Lokpilot 54650 slide in decoder

[crusader27529]

Be careful with the choice of which LOKPilot you choose......the 'standard' doesn't have ANY of the features you need to make it play nice in consist with a FT LOKSound decoder.

The LOKPilot V4 DOES have some features to work with FT LOKSound decoders......

The differences are reflected in the pricing.

[reinhardtjh]

These LokPilot 54650's are V4.0 versions so they have the full compatibility firmware.

That price is a remarkable one.  I hope the dealer didn't miss-price them. He'll take a bit of a bath if so.

[peteski]

That price is a remarkable one.  I hope the dealer didn't miss-price them. He'll take a bit of a bath if so.

Or the markup of these products is higher than what we imagined?

[RBrodzinsky]

What is weird is that those showing a higher price are also showing higher (and same) MSRP; those showing lower have a lower and same MSRP.

[Steveruger45]

I just did another web browse and litchfield station and yankeedabler also have the 54650 for around $20. I recently installed about six of these and Yes, these are version 4.0 and do play nice in consist with FT features.

[tehachapifan]

Curious if the sound and/or non sound version of this board will fit the FVM GP60's (I only have the GP60M and B, but I'm assuming the frames on the standard-cabs are the same?). It looks like the notches for the frame mounting posts are positioned about right but can't say for sure. Anyone know or have one they can check?

Thanks!

Update: I went ahead and ordered a 54650 to see how it fits in a FVM GP60M or B. At $20, I figured what the heck!

[Steveruger45]

Hi Russ,
Pls do let us know how well it fits in the FVM GP-60 A units. With perhaps a photo.
 I don't have one of these locos yet but it is on my wish list.
From what I can see on spookshow the 54650 should fit in much he same way as my atlas u25B.
If that is the case then then the loksound version of this board, the 73199, would fit similarly.
However, I think the 73100 would probably fit better, with less frame mods above the motor.
It is the same length overall as the lokpilot and 73199 and is more flexible for fitting the fwd and rear light leds as these are not pre-mounted.   The crux is, how much space is left for a speaker.
Thanks
Steve

[tehachapifan]

Hi Russ,
Pls do let us know how well it fits in the FVM GP-60 A units. With perhaps a photo.
 I don't have one of these locos yet but it is on my wish list.
From what I can see on spookshow the 54650 should fit in much he same way as my atlas u25B.
If that is the case then then the loksound version of this board, the 73199, would fit similarly.
However, I think the 73100 would probably fit better, with less frame mods above the motor.
It is the same length overall as the lokpilot and 73199 and is more flexible for fitting the fwd and rear light leds as these are not pre-mounted.   The crux is, how much space is left for a speaker.
Thanks
Steve

Well, the 54650 arrived and, although every square inch of my skin still hurts (flu had me in bed for better part of 4 days), I finally felt well enough again to go out and pull the shell off a FVM GP60B to hold it next to the drive mechanism. Not going to be a drop-in fit and looks like at least a little frame grinding would be necessary to make it fit. The frame post notches do not line up and my initial impression is that about half of the rearmost posts would need to be ground away. Regarding a sound decoder option, it looks like the 73100 might indeed be the better option, although I haven't actually tried to install one in a GP60 yet. It appears the 73100 might actually slide in the frame without modification. Whatever decoder gets used, motor contact jumpers appear to be necessary as the FVM GP60's that I have do not have the Atlas-like, under-board motor contacts (they're set up more like recent Kato's). Where the speaker would go is still not clear, although it looks like there would be plenty of room in front of the board in at least the GP60B. Not sure yet about the 60M though.

[AKNscale]

  The crux is, how much space is left for a speaker.
Thanks
Steve

Speaker space is the main reason I'm not so inclined to mess with these "drop in" LOKSound boards. I feel like the wire in version allows more options.

[tehachapifan]

I just took another look at my FVM GP60B's drive and, if there's not enough room in front of the board for a speaker in the GP60M, it looks like there might be enough room for one with at least a moderately-deep chamber at the rear of the drive, under the rearmost portion of the board. There's a pretty deep cutaway in the frame there. This is just a rough glance estimate, however.

[Steveruger45]

I appreciate the response Russ. I hope you get fully better soon.  Yes, the rear end is where I was thinking of getting a 8x12mm speaker/enclosure with a little frame grinding or filing to gain depth. I was also thinking that as long as I could get the speaker face clear of the board I could lengthen the enclosure under the board as well to gain cubic capacity on the enclosure as a substitute for depth. Of course this would mean a roll your own enclosure but nearly all mine to date are anyway.
BTW, I actually like to install speakers in the cab area, if I can, as I think it sounds better in that location when limited to an 8x12mm speaker.
Thanks the input.  Get fully well soon.
Steve

[tehachapifan]

Thanks, Steve! I think I'm definitely on the upswing (knocking on wood), but this thing is a real bugger!

[Steveruger45]

Thanks. Interesting, there seems to be two different prevailing prices for these; one 2x the other, depending on dealer.

Seems like the less than $20 decoders have all gone and now prices at around $32 at most vendors I have checked. Just glad I got mine when I did.

[Steveruger45]

Curious if the sound and/or non sound version of this board will fit the FVM GP60's (I only have the GP60M and B, but I'm assuming the frames on the standard-cabs are the same?). It looks like the notches for the frame mounting posts are positioned about right but can't say for sure. Anyone know or have one they can check?

Thanks!

Update: I went ahead and ordered a 54650 to see how it fits in a FVM GP60M or B. At $20, I figured what the heck!

How did the decoder install go?
I just got an FVM GP60 and it needs a lot of frame mods from I can see.  The aft set of board slots in the frame would have to go. Furthermore the remaining slots fwd would have to be modified to accept the wider loksound/lokpilot board as well.  Motor pads don’t line up either so hard wiring these will be needed as well. And possibly some more frame filing needed down the longitudinal center join area of the two frame halves.
It is doable, but a lot of work and the frame would not be backwards compatible after the frame modifications.
Speaker enclosure would also be very shallow, about 5mm.
As I have a few other locos on the list to esu-ize I am just going to put the 6 pin lokpilot in this one, for now at least.

[tehachapifan]

How did the decoder install go?
I just got an FVM GP60 and it needs a lot of frame mods from I can see.  The aft set of board slots in the frame would have to go. Furthermore the remaining slots fwd would have to be modified to accept the wider loksound/lokpilot board as well.  Motor pads don’t line up either so hard wiring these will be needed as well. And possibly some more frame filing needed down the longitudinal center join area of the two frame halves.
It is doable, but a lot of work and the frame would not be backwards compatible after the frame modifications.
Speaker enclosure would also be very shallow, about 5mm.
As I have a few other locos on the list to esu-ize I am just going to put the 6 pin lokpilot in this one, for now at least.

If I recall correctly, the 54650 looked like a no-go (which doesn't really matter as I forgot there is the 6-pin connection for a different non-sound LokPilot or other brand decoder) but I did successfully put a 73100 sound board in my FVM GP60M. However, it was not a drop-in fit. That said, I was able to get it to fit into the forward slots of the frame by loosening the frame halves a bit. The shell seems to be able to accommodate this fine and the trucks don't seem to want to fall out either, but they probably would if I went any looser. The board still wouldn't quite slide all the way forward into the (somewhat curved) front slots, as I guess the board itself is a tad thicker/taller, but it would slide in just enough for good contact and so the rear of the board would be (just barely) even with the back of the drive so the shell would clear. I did have to grind off a tiny bit of frame around the right-hand side, front slot as it got really close to a component on the top of the board that I was worried about potentially shorting, but that was it for frame mods. I also ran jumpers off the motor pads on the bottom of the board down to the motor tabs then applied Kapton tape between the pads on the bottom of the board and the frame. There were also a couple other pads at the edge of the board on both sides along the top near the middle of the board that sit really close to the frame that I wasn't sure what were, so I also covered these with tiny pieces of Kapton tape. They may be more frame contacts but they are not marked as such in the accompanying literature or in Peteski's findings, unless I  missed it. If I was to do any more frame grinding, I might increase the distance between these two pads and the frame a little. Finally, I placed a 9x16mm speaker, mounted diaphragm-out and facing up, in a scratch-built enclosure between the frame and the rear of the board. Even though the enclosure had to be kept pretty low-profile as you mentioned, the sound in this model is one of the best in my fleet....presumably because of the fairly large secondary enclosure area remaining inside the shell. I'll see if maybe I can grab some pics in the next day or two. Of course, your mileage may vary and attempt at own risk!

Edit: Note, I think I had to remove a rear light tube assembly from the rear of the shell so the shell would sit down over the rear of the decoder, but can't remember for sure.