LokSound Nano in a Custom N-scale Atlas RS3m

[cbroughton67]

As I explained to a friend of mine about this install, my notion of "fun" seems to border on masochism at times. Case in point...

I built this RS3m "Dewitt Geep" a year or two ago and never dreamed of installing sound. Then came along the LokSound Nano. After some frame milling and cutting, and removing unused wires from the Nano to reduce its thickness a bit, I was able to shoehorn everything in, including a 330uF cap.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Above shows the frame mods and component locations. The decoder is on the right, the speaker and modified (as in shorter) enclosure are on the left closest to the motor, and a 330uF 20v poly-tantalum cap is set at an angle at the very right end. A channel is milled into the top of the frame for wires, resistor, etc. A pair of 0603 LED's power the front and rear headlights.

The walls of the SBS4DCC enclosure are about 0.030" thick. So, I took about 0.020" off the base of the enclosure first, since that was "free space" that wouldn't effect the airspace behind the speaker. Then, I removed material from the speaker-side of the enclosure until it all fit under the hood.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

I removed the plastic shrink-wrap from the decoder and desoldered the unused function wires. I soldered the green wire to one of the GND pads for connecting the cap. I routed the wires out the opposite end of the board from what they were originally and made sure they didn't overlap one another to keep the overall thickness to a minimum, and wrapped the entire board with kapton tape.

The reason I routed them out the opposite end was the slight difference in board length. The wire board is slightly longer on that end, so I could let it rest on the "step" in the frame and spare an extra millimeter or two. You can probably see what I'm talking about in the photo above. 

And... the video:

/>

[peteski]

Speaker without *ANY* enclosure?  Interesting.

[jdcolombo]

I think there IS an enclosure - the speaker is mounted on top of the enclosure, with the front of the speaker firing into the enclosure and the back free.  This is a common "sugar cube" design, and there is debate over whether "speaker up" or "speaker down" produces the best overall performance.  But either way, you get the benefit of the enclosure (data suggests that speaker up produces flatter frequency response, but it's not like we're listening to Beethoven over these speaker installations).

Thanks for the install pics, Chris.  I was wondering if one could do a LokSound install in an RS3 given the thickness of the current micro designs.  Now I know it is possible.

Will add this to install list.

John C.

[Pomperaugrr]

Outstanding.  I made an N scale RS3M for the Housatonic, but I never thought sound could be crammed into it.  I am definitely bookmarking this for future reference!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Needs more wheelslip to be a REAL RS3m! lol

[peteski]

I think there IS an enclosure - the speaker is mounted on top of the enclosure, with the front of the speaker firing into the enclosure and the back free. 

Yes, the direction the speaker is installed and the shape of the enclosure do noe seem to make any discernible difference, as long as setup is airtight.  What has me puzzled is that the speaker is mounted and an angle to what could be a black 3D-printed enclosure.  Usually the speaker is mounted flat on the enclosure.  I wish Chris provided more of a description of the construction details, rather then just photos which (at least to me) do not provide clear enough explanation.

Looking the photos over again, now I'm wondering if that angle thing on the end of the frame is the capacitor?  It is not very clear to my eyes.  I thought it was the speaker, But I think now I see the speaker mounted flat on the top of that black thing (enclosure)? 

[wazzou]

To me, it looks like the speaker is face down, sealed to the enclosure with the cap at the end on an angle.

[jdcolombo]

Pete, are you sure you're looking at the speaker and not at the cap at the end of the speaker enclosure?  The diagonal thingy at the end of the chassis is the cap, not a speaker.

John C.

[cbroughton67]

Yes, the direction the speaker is installed and the shape of the enclosure do noe seem to make any discernible difference, as long as setup is airtight.  What has me puzzled is that the speaker is mounted and an angle to what could be a black 3D-printed enclosure.  Usually the speaker is mounted flat on the enclosure.  I wish Chris provided more of a description of the construction details, rather then just photos which (at least to me) do not provide clear enough explanation.

Looking the photos over again, now I'm wondering if that angle thing on the end of the frame is the capacitor?  It is not very clear to my eyes.  I thought it was the speaker, But I think now I see the speaker mounted flat on the top of that black thing (enclosure)?

@peteski  Yes, the angled piece at the very end is the 330uF 20v cap, and it's "leaning" on the 12x8mm sugar cube speaker. The speaker is firing into the enclosure. I probably should have added more detail to the post...
I had to remove more material from the enclosure than I wanted to in order to make it fit. So, the airspace is small, but it's surprisingly loud and clear even compared to other locos with a "full" enclosure.

The caps are the type @Steveruger45 recommended in another post. https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/kyocera-avx/TCN4337M020R0100E/10381493
Chris

[cbroughton67]

I wish Chris provided more of a description of the construction details, rather then just photos which (at least to me) do not provide clear enough explanation.

@peteski  I updated the OP with more details of the installation, component identification, steps taken, etc. I hope that makes the post clearer.

[peteski]

@peteski  I updated the OP with more details of the installation, component identification, steps taken, etc. I hope that makes the post clearer.

Yes, the write-up is clear now. Thanks Chris!
That's some good shoehorning in this install.      

[Steveruger45]

@peteski  I updated the OP with more details of the installation, component identification, steps taken, etc. I hope that makes the post clearer.

Nice install Chris. Thanks for posting