2014_02_19 AN Sound Install

2014 Feb 19  AN Sound Install 
Temperature dropping and a pleasant 30C at Midday.

This is my Official AN sound install :D
It combines two great products The Auscision AN model Diesel Electric Locomotive

Auscision product

And our great friend Mike Walters who manages...

DCC Sounds of Victoria

This is my second attempt at installing sounds in an AN.  Probably better not say any more about my first dismal attempts, suffice to say, that I took a few days to settle down and this morning ,armed with good advice from DCC Sounds, VR Enthusiasts Forum and Rail Page Forums, I was able to take my AN out of its box, add the sound pack kindly prepared by Mike Walters of DCC Sounds and install it complete with modifications a test run in under 15 minutes.  Now I fully agree with Auscision. It is indeed a perfect sound installation and I believe the one slight problem has already been fixed for any future models. So my apologies for misleading you all on my first attempt. Mind you I will try to finish the G Class this afternoon, and that is a different kettle of fish!

AN install step 1.

Take the model out of its packaging and clear an area if your desk is like mine :(
Now loosen the body from the chassis by using your finger nails and easing the body away from the chassis by gently bending it back to disengage the holding lugs. I use one hand either side of the model, one forward of the fuel tank and other rear of it.

Hold the heavy chassis, because when the lugs disengage it easily falls apart!

Their are no cables connected to the roof, however that leads to one of our disappointments as the contact springs are of poor design, easily rectified if you need to by hard wiring them.

Separated..

Now lets open the Loksound box which was ordered to fit into an AN Class and utilize both speakers.
 

Not only were the speakers pre wired to fit, the instructions outline how the function buttons work and refer you to an install page provided by Mike to further help you out
Diesel Installs

Loksound unit out of the box. Checking the pins on the decoder .One end is recognized by the missing pin and the different female edge.

So having worked out its orientation, check the mounting position is free of wires and push any aside that will prevent chip from seating, Near speaker box a bundle will need adjustment too simply place the Decoder on top and it will snug down gently into position if all is ok.

I use blu-tak to fill in the huge hole in the speaker box, which if left open will partially disable the usefulness of the speaker box which is their to stop the rear of the speaker from cancelling out the sound from the front.

I have some Chrystal Kleer (?) which I now smear around the box to properly seal the speaker.

I am a messy person but I can wipe it clean as it is water soluble.

Press speakers into place on lugs provided by Auscision, and wipe clean of  excess glue.

The ESU speaker enclosures go into the scrap bin.

Now the electrical connector in the roof of the body is too wide and fouls the decoder pushing down on its rear edge breaking connections,(not pins though thank goodness) and sometimes disconnecting the headlights or stopping the body from sitting correctly when you put it back together again.

I snipped off about 3mms but left the screw hole on the end , thinking it was out of the way. In fact the front of the body is sitting up slightly causing the headlight to fail, and it looks like I will have to remove the screw and glue the board in place.(I have treated this as a mistake on my behalf and ignored it for the purpose of this speed test. You might need to cut the whole edge off to make this work, I think.

Job done and so lets see if the body fits!

I heard the body tabs click in place and it appears that the install is finished and the clock has clicked over 15 minutes! Now that's a hell of an improvement over any other engine except maybe the 422 Class which uses the same principal of carrying light to the headlights.

 

The only thing to do now is put it on the track and test it all out :)

And of course it worked just fine :D   In the video, I showed the start up, which is short and sweet, but the camera only records a few minutes and switched off as the shut down sequence started. Now the shut down is really sweet. Takes about 50 seconds before the big engine is quiet. Maybe another video is in order ;)
The demonstration shows the loco in throttle 1/128 and using F5 to ramp up engine revs. I am in fact simulating starting off a heavy train. The engine creeps and the notches rise to about 6 before the load starts to move off, throttle now increased to 15/128. as starting off like this would possibly happen in a loop with a point to negotiate to get back on the main line. I left the throttle on about 15/128 and switched off F6 to maintain Notch 4. :)
To me a realistic train start :)
Cheers
Rod Young