KATO F Unit Chassis

[thumpernickle]

Does anyone know the DCC sound readiness of the current KATO F7 chassis? Does it need to be milled out for a speaker? I asked because KATO offered a DCC w/sound option.

[MK]

Yes, the chassis has to be milled.  Kato's DCC with sound is from their Kobo Shop where the units are custom milled and the decoder and speaker installed.  The chassis is not manufactured with spacing reserved for each.

[POVC]

Depends on the speaker.  The ones KATO is selling from their Kobo Shop are milled but depending on the size of the speaker you may not need to.

Soundtraxx N 885032 TSU-KN! kit supposedly can be installed in most KATO locomotives without milling.  I plan on installing one in a KATO F-unit but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Tim

[Mark5]

Some good info in this thread: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=50310.30

[thumpernickle]

Thanks everyone. That was helpful.

[nightmare0331]

for the Kobo F units with sound, I was just machining a bit of the rear weight of the F unit frame so an ESU 11x17 sugarcube speaker would fit.

Depending on what speaker/decoder combo you utilize, you can get away without cutting...the caveat being you have a much smaller speaker.

Hope this helps!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[jdcolombo]

if you're going to go to the trouble of putting sound in, mill the frame and put in the largest speaker/enclosure combo you can.  Yes, you can "get away" with a very small speaker in a shallow enclosure, but the sound will be thin.   You're going to spend $100 on a decoder/speaker combo, so you might as well get the best sound possible for that money.

John C.

[thumpernickle]

Any tips on milling the frame for a newbie? I have a Dremel.

[Steveruger45]

I use Metal files and Junior hacksaw
It’s important to properly support the frame To prevent it from Distortion during the milling process
I do that by securing the  Frame to the workbench With wood blocks, wood screws and clamps etc as necessary
Take your time Don’t rush it and let the tools do the work