baffle and solder them to the single sugar cube. Murphy's Law was working overtime. The wires won't quite reach the short hood end. I found these on Amazon and I think they are the correct plug but I'd like someone to verify that before I order them.
Amazon.com: daier 20 Sets Mini Micro Sh 1.0 Jst 2-Pin Connector Plug Male with 150Mm Cable & Female : Electronics
The 150mm length is more than enough to reach the short hood.
John.
Google JST connector sizes and you will find a Wikipedia page with a chart. Measure the distance between the pins and then consult the chart.
Pete.
wrench567 John. Google JST connector sizes and you will find a Wikipedia page with a chart. Measure the distance between the pins and then consult the chart. Pete.
I measured the distance between the pins and it was 2mm so I ordered that size. They arrived yesterday but are too big. I guess the question is how you measure distance. I found it easier to measure the distance between the holes in the plug and measured center to center. It appears to me 2mm is the distance between the holes, near edge to near edge. The next size down on the chart is 1.5mm so I'm going to just take a guess that is the correct size. That appears to be the distance when measuring the holes edge to edge.
I went to the Bowser website to see if the size of the plug was specified for the 691-1291 speaker kit but it wasn't. I also saw that they have a 691-1294 speaker for use in the RS-3 but the wires on that speaker don't have a plug so apparently their factory DCC don't use the JST plugs to connect the speaker.
If the 1.5mm is not the correct size, I think my only option will be to cut the plug off the Bowser 691-1291 speaker and splice longer wires to it. I don't like doing that because introducing a splice increases the chances of a decoder frying short. The wires are very thin and it would be easy to have the insulation on the splice fail.
JST connectors are confusing. There is more to consider when trying to match a plug to the connector. Pin spacing, also pin shape. The ZH has round pins while the GH has flat blade pins. They are not compatible. The GH is thicker in profile but the same width. The SH is even smaller with a 1mm spacing between the pins. Those would be your nine pin, six pin, decoder plugs with a different pin count.
Do you use heat shrink tubing for wire connection? Get yourself some 1/8 inch heat shrink tubing. Works every time except when I forget to slip it on one wire before I solder it. Done that once or dozen times, but who's counting. My 20+ years of decoder installs, I must have gone through at least ten feet of it.
I have shrink wrap altough I've only done it once. I tried using a hair dryer but that didn't get it hot enough to shrink so I used my soldering iron and just touched it quickly to the ends until they melted enough to seal the splice. I just saw a YouTube video where a guy used a cigarette lighter. I've got one of those wand lighters for starting charcoal fires that would probably work.
The problem is these wires are so fine they are going to be difficult to work with. Stripping them is not going to be easy nor is pigtailing them to another wire. I'll probably solder the connection before shrink wrapping it. The real danger with wires this small is it will be very easy to tear them loose from the plug in which case I would have nothing.
John,
If you use your soldering iron for shrinking heat shrink, use the heated barrel of your iron rather than the tip. You do NOT want to soil/contaminate the plated tip with anything; it should ONLY be solder. Otherwise, the soldering tip won't transfer heat effectively to what you are soldering to. A lighter, candle, or match also works but only if the heat shrink is in an exposed area and by itself.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I bought a pair of these years ago that is well worth the price.https://tonystrains.com/product/wire-strippers
You can find them cheaper on eBay or all electronics. Just make sure it's the right size. 30awg wire size.
I use the old Bic disposable lighter. It only takes a few seconds to shrink. The key is to use the smallest tube that fits.
I'll keep all of the above advice in mind if it becomes necessary. The 1.5mm plugs are coming tomorrow from Amazon and hopefully they will be the correct size. Cutting and splicing the existing plug is a last resort if I can't find the right sized plug. Fortunately, Amazon's return policy allows me to return the wrong sized plugs at no cost to myself. I would have bought the plug from Bowser but the $2.50 part cost $9.95 to ship and that is for one plug. I think I get a bundle of 8 from Amazon and as a Prime member, I don't pay additional shipping. I'll pay less than half of what I would had I bought from Bowser and I'll get 8 instead of 1. I might never use the other 7 but you never know.