OK, following on from my previous posts about getting and then dismantling the new LGB HSB KoF, I've now completed the sound installation. Taking the loco apart was mostly covered in my earlier topic here:
http://www.gscalecentral.net/m127073
I have been waiting for someone to get some more Massoth S sound modules in to stock, but they seem to be in very short supply right now (Massoth's own site is showing them as being of limited availability, guess they've sold all the first batch of production) - so as I had a "spare" one here that I hadn't yet used for the project it was originally purchased for, I dropped it back to Jeremy at Dragon who very kindly reprogrammed it with the KoF sound files and returned it to me within a few days. Very good service as always, above and beyond the call of duty!
As you'll recall from the earlier thread above, the problem with the KoF is the very limited space inside; there is basically nowhere to fit even the tiny S unit except inside the cab. So, that's where it had to go. Fortunately, there is space to tuck it neatly in at one side of the cab, beside the large central "control console" and below window level, so that it is VIRTUALLY invisible from the outside at normal viewing distances and angles.
Even feeding the wires through is not a simple task due to lack of space - in the end I decided to make a hole in the cab underside as shown in a couple of the pics below - it was tricky to even get in at the right angle to cut this hole, eventually I managed it with a scalpel tip and very careful widening of it with a needle file, until it was just large enough to squeeze the two-pin microplug of the speaker cables through. I was then able to feed the white and brown power wires from the S unit back the other way through the hole, these cables being all that is necessary for connecting the S to the LGB onboard decoder.
The speaker plug was inserted into the socket on the S unit, and the module itself was tucked as far down the left hand side of the cab as possible, as you can see from the pics, stuck in place with some double-sided tape - finally I pushed a little bit of black insulating tape over it, the driver figure was then blu-tacked into place just behind the decoder, all helping to hide it from view just a little bit more.
The white and brown wires, already fitted with the standard LGB/Massoth connectors, simply push onto the two "track power" pins provided on the onboard decoder - they are located right in the middle between the four big plug sockets, and are clearly shown in the S module instruction booklet.
The loco was then reassembled, motor hood first and then the cab (being VERY careful not to trap any wires or dislodge any plugs in the process). A quick test (only under analogue power) proved that all the important bits - motor, lights and sound - were working OK, then all the detail parts (coupling mounts, running boards etc) were re-attached. I still need to find the time to do a bit of tweaking of the programming via my SPROG, in particular turning up the sound volume - it's working fine, but rather quiet at the moment.
The pics here show the most important aspects of the job, I hope - and after a couple of questions about it I took some pics of the motor block as well (I didn't open the block up, so I don't know what type of motor is installed I'm afraid).
If anyone else is undertaking this job and would like to exchange notes, feel free to ask!
Jon.
http://www.gscalecentral.net/m127073
I have been waiting for someone to get some more Massoth S sound modules in to stock, but they seem to be in very short supply right now (Massoth's own site is showing them as being of limited availability, guess they've sold all the first batch of production) - so as I had a "spare" one here that I hadn't yet used for the project it was originally purchased for, I dropped it back to Jeremy at Dragon who very kindly reprogrammed it with the KoF sound files and returned it to me within a few days. Very good service as always, above and beyond the call of duty!
As you'll recall from the earlier thread above, the problem with the KoF is the very limited space inside; there is basically nowhere to fit even the tiny S unit except inside the cab. So, that's where it had to go. Fortunately, there is space to tuck it neatly in at one side of the cab, beside the large central "control console" and below window level, so that it is VIRTUALLY invisible from the outside at normal viewing distances and angles.
Even feeding the wires through is not a simple task due to lack of space - in the end I decided to make a hole in the cab underside as shown in a couple of the pics below - it was tricky to even get in at the right angle to cut this hole, eventually I managed it with a scalpel tip and very careful widening of it with a needle file, until it was just large enough to squeeze the two-pin microplug of the speaker cables through. I was then able to feed the white and brown power wires from the S unit back the other way through the hole, these cables being all that is necessary for connecting the S to the LGB onboard decoder.
The speaker plug was inserted into the socket on the S unit, and the module itself was tucked as far down the left hand side of the cab as possible, as you can see from the pics, stuck in place with some double-sided tape - finally I pushed a little bit of black insulating tape over it, the driver figure was then blu-tacked into place just behind the decoder, all helping to hide it from view just a little bit more.
The white and brown wires, already fitted with the standard LGB/Massoth connectors, simply push onto the two "track power" pins provided on the onboard decoder - they are located right in the middle between the four big plug sockets, and are clearly shown in the S module instruction booklet.
The loco was then reassembled, motor hood first and then the cab (being VERY careful not to trap any wires or dislodge any plugs in the process). A quick test (only under analogue power) proved that all the important bits - motor, lights and sound - were working OK, then all the detail parts (coupling mounts, running boards etc) were re-attached. I still need to find the time to do a bit of tweaking of the programming via my SPROG, in particular turning up the sound volume - it's working fine, but rather quiet at the moment.
The pics here show the most important aspects of the job, I hope - and after a couple of questions about it I took some pics of the motor block as well (I didn't open the block up, so I don't know what type of motor is installed I'm afraid).
If anyone else is undertaking this job and would like to exchange notes, feel free to ask!
Jon.
