Hi I have a total of about 7 DC Atlas classic RS-1, 2 & 3’s left from my DC Layout. They run great, slow & smooth, through unpowered frogs and never detail. Some are weathered.
As you probably already know they have an old style board that connects the bulb in the center to power. The R & L truck leads and motor are also connected. The motor has a plastic case and 2 flat brass arms that connect to the + & - on the motor. There are also 2 tabs that held the board in place. The GOW Bulb lights bot the front and rear lights at the same tike through a clear plastic piece that picks up the light from the center bulb.
I removed the board and isolated the L & R truck pickups, removed the motor and pit Kapton tape underneath just to be sure there was no connection to the metal frame.
Can anyone recommend a Sound decoder and speaker for these locomotives?
I am quite a novice at sound installs. I have however used ESU Loksound Select micro sound decoder on two installations, an Alco and a Baldwin. With a TDS SuperSonic Mini sugarcube speaker and enclosure, i am very pleased with the results.
The Micro Select decoder is pretty small and can be programed for the ALCO 539T engine. Tony’s Train Exchange did mine. I used one in an Atlas S-2. I did an older Atlas RS-1 using an NCE DASR non-sound decoder with LED lighting. The Lok decoder is smaller than the DASR so should fit nicely.
here is a kind of lame video I took of the S-2 before i fully installed the body and couplers to give an idea of the sound quality:
I converted an Atlas RS-1 last year. My default decoder choice is the LokSound Select, either the 6Aux (1 amp) version or the Micro (3/4 amp) version if space is critical, in either case hard wiring (cutting off the 8-pin connector) as I like the space optimization that way. For the RS-1, I used the 6AUX version. For it, I used the LokSound Select Alco 539T sound file. See it on the related webpage below. You can compare the 539T sound file sample to that of the 244 prime mover (used in the RS2) by also looking at that file just for interest:
I happened to post 2 videos on the RS1 that may be of interest. The first just shows off the completed project. If you view it on YouTube, you can see the description paragraph there for info on the speakers (dual Knowles Grand 13x18mm) and the LED lighting details. Sorry I don’t think I have related interior photos.
This second video was focused on drive train quietness, in response I recall to someone’s inquiry for these locos. So the video has a portion running with sound off.
If I were to compare with the LokSound Select, I would next look at TSU WowSound alternatives, though I have little insight there. I just know that both brands tend to get good marks for motor control. But I have not looked into the Wow’s prime mover offerings in terms of how close one can get to the prototype prime mover as well as recording quality for prime mover, horns, etc. (which may vary within a brand for specific recordings. of course).
Loksound Select Direct will clip right on top of the motor where the old plastic ‘board’ was. Truck pickups coonnect to the outer edges of the board, motor wires go tot he side. Other connections at each end are for LEDs to replace the single center light bulb.
On previous ones, I cut down the factory plstic light tubes so there was a lense in the headlight and enough of the light tube to get to the first set of mounting pins to hold it in place, and I used heat shrink to stick an LED on each light pipe.
I’ve got a half dozen of these to convert - I have more RS-3’s than any other loco.
THANKS to all for the great information. Has anyone used both the TCS and LOK ? Do you like one over the other? Why? Looks like they are both easy installs.
Can I replace the bulb with an LED? Does the decoder provide the needed resistance or do I need a resistor? Ohms?
I have used both the TCS Wow! and Loksound Select decoders and both have excellent motor-control and sound. I would say that I like the Loksound sound decoders only slightly more than TCS Wow! primarily because of familiarity. Either choice will serve you well.
I know that the TCS provides both on-board incandesent and LED lighting pads on the Wow! decoders so you shouldn’t need resistors - i.e. assuming that you use and install the proper voltage incandescent bulb. I believe Loksound does, as well. You should be able to verify that in the Loksound Select manual. If it doesn’t then use a 1K resistor where needed.
The Loksound Select Direct has a resistor circuit for LED’s. The Select and the Select Micro do not. I put one of those tiny sugar cube speakers in the cab rather than mill or remove parts of the frame.
After you do it twice, soldering a resistor to an LED is easy.
LokSound Select instructions (see manual pg. 13-14) instruct to add a 470 - 2.2k ohm resistor for LEDs with the 6AUX or Micro Selects. Most folks go with a 1k, and you can also adjust the brightness by CV tinkering. Note the instruction to set a CV for LED installed to allow this other CV adjustment.
As noted above, the LokSound Select Direct has onboard 2.2k resistors for LEDs. Note that optionally you can use bulbs, or add your own chosen resistor for your LED, by solder bridging two spots on the board to bypass the onboard resistor. If your bulbs are lower than 16v, they instruct to add a resistor.
I usually replace bulbs with LEDs when converting a loco to DCC. It takes the worry away from potential bulb replacement, plus often helps with creating room by reducing lightpipes. I keep a supply of 5mm, 3mm and the smaller 0603 SMD LED (and a smaller version of those) on hand. Don’t hesitate to cut light pipes smaller or remove them and glue the LEDs to whatever you leave to the headlight / taillight. It works fine and can improve space for speakers, etc.
BTW, if you go the LokSound route for the first time, for some CVs (such as some mentioned above) you can get into “indexed CVs” for CVs higher than (I think) 255. It’s not hard to get into, as the instruction manual is clear on those needing that, usually sound or lighting related. It requires first setting another CV to 0, 1 or 2 before setting the one of interest. That allows them to have thousands of available CVs. Many items such as master volume are straightforward, non-indexed.
No but you do need to puchase a decoder that is programed for the engine you want. Otherwise you will have a sound decoder with perhaps no sound or a generic sound. That is obvious if you order from Tony’s trains, it is in the fine print if you order from Litchfield Station.
If you standardize on Loksound decoders, the Lokprogrammer is a useful accessory. The 4.4.21 is the latest software version of the program used with their programmer.
Whoever you order your Loksound Select decoder from make sure they install the correct sound file into it. According to Wiki the RS-1 came with the Alco 539T primer mover (#73498); the RS-3 with the Alco 244-D (#73401).
Litchfield Station did that for me some years ago when I ordered LokSound v3.5 decoders. Great service. Bruce still ran the company then but still great service now.
IIRC, the Litchfield Station website is still set up for that. I think they have a drop-down menu to streamline the process…unless I’m thinking of another website.
Until recently I swore by the Loksound Select decoders. They are fantastic IMHO.[bow]
However, now that TCS has come out with built in keep alive capacitors I definitely am going to give their decoders a try. Tony’s Train Exchange’s current price for a LokSound Select plus a Power Pack keep alive is $139.60 USD. Their price for a TCS drop in decoder with built in keep alives is $97.95! Duh, let’s see which one will I choose? Those are both full retail prices so of course they can be found for less, but I somehow doubt that the LokSound setup will ever be cheaper than the TCS system.
LokSound would seem to have some catching up to do![swg][(-D]
The big difference is in the keep alive system. The Loksound one is more than just large capacitors. It is a 3 wire system which disables the capacitors when programming. The typical 2 wire systems (you CAN use a TCS keep alive with a Loksound decoder) usually need to be installed with a connector or switch because the big caps will interfere with the program track. No, you will never get a full ESU setup for less than TCS, the ESU keep alives alone are $30-$50 depending on what size one you get.
Ok here is the plan. I have 7 loco’s to do so the first 2 one will be LokSound and the other TCS. Rich gave me the links for the WOW Kits.
I cant decide which sound to have loaded on the Lok. I like them BOTH [:^)]. Going to search for real loco videos of start-up and running RS1’s and 3’s. See what I find.
From what I can see online speakers are a pain to install with these models. The DiGi-Key 433-1130-ND looks like a good choice for the Lok. The TCS Kit comes with one that I assume they know will fit.
Put the right ones in. Since you have both types of locos, might as well use the correct sound in each one, then you get to hear both. And you won’t have soome rivet counter coming over and wondering why you have a 539T in an RS-3.