Installing RailPro in a pair of Athearn DCC Ready Genesis GP38-2W's

[William Brillinger]

I threw RailPro modules into my 2 GP38-2W's yesterday to get them onto the layout for an op session today.
There was no speaker enclosure in these models so I skipped the sound.

That bothered me something terrible - so today I ripped them apart and did it right!



I used iPhone 4 loudspeakers for this installation.

• First I removed the body (again)
• and pulled up the stock Athearn Control Board.
• I removed the wires for the rear truck
• and took the weight out.
• I re-attached the rear truck wires
• I trimmed the unneeded wires on the 6 pin harness
• I attached the 6 pin harness to the RailPro module
• and slipped some shrink tubing on the 2 brown speaker wires
• I trimmed the ends of the speaker wires and tinned them.
• I drilled a in the flat tab on the speaker housing

• I soldered the speaker wires to the speaker
• and slid the shrink tubing over the tabs
• I touched the tubing with the hot iron to shrink it on just a bit.
• I installed the speaker and secured it in place with one of the screws originally used to hold the weight.
• You can just see the screw here:

• I clipped the control board back into place
• I secured the RailPro module with fresh kapton tape
• I secured the wires at both ends to keep them from being on top of the module and keep them out of the drive mechanisms

• At this point I loosely placed the shell on top, and put the loco on the track for a quick test.
• Sound works! so now I reassembled the locomotive and programmed the sounds.

Simple, eh?

The first one took me about an hour. The second one only took about 25 minutes,  yay!

[KPack]

Excellent post Bill.  Good pictures and well-documented.  That is a clean and neat installation as well.  Can't wait to see more of these in action!

-Kevin

[nodcc4me]

Nice installation Bill. I have installed two 5s speakers in separate locomotives, but the volume is low. I may have to change the way they're baffled. They are not screwed in, and that may make the difference.

[William Brillinger]

Get some 4S speakers. The 5s speaker uses the entire phone as a baffle, without it, it has no "ooomph."

The 4s is fantastic.

Here they are at about 30% master volume and 50% prime mover volume...

[nodcc4me]

They are a lot louder than mine, even at that distance from the camera. I guess I'll be looking on Ebay for some 4s speakers.

[hirailer]

Very nice installation Bill. Looks like I am going to order some 4s speakers too. The Railmaster 1436's that I am using now just don't have enough bass response.

Mel

[William Brillinger]

Here's a great tip re-posted from MRH: 

Extra Wires
Mon, 2015-11-09 15:14 — Patrick Stanley

Bill, did you know that with a sharp point of a small screwdriver or tweezer you can lift the little tab that holds the wires in the 6 & 9 pin connectors and remove the entire wire, Saves space and is easy to add in the function for the wire later if you need to change anything.

I routinely remove all unused wires. Saves a lot of space and confusion.

Espee over Donner

[William Brillinger]

Source for the speakers:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131544209544?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[nodcc4me]

Thanks for the link Bill. I had just ordered some on Ebay from another seller who listed them as OEM. They cost a bit more, but I wasn't sure if OEM mattered.

[hirailer]

BILL- The supplier for iphone speakers in your link will only ship to USA. I ordered 10 from Hong Cong free shipping @.99 cents each from
  http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Loud-Speaker-Ringer-Mic-Buzzer-Replacement-Parts-Flex-Cable-For-iPhone-4S-4G-/180994998115?hash=

I will report how they perform in a few weeks after they arrive and I get a chance to test them.

Mel

[William Brillinger]

USA only eh? Sorry about that. 
I chose the ones in the US myself so they would come faster

[KPack]

Hey Bill, how about some more video of the two GP38's?  The ops video was great, but you can't hear the locos very much.  I'd like to hear more of the 4s speaker in action.  What prime mover file do you have on there?

-Kevin

[William Brillinger]

soon Kevin!

I want to cut the weights down and put them back in then once the girls are all done, I'll setup a good demo.

I'm using the EMD 567, but I think it should probably be the 645 roots eh?

[nodcc4me]

As a follow-up, I have installed 4s speakers in 3 engines. Highly recommended, and the price is right.