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Fitting DCC sound to Flying Scotsman R398 - possible or not?


AlasdairM

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My R398 Flying Scotsman (tender driven) is currently fitted with Hornby R8249 and runs well under DCC.

Am wondering if it is possible to fit sound decoder/chip now in place of R8249 - but don't think there will be enough room anywhere for a speaker?

Does

 

anyone know if it is possible, and if so, where speaker is positioned?

Has anyone done this with the R398?

Would I be advised to sell the loco and look to buy new one with sound fitted, if this is available?

 

All guidance much appreciated!

 

Many

 

thanks in advance, Alasdair

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Thanks to magfan and poliss for replies/info/suggestions.

 

I don't see a way to fit speaker and/or decoder in the loco itself, so will look further into idea of double tender, and also investigate further proposed TTS FS - especially if it is under

 

£100, as this makes it about the same as a decent new sound decoder/chip I think.

 

Still very happy to receive any other ideas/suggestions, but I think magfan and poliss have already supplied all I can expect!

 

Regards to all, Alasdair

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  • 5 years later...

@Dave Ogmore by Sea,

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In my opinion you are wasting your time asking this question on the end of this old thread. The very last post on this forum by Alasdair was three years ago........so he is very unlikely to see your question.

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Just for info, older models that are not DCC Ready and do not have a socket, can in the main still be converted. It just takes a bit of ingenuity and the application of some modelling skills with a smattering of the ability to solder wires etc.

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The R398 is tender drive. There are a few resources on the internet on how to convert this type of loco to standard DCC. There is even a guide for this on the Hornby website.

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The issue I see is that if you want to install a sound decoder (as per the original poster of this thread) then where does the speaker go. Assuming a Hornby TTS decoder, then the supplied speaker will be too large and need replacing with something more suitable (small sugar cube speaker for example). Subject to speaker, there may possibly be room for it in the tender. But more likely the speaker will have to go in the loco and be connected back to the tender via a pair of extended wires.

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As per Hornby TTS instructions. ALWAYS disconnect the speaker at the speaker end and extend existing wires as necessary. Do not try to solder wires directly onto the decoder PCB.

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Try "YouChoos" as a supplier of a suitable speaker.

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It is helpful, if the speaker wires between the tender and the loco are installed via a micro plug and socket. So that the loco and tender can be easily separated when not on the track.

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If you are going to put wires between loco and tender, I have found on EBay these 2 way JLC connectors. It means you can separate the loco and tender without disturbing the wires. Otherwise you tend to find they get pulled off while you are working on either. They do them in 4 ways as well, it is the same type Hornby use between loco and tender.

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In my honest opinion if you need to ask about the basics of installing a decoder and speaker to any loco then it is likely beyond your skill levels, so get a pro to do it for you.

 

Any advice the forum gives you is likely to be over your head.

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I had a go at fitting a TTS decoder to a tender drive, Ringfield motor, Hornby GWR 28XX 2-8-0 loco.

 

Due to the load factor, gearing, etc, the "chuff rate" was way out of sync.

 

I believe that the TTS decoders use back emf, or something like it, to detect the speed of the motor?

 

I have come to the conclusion that TTS steam decoders and Ringfield Tender drives are probably not going to work out...

 

Diesel TTS decoders work differently I believe, and work ok with Ringfield motor bogies...

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@Sarah

You are correct about TTS steam using bemf to control the chuff i.e. when the loco chuffs or coasts - as well as when it changes from one chuff sound bite to the next sound bite. Typically there are 15-18 sound bites that make up the full chuff range. Bemf senses the load on the motor and knows when to back off or start pulling again - a bit like cruise control on a car. F17 allows you to select chuff or coast manually.

 

You are also correct about TTS diesel as these work purely on throttle demand not bemf.. If you read the manual section about TTW settings you will see that you can adjust when each sound bite notches from one to the next up and down the speed range - bit like selecting sport/normsl/ice modes on your modern car.

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