I just recieved my first tsunami sound decoder and was wondering if anyone had any experience installing one in a Rivarossi engine.[ a B&O mallet] Any help is appreciated. Thank You! Jim[:)]
My neighbor and I just put one in his Riv Big Boy. It was pretty much a straight forward install. we put two med oval speakers in the tender along with the Tsunami. I used a NMRA 8 pin socket/plug to connect the loco and the tender. Just make sure the motor is not touching the frame. It needs to be isolated to protect the decoder.
Terry[8D]
How did you get the tender apart?
Thanks for the imformation Terry. I know that the Rivarossi Mallet is not the best detailed engine , but it is one of my favorite engines along with the I-12 Wagontop caboose. I remember seeing them when I was a kid and believe me they are hard to forget. I have a 1" speaker with a enclosure and hope that it will fit.Thanks again!! Jim[:)]
The Tender on the older Riv Big Boy took more time than the entire remaining part of the sound install. We couldn’t figure out how to get it apart so we called Tonys Trains. They said it is glued shut. We found very faint lines on the bottom where it had been glued. With a sharp hobby knife we/he cut around the bottom slowly until the bottom section could be removed The problem was once the bottom section was removed the sides wanted to cave in so we added bracing to the inside walls of the tender to keep it open and also to screw the bottom to once finished. The tender for the Big Boy anyway is very lite and we really need to add some weight for better performance. If I had to do it over again or if it was my Big Boy I would have bought a new tender that came apart easy. Also this version of the Riv Big Boy 1990’s ish did not have power at the tender so I would make sure I had power pick ups on a different tender If I bought one. Hope this helps. I tell you what though, even thought it was old as dirt and lite it pulled 35 cars around my layout w/22 in rad curves without breaking a sweat. I would have put more cars on but we didn’t have the room. I made me a fan of articulated locos. I just ordered a 2-8-2 Mike kit from Bowser. If that goes well I am looking forward to getting their Challenger kit next.
Terry[8D]
Jim - I have no idea how big your tender is but do you think you would have room for an oval speaker? The oval speakers have more wattage and sound better than the 1 in round speakers. The round have a fraction of the wattage as the oval as a matter of fact. I just put two medium oval speakers in my Athearn Genisis 2-8-2 Mikado. It has a small tender. I would check it out. The more/bigger the speakers the better your sound is going to be. I used the med oval from Loys toys I think it was 1 1/2 x 3/4 in. I was able to put in two very easily facing down and you can use the tender shell as your enclosure. Just make sure the speakers are sealed to the floor of the tender and any holes are filled. What are the inside dimentions of your tender floor? I’ll check on the exact size of the speakers. Maybe you can squeeze in two ovals. I am assumming you are HO scale.
Terry [8D][:D]
I put one in my Rivarossi Challenger. It was easy as pie. Hardest thing about was getting the tender apart. I followed the instrustions on Allan Gartner’s site, and it came right apart.
GeorgiaShay - Do you have that web site address handy for Allan Gartner? I would like to check it out. Tks
Terry[8D]
Sure thing. Here you go: http://www.wiringfordcc.com/chlngrsd.htm Now that’s the beginning of the Challenger info, not the home page. It’s a really good article. Now, I was able to get my tender apart pretty easily by following his instructions EXACTLY. Good luck.
GeorgiaShay - Holy molly! We sure did it the hard way. We cut the bottom of the tender out. But it made the speaker install easier. The Challenger is wired the same as the Big Boy we did. Hey thanks for the site.
Terry[8D]
Don’t mention it. Yeah, yall did do it the hard way. I think it was really easy the way I did it. I ended up with a 1" and a 1.5" speaker in the tender. Sounds like the real thing.
Well I got up early and got my Vanderbilt tender for my Rivarossi Mallet out. Followed the advice from the website GeorgiaShay suggested and had the front off the tender in about 10 minutes. I had the engine apart 15 minutes later and realized that this engine only picks up power from the drivers, there is no power pickup from the tender. Now I wonder if while I have it apart should I try to replace the trucks with something that does have contacts or is the wheelbase long enough on the engine to give good rail contact! Scubaterry the bottom of the Vanderbilt tender is round so I measured at the top of the weight and it is 1 1/8" by 5", so I will have room for a larger speaker maybe two. I wanted to change the headlight and add the rear light using yellowglo LED’s but will have to make or buy new housings. This engine was only test run when I bought it and has been in storage every since so I hope that it is a good runner!.Man this is turning out to be a major rebuild! Thanks for the imformation! Jim
Been reading all the info on the RIV.bigboy,I’am still sitting here scracthing my head,I have an riv bigboy that has an wire to the tender for part of the pick up,It runs real good,but some where down the line I want to install DCC and sound in it,I have no idea how to even take the motor loose and isolate it??? the motor is an can type motor and sets at a slight angle to the left,I would like to know how to get apart and when it was made???no markings on it but the word " Rivarossi" Can any one help me on this???
JIM
Jim - I thought about powering the tender as well but frankly it is a little flimsy and lite. I guess you could put some lead weight in it to make it heavier. After looking at it I realized it would be a major project to power the tender so we gave up. This loco was in the box since the guy bought it 15 or so years ago. Once we got it lubed up and broke in a little it did fine. It pulled I think 35 cars without breaking a sweat and could have pulled more but we ran out of room. So with the weight of the loco it does just fine without messing with power pickups on the tender. I do notice the tender bobles so you deffinately need to poke some lead in the tender once you get the speakers situated. I used the NMRA 8 pin socket/plug (2 rows of 4 contacts) for connecting loco to tender. Loys toys has them all ready soldered with wire ends that made it easy.
Jim (the other JIM) - I checked the motor on this big boy and it was all ready isolated but that doesn’t mean yours isn’t. There are two maybe three screws that hold the housing on. One under the trailing truck, one under one of the bumps on top of the loco. Just pry the cap off with your fingernail and you will see the screw. I think that is it. You do not have to take the trucks/wheels off to get the top of the loco off. Once you get the top off the motor is accessible. Their was a little sharp lip overhanging the motor on one side that was not touching the motor but was so close I went ahead and filed the edge smooth to make sure it would not short the frame out to the motor at some point. I think your motor is probably not seated all the way. I dont recall it being at an angle.
Apparently they had several versions over the years. My neighbors the one I am referring to has not power to the tender and he bought it new in the early mid 90’s. One power pick up was the front truck and the other truck of coure was the other rail pickup.
The most amazing part of ressurecting this Big Boy was once we got it lu
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by scubaterry
Jim - I thought about powering the tender as well but frankly it is a little flimsy and lite. I guess you could put some lead weight in it to make it heavier. After looking at it I realized it would be a major project to power the tender so we gave up. This loco was in the box since the guy bought it 15 or so years ago. Once we got it lubed up and broke in a little it did fine. It pulled I think 35 cars without breaking a sweat and could have pulled more but we ran out of room. So with the weight of the loco it does just fine without messing with power pickups on the tender. I do notice the tender bobles so you deffinately need to poke some lead in the tender once you get the speakers situated. I used the NMRA 8 pin socket/plug (2 rows of 4 contacts) for connecting loco to tender. Loys toys has them all ready soldered with wire ends that made it easy.
Jim (the other JIM) - I checked the motor on this big boy and it was all ready isolated but that doesn’t mean yours isn’t. There are two maybe three screws that hold the housing on. One under the trailing truck, one under one of the bumps on top of the loco. Just pry the cap off with your fingernail and you will see the screw. I think that is it. You do not have to take the trucks/wheels off to get the top of the loco off. Once you get the top off the motor is accessible. Their was a little sharp lip overhanging the motor on one side that was not touching the motor but was so close I went ahead and filed the edge smooth to make sure it would not short the frame out to the motor at some point. I think your motor is probably not seated all the way. I dont recall it being at an angle.
Apparently they had several versions over the years. My neighbors the one I am referring to has not power to the tender and he bought it new in the early mid 90’s. One power pick up was the front truck and the other truck of coure was the other rail pickup.
The mos