TheSnapper
Western Thunderer
I’ve been thinking about starting a thread for some time and fellow Thunderers that I have consulted about the idea have encouraged me to give it a go..
I have probably done more than 50 DCC decoder installations, both for myself and for “clients”, friends, colleagues etc. Most have been in 7mm scale, although I have done some 4mm & Gauge 1 too. The majority have been sound installations.
I get all sorts in the “Works” – loco's that jerk along on DC, loco’s that don’t run at all, loco's with so much lead added that there’s precious little room for a decoder, never mind a speaker or stay alive unit.
I just thought that there might be some interest in seeing how some of these installations progress and the problems I encounter, and the way I get around them, or not, as the case may be. Yes, I have refused to do installs before, for one reason or another. DCC is not a cure-all – if it don’t run on DC, there’s no chance that DCC will make it any better!
Caveats: I can’t promise that my photos will be studio quality (like Mickoo’s or Dikitriki’s for instance), as they will often be grab-shots, done in a hurry. Also, the content may a sporadic, as I do other things too, such as go to work!
And another thing: By no means do I intend this to be “The Definitive Guide to DCC Installations”, or the “Ultimate DCC Knowledge Base”. There are several others on this Forum who are far more qualified than I am to supply learned answers to technical questions. No, I intend this to be just a practical demonstration of some of my DCC installations.
Hopefully, you may be encouraged to have a go with that difficult loco!
So, let’s start with a Heljan Western I had in recently:
Heljan Western
The installation requires independent control of white & red lights & cab lights.
The decoder used is a ZimoMX695KV with sound from Digitrains (code:ZS52D)
I utilised the unique Zimo “Swiss Mapping” (SM) procedure to control the lighting.
The wiring to the decoder is as follows:
As you can see from the diagram, I also connected the Route Indicator box lights to the same Function Output (FO) as the white lights, so they work together.
The reason I used FO7 to F10 for the Red Lights is due to the layout of the connections on the decoder. I wanted to avoid the Heljan wiring needing to be extended (see below regarding positioning of the decoder)
The Swiss Mapping configuration below enables white lights to work with F21, red lights with F22.
So, if F21 is engaged, white markers at the 'front' will be illuminated, direction dependant.
And if F22 is engaged, red tail lamps at the 'rear' will be illuminated, direction dependant.
For light engine, engage both F21 and F22.
Swiss Mapping Group 1 (White Lamps & Route Indicator Box)
CV430 = 21
CV431 = 0
CV432 = 1 – A-end white lamps & A-end indicator box lamps
CV433 = 0 –
CV434 = 7 – B-end white lamps
CV435 = 0
Swiss Mapping Group 2 (Red Tail Lamps)
CV436 = 22
CV437 = 0
CV438 = 2 – B-end red lamps & B-end indicator box lamps
CV439 =0
CV440 = 8 – A-end red lamps
CV441 = 0
Cab lights are independently controlled with F23 & F24, and are not influenced by direction of travel, so can be switched on & off at will.
Swiss Mapping Group3 (Cab Lights A-end)
CV436 = 23
CV437 = 0
CV438 = 9– A-end Cab Lights
CV439 =0
CV440 =9 – A-end Cab Lights
CV441 = 0
Swiss Mapping Group4 (Cab Lights B-end)
CV436 = 24
CV437 = 0
CV438 = 10– B-end Cab Lights
CV439 =0
CV440 =10 – B-end Cab Lights
CV441 = 0
These CV settings can be done individually using your handset or better still using Decoder Pro under the Swiss Mapping Tab
Procedure notes
It is important to mark each end of loco – I wrote A & B on the flywheels and inside the body-shell.
Lighting wires are fastened down with horrible Heljan Chinese Sellotape
Separate the wiring into + & - indicated by where they connect to lighting board.
Attach tags to each wire to identify them – I used Tamiya Masking tape
Lights can be tested with small battery (eg 2 x AA).
Remove lighting board
Arrange decoder so that wires need not be extended.
(Only one pair needed to be – see joint protected by yellow shrink-wrap in photos).
That’s the reason it is positioned off-centre.
Mount the decoder securely with screws onto Plasticard strips or similar, which are then fixed to frame. I used Aradite Rapid.
The Fan
I decided to have the fans to start when the sound is activated, so mapped Function Output 3 (where the Fan- lead is connected) to the F1 button, using DecoderPro.
Note that the “normal” F-button for lights is not used.
I replaced the lead & plug with some smaller plugs & sockets bought from Ebay – it is simple to remove the original & solder a new one onto board (I once tried to buy some of theirs from Heljan – they wanted to sell me 10000!)
I found that the fan works better on the 5v output of the decoder (see decoder diagram). It starts easier & runs slower
The Speaker
There is room in the removable tank space for a large speaker to be installed. Note the tanks are “handed”, so best to mark them.
I used a Visaton SC4.7ND40 (approx. 40x70 mm.)
I do not agree with the conventional wisdom regarding air-tight enclosures, but the speaker must be sealed to the front baffle. I used ordinary silicon sealant from Screwfix
Motor & Pick-ups
Connect as per diagram – don’t forget one end Red lead connects to the same socket on the decoder as the other end’s Black lead!
It runs & sounds good. Everything works as it should!
Tim
I have probably done more than 50 DCC decoder installations, both for myself and for “clients”, friends, colleagues etc. Most have been in 7mm scale, although I have done some 4mm & Gauge 1 too. The majority have been sound installations.
I get all sorts in the “Works” – loco's that jerk along on DC, loco’s that don’t run at all, loco's with so much lead added that there’s precious little room for a decoder, never mind a speaker or stay alive unit.
I just thought that there might be some interest in seeing how some of these installations progress and the problems I encounter, and the way I get around them, or not, as the case may be. Yes, I have refused to do installs before, for one reason or another. DCC is not a cure-all – if it don’t run on DC, there’s no chance that DCC will make it any better!
Caveats: I can’t promise that my photos will be studio quality (like Mickoo’s or Dikitriki’s for instance), as they will often be grab-shots, done in a hurry. Also, the content may a sporadic, as I do other things too, such as go to work!
And another thing: By no means do I intend this to be “The Definitive Guide to DCC Installations”, or the “Ultimate DCC Knowledge Base”. There are several others on this Forum who are far more qualified than I am to supply learned answers to technical questions. No, I intend this to be just a practical demonstration of some of my DCC installations.
Hopefully, you may be encouraged to have a go with that difficult loco!
So, let’s start with a Heljan Western I had in recently:
Heljan Western
The installation requires independent control of white & red lights & cab lights.
The decoder used is a ZimoMX695KV with sound from Digitrains (code:ZS52D)
I utilised the unique Zimo “Swiss Mapping” (SM) procedure to control the lighting.
The wiring to the decoder is as follows:
As you can see from the diagram, I also connected the Route Indicator box lights to the same Function Output (FO) as the white lights, so they work together.
The reason I used FO7 to F10 for the Red Lights is due to the layout of the connections on the decoder. I wanted to avoid the Heljan wiring needing to be extended (see below regarding positioning of the decoder)
The Swiss Mapping configuration below enables white lights to work with F21, red lights with F22.
So, if F21 is engaged, white markers at the 'front' will be illuminated, direction dependant.
And if F22 is engaged, red tail lamps at the 'rear' will be illuminated, direction dependant.
For light engine, engage both F21 and F22.
Swiss Mapping Group 1 (White Lamps & Route Indicator Box)
CV430 = 21
CV431 = 0
CV432 = 1 – A-end white lamps & A-end indicator box lamps
CV433 = 0 –
CV434 = 7 – B-end white lamps
CV435 = 0
Swiss Mapping Group 2 (Red Tail Lamps)
CV436 = 22
CV437 = 0
CV438 = 2 – B-end red lamps & B-end indicator box lamps
CV439 =0
CV440 = 8 – A-end red lamps
CV441 = 0
Cab lights are independently controlled with F23 & F24, and are not influenced by direction of travel, so can be switched on & off at will.
Swiss Mapping Group3 (Cab Lights A-end)
CV436 = 23
CV437 = 0
CV438 = 9– A-end Cab Lights
CV439 =0
CV440 =9 – A-end Cab Lights
CV441 = 0
Swiss Mapping Group4 (Cab Lights B-end)
CV436 = 24
CV437 = 0
CV438 = 10– B-end Cab Lights
CV439 =0
CV440 =10 – B-end Cab Lights
CV441 = 0
These CV settings can be done individually using your handset or better still using Decoder Pro under the Swiss Mapping Tab
Procedure notes
It is important to mark each end of loco – I wrote A & B on the flywheels and inside the body-shell.
Lighting wires are fastened down with horrible Heljan Chinese Sellotape
Separate the wiring into + & - indicated by where they connect to lighting board.
Attach tags to each wire to identify them – I used Tamiya Masking tape
Lights can be tested with small battery (eg 2 x AA).
Remove lighting board
Arrange decoder so that wires need not be extended.
(Only one pair needed to be – see joint protected by yellow shrink-wrap in photos).
That’s the reason it is positioned off-centre.
Mount the decoder securely with screws onto Plasticard strips or similar, which are then fixed to frame. I used Aradite Rapid.
The Fan
I decided to have the fans to start when the sound is activated, so mapped Function Output 3 (where the Fan- lead is connected) to the F1 button, using DecoderPro.
Note that the “normal” F-button for lights is not used.
I replaced the lead & plug with some smaller plugs & sockets bought from Ebay – it is simple to remove the original & solder a new one onto board (I once tried to buy some of theirs from Heljan – they wanted to sell me 10000!)
I found that the fan works better on the 5v output of the decoder (see decoder diagram). It starts easier & runs slower
The Speaker
There is room in the removable tank space for a large speaker to be installed. Note the tanks are “handed”, so best to mark them.
I used a Visaton SC4.7ND40 (approx. 40x70 mm.)
I do not agree with the conventional wisdom regarding air-tight enclosures, but the speaker must be sealed to the front baffle. I used ordinary silicon sealant from Screwfix
Motor & Pick-ups
Connect as per diagram – don’t forget one end Red lead connects to the same socket on the decoder as the other end’s Black lead!
It runs & sounds good. Everything works as it should!
Tim
.