I just ordered a small drill press and a milling table, figured I invested a few bucks in the RP system and definitely know to fit them into most HO locos .... "Some Milling Required" - this should help the process. I've seen many dcc installs cutting frames and weights as well - so, to be expected.

Hi Espeelark,

So here's the thing with installing the LM-3S-21 in the SW1500:

It's probably obvious that installing anything into this locomotive will be tighter than Tom Thumb's ass. I spent a good deal of time hacking up my brand-new SW1500 as I thought I didn't have a choice. I got the model WITHOUT the speaker or the default decoder from the factory because I knew I wanted to install a RailPro LM-3S-21 and my own speaker.

I had to hack up the frame a little in the front where the speaker would have come from the factory. I had to use a Dremel and file down the inside of the locomotive shell where the tabs are underneath the two exhaust pipes since this is where the LM-3S will sit. I also wanted to install Ring Engineering's version of keep-alive which is their PBM-2 module. But the only place to fit it would be inside the cab and that means removing the interior detail. It also would have been obvious that there the PBM-2 was in there through the windows.

After knocking most of the details off the shell (I will re-glue them later), I was getting frustrated that I couldn't fit the shell back on.

So I have a new approach.

I ordered a Decoder Buddy Mini from Nick Santo at NixTrainz. It will replace the factory motherboard as it is much smaller. I plan on using a few strips of styrene to build a shelf for it between the flywheels. This way, the LM-3S will sit much lower on the chassis and it might not have been necessary for me to modify the shell. Then I will see if there is room outside of the cab to install the PBM module.

I should have the Decoder Buddy Mini next week and I can approach the install from this angle.

I have a feeling that the Decoder Buddy Mini was the route I should have gone in the first place without hacking up my locomotive.

Well, you live and you learn.

I will report back one I have received the Mini and how it worked for the install.

Rob

i have had to remove the shell of the LM a time or too, as well.  be sure to wrap the LM after removing the shell with Kapton tape to make sure it doesn't short out if it touches something.

i have also removed the circuit boards from loco's.  as long as you mark the wires, or can trace them out so you know which is which, the circuit board is superfluous when you're using RP.  if the loco in question is designed with incandescent bulbs, i would also remove those and switch to LED's with the appropriate resistors.

Well I didn't get a successful install on Debian, RPA and HC Sim couldn't see each other. I'll have to try something else...

A thought in the meantime, I wonder if this is a manifestation of a peculiarity I observed years ago. If the port used by RPA is not being released by your system when you close RPA when you reopen RPA it won't be able to get that port and it won't be able to connect; at least this was the behaviour in 2021 (I doubt it's been fixed.).

You should be able to test for this in the terminal (I haven't checked this myself yet). Open RPA and then type in the terminal "netstat -tunlp" without the quotes (you may have to use sudo). Your looking for a entry under local address with the port 4608, and a foreign address that starts with 99. If you have it then close RPA and type the netstat command again, that entry should be gone.

- Tim

hi Tim,

I thought that might provoke a question after I posted. After I do a download of one or more files (doesn't matter what type) and install them onto either the HC or the LM3 and I realize I forgot a file. I go back to grab another file off the RP server and the RPA shows that it's "Not connected". No matter how many times I close RPA and restart it, it won't reconnect until I do a complete restart of my linux box...

BTW, Ubuntu 24.x now 25.x is pretty darn cool!

Bryan