TechImp Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 Hi all, I have purchased a R3723 Large Prairie Loco Class 6100 and wondered what Hornby Sound decoder would suit. I have checked the shop and see nothing obvious. Unfortunately the ESU V4/V5 decoder will not fit, not enough room.Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 You need a two cylinder loco so I reckon the J36 TTS decoder will do. Only problem will be the whistle might sound wrong. Different regions had different sounding whistles. Might sound OK though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OssieB Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I have recently purchased a large Prairie 6110 and fitted a Hall TTS sound decoder R7294. The Hall class is a similar two cylinder engine with similar components and whistle to the large Prairie. The Hall TTS is currently available from Hornby and but some retailers have already sold out.OssieB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I didn't spot the Hall decoder as that would be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 When I did a Bachmann Standard 5 tank which is about the same size I found LokSound did a micro version which was a lot smaller. Zimo do one that is even smaller. The biggest issue I had was locating the speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechImp Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 Thank you very much Guys - I appreciate your help.Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OssieB Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I should have added in my first reply, that the standard speaker supplied with the Hall TTS will not fit in the base below the coal bunker. I used a Youchoos sugar cube 9 speaker, which just fits on rear end of the chassis below the coal bunker. I fixed it in place with a litle piece of blue tak, making sure that the was no contact of the metal plate on the speaker with any metal parts on the chassis. The TTS decoder just fits vertically on the right hand side of the 8 pin socket, in the area of the right hand water tank, with the wires coming out of the 8 pin plug on the left hand side and wrapped around the the rear of the socket.. In accordance with the TTS instructions I only protected the decoder with a single layer of sellotape. Anything thicker than this will not fit in the space available. Care has to be taken in replacing the loco body not to trap any of the decoder wires. Hope this is of assistance to you. BarryO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I must admit I don't know what the setup is within a Prairie, but on the standard 5 the DCC socket was raised by two posts. By filing slight grooves either side of the sugar cube speaker, making sure it doesn't impinge on the speaker enclosure, I could fit the speaker between the dcc socket posts, under the dcc socket. They were rather long on the Bachmann so probably easier to do. If it doesn't work on this one it is a thought for the future. I have started placing my TTS decoders in loose fitting heat shrink, the components on the top of the TTS decoder are the ones that need to have some cooling, so the loose fitting heat shrink lets it do that. I have had many issues running my locos on hot days, so finding a way of letting the module get rid of their heat is a priority. I will add it seems to only be an issue with TTS, loksound and Zimo sound decoders all come ready shrink rapped, so they obviously don't have any cooling issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanner1048 Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I purchased the DCC fitted Prarie and plan to install the TTS Hall sound decoder. Took the body off the chassis the fitted DCC decoder sits in a U shaped cradle at the front under the smoke box. The supplied speaker is tool large but I have smaller ones to fit. I reassembled the loco putting aside the job for hopefully next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechImp Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 OssieB, ColinB, I have checked the ESU V5 micro Loksound which is 21x10x6mm and can possibly fit in the water tank next to the socket and the little flywheel on the motor. That could be a problem if the decoder is allowed to move. It may also fit in the slot under the smokestack, thank you Spanner1048. I have made a dummy the same size and it (the decoder) should fit depending on the thickness.A ESU sugar cube will fit in the tender but does not align with the mounting holes of course. I would mount it using a bit of silicon which will secure it and easy to remove if necessary. I use silicone to fasten most things as it can be removed easily without damage to the unit. The down side is that you have to wait for it to set.As far as temperature goes, we live in Western Aust where the temp can exceed 40 deg in summer, so efficient ventilation is paramount.Anyway I think I shall order a Loksound Micro and give that a go and thanks again for your helpful advice. I shall post again when project complete if that helps anyone else.All the best,Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Please post some pictures of the installation Techimp. Folk are always interested in how others have arranged their installations on awkward locos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechImp Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 Will do, may take a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechImp Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 Back again with requested pictures. The decoder is a loksound 5 DCC Micro which as you can see fits inside the R/H water tank of the Large prairie. It needs to be held away from the flywheel of the motor which I have done temporarily/permanently with blue tac engineering. It almost fits in the slot in the smoke box but the ribbon cable is stiff and not too flexible and doesn't really reach anyway. If you loosen the socket mounting screws and remove the rearmost screw, you can wrap the ribbon cable around the socket before plugging it in. This gives a comfortable connection without sharp bends or crimping the cable. You have to make sure the speaker wires are held in the available slot to avoid crimping them when reassembling.The loksound sugar cube speaker is mounted face up in the tender and secured again with blue tac. Face down mounting is not possible without a spacer as the connections sit proud of the soundbox surface. The headroom in the tender is limited unfortunately. Also the soundbox mounting tags have to removed.The loco runs fine as you can see in attached picture. I have yet to finish creating the sound file as yet. I hope the pics are clear enough and if not I can upload some more.All the best,Ian. /media/tinymce_upload/72b3e2f3064892cbca0bb95ea258ac79.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/de40bbda5e445b3d97b9e0829b4bc50c.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/d3d0c1bf7d10e7848ce609b6bbe828e0.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Whilst that ribbon cable looks fairly robust it does not look very flexible and I appreciate your problems trying to route it nicely.Job well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OssieB Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 To complete the "picture" of the installation of a TTS decoder and speaker in a large Prairie, I have taken the body off mine to enable me to take the attached photos. The size of the sugarcube 9 speaker that I have used is 15x11x10mm high. The overall space for a speaker and wires is 30x20x9-12mm high and a readily available one 25x15x10mm high could be used. @Spanner1048 - I don't know how you got on with your fitting of a TTS decoder, but from my measurements the channel under the smokebox is only 25mm long. The TTS decoder is 28mm long and therefore does not appear to able to be located in this position. /media/tinymce_upload/d22cd654c0d4d0d3b5324dc734a24c4b.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/25117f964c908dab38d3365f6cae2cb4.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/793c740dcbe0853e0a6d5cdcbfd4a778.JPG BarryO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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