New install on Scaletrains locomotive

[Orlando]

After you have prepared with everything you need for an install, be ready to sit down for at least 3hrs. After you have removed the shell, take a picture of the lights soldered connection just in case they come off while your working. Unsolder all connections from the stock board. Start laying out how you’re going to install your LM3-s and PBM. Next, remove the 2 screws that are holding the upper portion of the weighted frame. At this time you will have to decide if you are going to wire the speakers in parallel or series. I have a few with Scalesounds speakers but have opted to get my speakers from digi-key. Pass the speaker wires through the center hole in the speaker well. Once you have seated you’re speaker box in the speaker well, screw it back down onto the main frame.Usually i start off with the motor wires. Make sure theres a little bit of slack where the motor wires are soldered to allow you to work when you are managing wires. Now follow up by connecting track power to the module. Its alot easier to splice the 9 pin wire than the tiny scaletrain wires. Now onto wiring lights. Usually I start in the front working from the ditch light and up to the headlights and number boards. Scaletrains ditch light wires are yellow and white which is pretty straight forward. Red is the common on these models. I connect the headlights and number boards to 1 resistor and all catwalk and truck light to 1 resistor. At this point you are running out of connections for you’re lights. You must decide how you are going to use the 2rear outputs. Rear lights and ditch lights left. You choose! I use a ESU decoder tester as an external power source to test the lights before I make all my final connections. After testing the lights I connect the PBM blue wire to the main power wire of the module to complete the light connections. Finally the yellow  PBM to the yellow wire on the back of the module. Remember as you go along with your connections, you are also doing wire management to keep it clean. Hope this helped!
Orlando

[snowdog]

Nice post. I've got a buddy getting into RP and has a couple Scale Trains Gevos...I'm sure this will help him move forward!

[KPack]

Thanks for sharing this.  They way you installed yours is how I've done it on my Scaletrains locomotives as well.  With the exception of the speakers.  I cut a large part of the rear weight off and used a TB speaker in there for more bass.  Sounds great, but not loud.

For your horn sound are you using two separate functions for the long and short blasts?  Or did you do an incredible job creating a loop that sounds good?  I can never get my loops to sound right.

-Kevin

[Orlando]

Thanks for kind words Kevin. As for the horn, I did create it. I sat in front of my PC for hours trying to find the right horn video of the actual locomotive without any other noises in the background. I watched a video of a guy on YouTube who makes train horns for his train simulator game. He explains that the horn connot have any bell sounds or any other spikes in the sounds. He also said that depending on the length of the horn blast, will determine your start, loop and end. I got that horn pretty good, but currently im struggling with the horn from the Central of Georgia locomotive. Alot of the videos on the Central of Georgia are not that good. The sound that im looking for is somewhere, i just need to find it and work on it. Audacity is a good app to have on your PC. I sit there for hrs sometimes just trying to make a good sound!

Thanks
Orlando