Atlas N Scale SP SD9 Sound Decoder Install

[tehachapifan]

I installed an ESU Loksound Select Micro sound decoder in Atlas N scale SP SD9. Two SBS4DCC "Sugar Cube" speakers were also used with a double sound chamber. To make a little more room for the decoder board, I used a Dremel tool just a little on the inside of the shell in the cab and short hood area where the decoder sits. I am very pleased with the sound, lighting and operation from this decoder!

Decoder installed in front of chassis with speakers in rear....



Forward light "sandwich" board scratch-built from styrene. I'm calling it a sandwich board because it sandwiches the LED's in-place and the boards support post is also sandwiched between frame halves....



Rear headlight LED positioned in notch in sound chamber....



Lighting effects with shell re-installed. The top light is set to gyralight. To reduce the gyralight effect showing thru the numberboards, I installed a small light block on the sandwich board that fits between the clear numberboard inserts and then painted the numberboard inserts all black except for the very bottom, so the headlight would only shine through. It doesn't completely stop the gyralight effect from showing through, but almost...

[ryan_wilkerson]

That looks great! Thanks for showing the guts of the install. Really like the full light cluster.

[peteski]

Nice install!
These are some relatively large SMD LEDs!  But at that size they easily illuminate both headlight lenses - very creative.  The probably look even brighter in person (although the photo already seems to show them to be  blindingly bright). 

Is the speaker enclosure 3D printed?  Also, how are the speakers hooked up (it is a bit difficult to tell from that photo)?

[tehachapifan]

Thanks, guys!

Nice install!
These are some relatively large SMD LEDs!  But at that size they easily illuminate both headlight lenses - very creative.  The probably look even brighter in person (although the photo already seems to show them to be  blindingly bright). 

Is the speaker enclosure 3D printed?  Also, how are the speakers hooked up (it is a bit difficult to tell from that photo)?

Yes, the light that is displayed with the shell on is incredibly bright. The SMD LED's (3014's in warm white) were chosen exactly for the reason you mentioned, which was for a single SMD to cover the area of both lens openings. I also like these because there is very little body around the illuminated area of the LED, which is good for tighter installations. Short pieces of fiber optic were used in the lens openings.

The speaker baffles do appear to be 3D printed. I hooked the two speakers in the same configuration as can be seen here (I hope this link is OK): http://www.sbs4dcc.com/images/430_20140615_160933-crop.jpg (correction, I hooked the speakers in parallel, not series as seen in the link [see below])

[peteski]

The speaker baffles do appear to be 3D printed. I hooked the two speakers in the same configuration as can be seen here (I hope this link is OK): http://www.sbs4dcc.com/images/430_20140615_160933-crop.jpg

That shows the wiring but it doesn't show the polarity (the speakers are symmetrical in appearance).  If you hooked them u in series but in incorrect polarity the speaker cones will move in the opposite directions canceling (not strengthening) the total amount of sound waves).

Regular (larger round) speakers usually have the positive terminal marked in some way (it used to be a red dot), but the small cell-phone speakers might not be marked.  You should verify somehow that they are hooked up properly.

DECODER ------- (+)SPEAKER1(-)--------(+)SPEAKER2(-)-------------DECODER

This will give you maximum sound volume from the speaker assembly.

[tehachapifan]

I was mistaken with how the speakers are hooked up. The link I provided shows speakers connected in series, as does your diagram like you said. What I did is what I believe to be a parallel installation, like this:

DECODER ------- (+)SPEAKER1(-)
                         (+)SPEAKER2(-)-------------DECODER

The information I got from the SBS4DCC site is that two of these speakers can be hooked up in either series or parallel, with parallel providing more volume, provided that impedance does not drop below the decoder's impedance rating. In this case the speakers are rated at 8 Ohms and the decoder is rated at 4-8 Ohms. My understanding is the parallel installation drops the impedance to 4 Ohms. I could have gotten this or something else wrong, though, as this is certainly not my area of expertise. That said, I can't imagine the sound quality getting much better but I certainly don't want to blow an amplifier either.

Also, I've done a little better job tucking wires since the above photos, as some were starting to stray into pinch-
point areas a little too much.

[peteski]

Russ, the parallel connection will work and as you say, 2 8 ohm speakers in parallel result in 4 ohm total impedance. As long as you identified the speaker leads and hooked them positive and negative as shown in your diagram then you are all set.

[tehachapifan]

Thanks, Peteski. The speakers have a couple faintly-printed hash marks on one side of the speaker, which you can barely make out in the first photo above. This is what I used to orientate the speakers and wiring.

[carlso]

Russ,

Very nice, neat, and clean install, well done !

Carl

[tehachapifan]

Thanks, Carl! I appreciate the compliments!

[GaryHinshaw]

Very well done!  I think we need a video now.

[SP-Wolf]

Excellent. Do you get any light "bleed" from the two LED's - ?
I see you have a shield between them.

(As - I am working on a quartet of Cadillac's. Non sound - however)

Just wondering,
Wolf

[tehachapifan]

Thanks, Gary! I would love to post a video but I'm not really set up for those right now.

Wolf, with the light block on the sandwich board and the painting of the numberboard inserts described above, I get virtually no light bleed from one light to the other and only a little light bleed from the gyralight through the numberboards (only noticeable with the headlight off).

[jagged ben]

Where's that icon...

Oh there it is. 

 

[sp org div]

Nice work Russ...
I been holding out to see what the Intermountain -2 Loksound installs consist of, in hopes of utilizing for multiple hood applications.
Jeff