First off, thank you all for the kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying
the articles.
Matt,
I'll see what I can do about a video, but it is no different than any
other system in terms actual running. The page does have a link to a
video of the chassis running on my desk, just to prove that it is for
real. :-)
Alex,
Yes, S-CAB's target audience are those people who are "still" using DC.
I was looking for a simpler system (I'm tired of debugging Digitrax
problems), and one where I no longer have engines stalling. My layout is
already wired, but this solution gives me the option of eliminating or
simplifying the wiring of a future layout.
Butch,
Yes, I think there should be room in the FA-2 for a speaker. The Tsunami
decoder is slightly larger than the NCE one, but that should still work.
The external capacitor that the Tsunami has to prevent sound drop-outs
when the engine looses momentary electrical contact, is obsolete if you
use the battery power solution, so you don't need to allocate space for
that. The Tsunami also has extra function leads, so you can order it
with having one of the leads set up to turn off battery power, which
eliminates the orange wires from the BPS board and the need for the
switch or the brass contacts approach that I took.
My approach to any conversion is to just strip the engine of all of its
electronics and start with just the wheel pick-ups and the lighting.
Then build it up from there. I would not try to "patch" it into existing
electronics. For example, my SHS NW2 came with the factory-installed
Tsunami, and had three circuit boards in there with lots of Velcro and
double-sided tape. I removed all of that, as you can see in my article
on that install. It is much easier to start from a clean slate.
Yes, the NW2's installation was tight. It might, theoretically, be
possible to install a speaker in the cab area, if you are willing to
live with it being visible, or if you block off the windows of the cab.
When in doubt, and if you have a bit of extra cash, there are three or
four certified installers that can custom-install the S-CAB system for
you. Contact NWSL about that. I just happen to enjoy doing this sort of
stuff myself.
- Peter.
On 03/26/2013 7:51 am, up148 wrote:
Very clean installation Peter! There's even room for a speaker inside unlike
your switcher conversion that was packed to the gills with factory electronics.
It seems this form of power is easier to install in less sophisticated
(straight DC no boards and speakers) locos than in those that come from the
factory with all the options.
Battery power is becoming a very real option for "S" scale operation. Great
information on the O Scale Trains website forums about battery power as well. The editor
(Joe Giannovario) is absolutely sold on this form of power. This is the way I'll be going
too.
Thanks for the info and look forward to more posts.
Butch Holtgrieve
--
Peter Vanvliet ([email protected])
Houston, Texas
My Model Railroad Site <http://pmrr.org/> (RSS feed
<http://pmrr.org/rss.xml>)
Fourth Ray Software <http://fourthray.com/>
Houston S Gaugers <http://houstonsgaugers.org/>
N.A.S.G. <http://nasg.org/>
--
