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LGB 2015D LOCOMOTIVE CONVERSION TO DCC SOUND

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LGB333$$$$

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
I just completed converting an LGB 2015D Steamer and its matching motorized tender to DCC sound, both with clam shell motor blocks. I had to cut half of the lead weight in the boiler and relocate the two pieces to the cab's water and coal compartments to fit an ESU LokSound 5L DCC sound decoder inside. A 40mm speaker was placed into the firebox. For the tender's decoder, I first tried installing an ESU LokPilot 5L locomotive/function decoder but even after matching the settings on the locomotive's decoder, I could not get the tender's starting and stopping momentum to behave like the sound decoder. So, I then installed another LokSound 5L sound decoder into the tender..........success, the tender behaves almost exactly like the locomotive even though the locomotive is heavier than the tender. Next, I decider to take advantage of the tender's sound decoder and installed a speaker shown below. Now, the deeper sound in the tender really enhances the sound quality, although I had to reduce a few of the locomotive's decoder sounds to prevent echo such as the station announcements, bell, and chuff. Otherwise, the dual sound decoders sound fabulous. In the future, for this type conversion with a matching motorized tender, I'd probably just run a cable from the locomotive to the tender for the DCC conversion, including the second speaker in the tender. I'll post a link latter to a video of this set operating on my DCC Test Stand Roller Wheels so you can hear the sound quality.

MyYouTube Website video:

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#3 ·
Nice sounding locomotive. Do you think 2 ESU 54640 would work well in a locomotive like that. I'm only asking because I have the same locomotive in my fleet that is the only non dcc locomotive I own now and I have 1 esu 54640 would just need 1 decoder to do it.
Do you set them up to run in a consist?
Thanks
David
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Greg Elmassian said:
very weird you could not match the 2 separate decoders. I'll bet you had different bemf settings. Oh well, I'd be pretty upset being forced to use a second sound decoder.
Click to expand...
Greg, I'm guessing there's a way to get the start and stop momentum of the ESU LokPilot 5L decoder to match the ESU LokSound 5L sound decoder, but I'll have to consult with ESU Tech. For expediency, I decided just for this project to use a second sound decoder.......cost is only $100 additional over the LokPilot decoder.

I had already completed the installation and reassembly of the locomotive and was not going to disassemble it again after everything was working well. But in the future for this type of locomotive and matching motorized tender, I'll wire the sound decoder in the locomotive to the tender and speaker instead of installing any second decoder there.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
drs3644 said:
Nice sounding locomotive. Do you think 2 ESU 54640 would work well in a locomotive like that. I'm only asking because I have the same locomotive in my fleet that is the only non dcc locomotive I own now and I have 1 esu 54640 would just need 1 decoder to do it.
Do you set them up to run in a consist?
Thanks
David
Click to expand...
Hi drs3644! The ESU 54640 has a 4 Amp capacity and can handle two motors, so you only need one if you don't mind having to do all the wiring and cabling between the locomotive and the tender's motor block and rear light. But the 54640 is a non-sound, locomotive/function dcc decoder. If you want sound, you'll need to install an ESU LokSound 5L that can fit inside the locomotive's boiler. I had to cut the rear half off the lead weight for the boiler fitment and then cut the removed piece into two pieces, and then glue them into the locomotive's hidden front compartments. You can see in the last photo the two lead pieces glued into the cab's front compartments. I also installed two new LGB Buhler motors into the units for preventative maintenance and long operating reliability.......you don't want to have to open up these clam shell motor blocks again to replace motors down the pike!
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#6 ·
For the American Stainz I was able to install a Zimo decoder that could handle 2 or more motors in the cab and use power pickup from the tender to the engine. Of course there are more wires between engine and tender doing this. Separate decoders would keep the 2 wire track power cable as the only one.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
piercedan1000 said:
For the American Stainz I was able to install a Zimo decoder that could handle 2 or more motors in the cab and use power pickup from the tender to the engine. Of course there are more wires between engine and tender doing this. Separate decoders would keep the 2 wire track power cable as the only one.
Click to expand...
I haven't seen too many track power pick up issues from the Stainz or 2015D type locomotives........they have the three track power pick up points on each side. My understand for the banana plugs used between the LGB motorized tenders and the Stainz/2015D was to help ensure the motors between the two units would be better sync'd. But if I do another one of these loco-motorized tender set ups, I'll run the cable between the two so that the decoder in the loco not only feeds power to the tender's motor, but the tender to also provide supplemental power back to the decoder.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
drs3644 said:
What would be a good 6 pin connector for this project?
Click to expand...
A regular 6-pin cable, plug and socket used on Moguls, for example, would not be sufficient for the track power and motor, the rear light and the speaker. You would need a 8-pin arrangement. I do have some different brand plugs and sockets with 6, 8 and 10 pins but it's quite challenging soldering the individual wires onto them. Takes some very fine, detailed soldering.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
piercedan1000 said:
Myself, I would keep the original socket with 2 wires for track power and add a 6 pin connector for the light/speaker/motor when using a single decoder in the engine to feed both motors.
Click to expand...
Dan, good point.........I forgot about using the existing banana plugs socket. I think I'd use the banana socket for the speaker and leave the motor, track power and light for the 6-pin plug.
 
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