Sound-chipping Piko V60...?

Zerogee

Zerogee

Clencher's Bogleman
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I'd been vaguely thinking about the new Piko V60 for a while, but wasn't seriously planning to get one right now - then I went into my local model railway shop (general one, not G specialist) this morning and found a little-used second hand red one in there at a price I really couldn't refuse!
So, I bought it (credit cards are wonderful, aren't they?).... now I have to add DCC and sound. Piko's own set-up looks horribly overpriced - I assume you have to buy a decoder AND the sound system separately - so I guess Massoth XLS is the way to go, as discussed a little on an earlier thread.

Has anyone here actually done this yet? Any tips or advice on locations for chip and speaker? Any funnies in the wiring to watch out for? Can I plug an XLS directly into the Piko electronics, or should I rewire everything direct to the Massoth chip?

As always, any help and useful suggestions much appreciated! :)

Jon.
 
Hi Jon

I have no experience with this loco ( I notice though one or two are coming on the 2nd hand market though there is/was one on here last week)

However the chipping..... I have done quite a few locos in the past and my personal experience has ben that unless the loco has a DCC socket for a specific decoder type, ( for example a 21 pin plug on the latest Aristo locos) then it is simpler to simply by pass the existing locos electronics and hard wire to the decoder, remebering of course to adjust voltage output for lights relevant to the bulbs fitted in the loco.
 
Thanks Steve, I'm OK going with a full rewiring if it's the most practical way, but as it's a nearly-new loco I was looking at the possibility of retaining all the factory electronics just in case.
Anyone actually done a V60 yet?
 
Hi Zerogee,
I bought a Piko V60 new. I purchased a Loksound decoder from Jeremy at Dragon G scale.
This came fully loaded with all the sounds and it's fantastic.
Al Prescott
 
Mr A PRESCOTT said:
Hi Zerogee,
I bought a Piko V60 new. I purchased a Loksound decoder from Jeremy at Dragon G scale.
This came fully loaded with all the sounds and it's fantastic.
Al Prescott
Click to expand...

Hi Al,

So did you fit the decoder in the V60 yourself, or have it done for you? What I'm looking for is any tips and advice on the fitting, eg: where you located the decoder in the loco, how the wiring went (did you plug the decoder into the existing Piko onboard electronics, or did you hardwire the new decoder directly to the motor/pickups/lights etc.?), what size/type of speaker did you use and did you fit it into the intended speaker mount in the loco or somewhere else in the body, etc.....?
Anything you can tell us of your experiences will hopefully help me and anyone else attempting the same project!

Thanks,

Jon (Zerogee).
 
Just to confirm earlier................ from my decoder fitting experience and I have done quite a few since the late 90s!

If a loco has an interface (socket) for a particular type of decoder then fitting that decoder usually automatically transfers the control of the onboard functions to the decoder ( the removal of the blanking plug and plugging in the decoder, sees to this)

BUT when a decoder is fitted which needs to be hard wired such as Massoth XL or ESU Loksound, it is best to totally bypass the onboard PCB(s) by wirng every thing directly to the actual decoder which it has the connectors for.

Doing this will prevent strange occurances such as possible poor running due to the decoder trying to 'fight' against components still in circuit on the pcb.

Just remember to check output voltages from the decoder ( usually in the instructions) for the lights etc and if nesecessary alter using the relevant CVs.

Only last week a friend was having trouble with a 00 loco in which he had hard wired a decoder, it started of slowly, then suddenly shot off at top speed then juddered to a crawl!, he had sort of wired it throught the pcb connections!, I rewired it correctly removing the PCB from the loco, and it then ran perfectly!
 
Hi Jon,​
I fitted the Loksound XL 3.5 decoder myself. It was my first one and was really easy as it had screw terminals and I purchased the speaker with it. Jeremy at DRAGON G SCALE is a mine of information and a great help if you do have problems. There is plenty of room and the speaker screwed directly onto the speaker housing. I asked Jeremy to load it with the V60 sound which is free and can be heard on the Loksound website. There are also manuals in English.​
I hope this helps. Ring Jeremy. You won't be disappointed.​
AL​
​
 
Thanks Al, good to know there is plenty of room in the loco. Did you put the decoder inside the main (front) hood?
I've installed quite a few Massoth chips in various locos, but not tried an ESU yet, though several people have recommended them as being very good.
I'd still like to know if you wired the chip via the existing loco electronics (particularly for the light connections) or removed/bypassed them, as Steve recommends here?
I agree that Jeremy is very helpful - I've bought most of my Massoth chips from him, plus a lot of other stuff!

Jon.
 
Hi Jon,
I can't remember where I fitted the decoder but there was plenty of room.
The speaker screwed straight onto the speaker outlet.
I by-passed the few bits of electronics and hard wired it.
The ESU decoder that I fitted was a Loksound XL 3.5 which, if bought from Dragon g scale, comes loaded with the V60 sound and I believe a discount for being a member of GSC.
The connections are :-
2 to the track.
2 to the motor.
2 from the positive power outlet to front led & rear led positives.
1 to front led return.
1 to rear led return.
2 to the speaker.
All these connections are marked on the decoder.
If your still not sure I will take the loco apart and photograph it.
AL
 
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