The availability of new and upgraded components has initiated a major update of the website. New versions of Home, Radio Control and Battery Power pages are already online and others will be published as editing progresses. Here are a few areas with significant new information.

New versions of S-CAB radio receiver (LXR) and Battery Power Supply (BPS) are available

LXR: The new receiver board is designed for convenient integration with new decoders. Another design change involves antenna placement. After several years experience with various antenna orientations, the new LXR standardizes cross-wise mounting as shown in the photo. Vertical mounting is still available by special order, but horizontal (lengthwise) is discontinued, since it offers no performance advantage and increases overall length of the receiver.

BPS: A complete redesign of the Battery Power Supply provides major improvements:

• Size reduction: It's not dramatic, but decreased width is very helpful in narrow hooded diesels (GPs).
• Maximum output is increased from 500 to 750 mA.
• Integrated battery bypass operates loco from track power when available, and provides automatic, instantaneous battery backup. Deadrail operation or isolated battery power is optional.
• Battery under-voltage protection has been improved.

New decoders, which simplify S-CAB installation, have been selected as standard products for S-CAB systems. 

• NCE D13DRJ:  Combines a non-sound decoder with S-CAB compatible receiver on the same circuit board.
• SoundTraxx ECO-100:  A 1 amp, 4 function sound decoder in a very small package that integrates nicely with S-CAB receiver

NCE recently released D13DRJ, a new version of its popular D13 series HO decoders, which is intended for use in battery powered, radio controlled models. "DR" is derived from "direct radio" and "J" means it has an NMRA standard 9-pin JST socket and wire harness. The radio is compatible with S-CAB and battery power can be a BPS battery power supply or a series-connected, multi-cell (typically 11.1 or 14.4 volt) battery pack. One side of the circuit board is the decoder, which has been simplified and reduced in size by removing rectifiers that are required for DCC track input, but unnecessary with battery power. A Linx Technologies radio receiver, mounted on the second side of the board, provides DCC commands directly to the decoder microprocessor; the same method as used by S-CAB. The remaining radio-side components form an electronic on/off battery switch. The blue wire is an antenna. (A 3 inch length of wire makes a simple antenna.)

The decoder is "plug and play" when used with S-CAB radio and a battery pack. However, decoder red and black leads are no longer DCC track input. Red is battery positive and black is battery negative. Correct polarity is critical.

There a two ways to eliminate the confusion of duplicate switches. Either disable the electronic switch by putting it in a permanently 'on-state' when there is battery power, or remove the switch and replace it with a wire connection.

I'll illustrate removal for this blog. It's simple, but not reversible. All components except the radio are removed and the chip that forms the electronic switch is replaced with a wire.

The always-on modification suggested by NCE is slightly more complicated, but is a reversible procedure.

S-CAB users can order the D13DRJ decoder now at the same price as an S-CAB-compatible D13SR or D13SRJ. I'll add it to the price list page once I decide whether or not it replaces D13SRJs. It's a neater, smaller, easier to install solution for users who prefer non-sound decoders or are working with restricted space in small locos. 

NCE decoders sold by me for S-CAB use now include a firmware version that supports use of function F5 for turning off battery power and eliminates the requirement to use a separate switch or sensor for this purpose. This is part of an effort to "standardize" F5 as a battery-off command. However a switch can still be used if that is the user's preference.

I thank NCE for cooperation during this development and willingness to bring what may remain a niche product to market. As always, NCE's proprietary rights are acknowledged. 

Two new Walthers ALCO DL-109 HO-scale locos will be converted to S-CAB radio control and battery power for operation as a permanent consist with number 759 as the lead loco (the A unit) and 749 (B unit) running backwards. An identical set of components will be installed in each loco and the 2-loco consist will be operated by giving each loco the same decoder address. 

There are five components to install, three of which significantly affect space requirements. The BPS circuit board is fixed and the TSU-1000 decoder is required to safely handle power requirements of this heavy loco. This leaves battery, radio receiver and speaker for which we have options.

Here are a few considerations that led to the final arrangement illustrated below.

• For good radio reception, avoid placing the radio antenna against a metal surface.
• The BPS turn-on sensor must be outside the range of magnetic fields created by motor and speaker.
• The speaker should be located so that the motor magnet does not interfere with speaker performance.

The radio receiver is mounted at front of loco and part of the frame is cut away for two reasons:

1. To accommodate the speaker
2. To create some air-space between antenna and metal frame.

By mounting the receiver above the speaker, it is almost out of sight above cab windows.

The speaker is glued to a styrene plastic mounting that is attached to the frame with screws, which allows assembly to be removed for access to drive shaft and front truck. To complete this sub-assembly, the radio receiver will be mounted on back of speaker enclosure with adhesive or double sided sticky tape.

The BPS is installed at the rear of the loco where it sits in a plastic mounting attached to the loco frame with screws so that the rear truck is accessible. By using 1/8" styrene, the two largest BPS components (inductors) are almost flush with the lower surface of the plastic mounting. There is also a spacer below the mounting so that the BPS magnet sensor is positioned close to the loco roof.
This arrangement leaves space above the motor for battery and decoder, neither of which is sensitive to the motor's magnet.

Eliminating battery socket and direct wiring the battery connection is another space saver. Wire both battery and BPS with leads an inch or more in length, then solder and insulate to join leads as the last step in making the connection. This reduces the risk of accidental short-circuit while working with a charged battery and also provides extra wire to simplify battery replacement, should this become necessary.

There is nothing quite as frustrating as completing, testing and tidying up wiring, only to discover the loco's body shell will not fit with everything installed. To avoid this disappointment, it's best to perform several trial fits of the shell with various combinations of components temporarily held in place with electrical or Kapton tape.

As mentioned earlier, locos will be coupled back-to-back to form a more or less permanent consist. Since the locos are mechanically identical and their speed characteristics are similar in each direction, no speed curve matching is required and respective motor control CVs will have identical values. Configuring function outputs is easy, since a headlight (function F0) is the only loco feature to be controlled. One other function output, F5, will be used to turn off battery power.

Assigning the same decoder address to each loco, avoids the need for a separate consist address. Each loco's decoder, having the same address, will respond to a radio command for that address. The only reason to set up a consist address is a requirement for each loco to respond differently to the same command. This also applies to CV programming commands and is the reason loco 749's motor was connected with polarity reversed; it runs backwards in response to a forward command. A similar result could be achieved using CV29, but this requires the decoders to have different values for CV29. Except for the bell (which is set to zero volume in 749), both locos have identical values for all CVs.

With radio control, no programming track is required and, once the decoders have the same address, CVs are programmed simultaneously for both locos, using either operation or service mode programming. To set a CV value (for example, the bell volume) for only one of the locos, just turn off the other's battery power. If using service mode programming, be sure to turn off power for all other decoders to prevent them from responding to a globally addressed command.

To separate the consist and operate as separate locos, the S-CAB throttle can be used to change the address for one of the locos. If desired, CV29 can be programmed (using the S-CAB throttle) to reverse motor polarity of loco 749.

The consist is operated in the same manner as a single loco. Momentum settings should be the same for each loco with values that match acceleration and braking somewhat realistically with diesel engine exhaust sound. This can be done by using the S-CAB throttle to adjust the values of CVs 3 and 4.

Except for one operating scenario, decoder default settings operate headlights automatically. F0 toggles headlights on and off. With F0 on and loco 759 moving forward, its headlight will be on and 749's will be off. However, if the consist is backing a train into a station or siding, 749 will be shining its headlight onto the end of the nearest car. Operation will be a little more realistic if F0 is used to turn off headlights.

Battery power requires a method to turn batteries on and off. If the consist is on powered track, turn-on is automatic when BPS detects track voltage. If track is not powered, a magnet held close to the on-board sensor turns the battery on manually. With some wired connections between locos, both could be turned on using one loco's sensor. However, it's simpler to just turn on each loco separately (so long as we remember to do it).

If there is no track power, a decoder F5 command turns off batteries of both locos (since their decoders have the same address). Function commands toggle decoder outputs on and off. It may not seem intuitive, but turning F5 on, turns battery power off. However, the presence of track voltage overrides decoder F5 output and keeps battery power on. This can be the basis of a useful procedure as follows. 

Converting this loco to S-CAB radio control and battery power supply is a relatively easy project. Since there is plenty of space, I devoted extra effort to building a framework out of styrene plastic to hold electronic components and battery. A SoundTraxx TSU-1000 sound decoder, the S-CAB radio receiver and the BPS battery power supply will sit on a shelf above the motor. Two 850 mAh batteries will be mounted on edge; one each side of the rear truck assembly.

Removing 4 screws and the front coupler allows the loco body to be removed from the chassis. The rear truck-mounted coupler does not obstruct removal of the body shell. Each truck is secured by a self locking nut, which, when removed, allows the truck to drop from it's mounting. In the photo below, I've also removed drive shafts as well as some wiring for track power pick-up and headlight. The die-cast metal frame is simple and functional, providing a good foundation for constructing some plastic framework to keep the rest of the installation tidy and secure.

The entire installation is two assemblies; battery power supply and batteries at the rear of the loco chassis; decoder, radio receiver and speaker in the middle and the loco cab is left unobstructed except for a frame (to mount a marker light) that is barely visible above the cab windows. For easy access to motor and drive shafts, the plastic framework is mounted with screws accessible from underside of the loco. The retaining nut for the rear truck can be adjusted by moving the BPS circuit board out of the way.

I forgot to remove the blue masking tape when taking the photos below, but it's something I do quite frequently to keep unruly tangles of wire under control during assembly. Paint masking tape has the advantage of being sticky enough to hold wiring out of the way and does no damage when being removed. 

Since batteries don't last forever, it's best if they are accessible, as illustrated in the photo below. The BPS circuit board should be mounted so that the magnetic sensor is close to roof or side of the model where it can be activated by a magnetic wand/pencil. If the BPS board must be buried deep within the model, the sensor can be removed from the board and glued to the model's shell with wiring back to the BPS.

Below is a view from the front of the loco showing the factory installed headlight, which I've wired with a 4,700 ohm series resistor and connected the the decoder headlight output (white and blue leads). I've also added a small surface mount LED as a marker light (also with a 4,700 ohm resistor) and powered directly from the BPS 12 volt output. It's primary purpose is to indicate when battery power in turned on. Sound from the decoder will also confirm power is on, but not if sound has been muted.

Barely visible below the radio antenna is a model DS1425-8 speaker from RailMaster Hobbies. It's already assembled in an enclosure (16x27x9 mm) and produces very good sound for its size.

A neat aspect of this assembly is no components (e.g. lights) are mounted on the loco shell and therefore, there is no wiring between chassis and body of the model. All testing and initial programming of decoder CVs is done before closing up the model.

Operating Tests: Since Tsunami CV default settings are compatible with S-CAB, initial test runs are done before adjusting decoder Configuration Variables (CVs). Since I'd previously checked BPS operation, I began this running test with no track power and turned on battery power with the magnetic sensor. Using an S-CAB throttle and factory default decoder address "3", the loco moved slowly at speed step 1, direction control operated correctly, headlight control worked as expected, sound volume was good, and function output F5 turned off battery power as planned.

Battery charging: For this test, I connect a variable voltage DC power supply with current measurement to the rails and slowly increased voltage while watching current measurement. At about 5 to 6 volts, the decoder came to life and the marker light indicated track power has been detected. Current reading (typically about 200 to 400 mA) confirmed battery was charging. When DC power supply to the track was switched off, decoder and marker light continued to operate on battery power. All was good.

Decoder CVs: The basic decoder CVs can be programmed with an S-CAB throttle using broadcast mode. This requires that the "ALL" key be pressed immediately after switching the throttle to CV mode. I set CV values as follows:
CV1, decoder address, new value "6"
CV2, minimum speed, new value "1"
CV3, acceleration, new value, "20"
CV4, deceleration, new value "20"
CV5, maximum speed, no change
CV6, mid-speed, default value, "0"
CV29, decoder configuration, set to S-CAB default value "0" (The actual value stored in the decoder is "2")

Replacing the loco body: In this case, the body shell slips over the fully wired and tested chassis. Before attempting this, I used electrical insulating tape to tidy up any wiring likely to cause problems by getting stuck as the shell is maneuvered over the plastic frame holding the components. This is also the right time to make sure all wiring is properly insulated.

Once the loco body is securely in place, there is one more check to be sure the magnetic sensor is located close enough to the underside of the loco hood to reliably detect the magnetic wand. (Magnet actuation range is between 0.375 and 0.5 inches.)

Load Test: I performed this test with track power on. The idea is to prevent loco movement without applying pressure that artificially increases traction. The objective is to measure current consumption at the point where the loco loses traction and wheels begin to slip. This loco has plenty of traction; I had my hand blocking forward motion and the loco simply slide the track across my workbench. With track secured and the loco wheels slipping, current consumption was approximately 800 mA. This is right at the short-term overload capability of the BPS when operating on battery power. However, without the assist of track power, BPS current limiting would automatically lower voltage to reduce load and prevent BPS overload.

Narrow hood loco models with heavy metal castings are difficult candidates for battery power and radio control. This Life-Like Models GP9 is a classic example. It's assembly is simple; basically three sub-assemblies held together by a few screws. Remove couplers, undo 2 screws and the plastic shell lifts off in one piece. Undo 4 more screws and a large die-cast molding lifts off the chassis. This metal casting is designed to fill available space and maximize loco weight. Fortunately, it's robust and nothing is directly attached, so there is minimal risk to removing metal from top of the casting to create space flush against the roof of the engine hood. The objective is to remove a little metal as possible so as retain enough weight for reasonable traction. 

A non-sound decoder will be used for this installation, although a sound decoder could be used if more metal is removed to make space for a speaker. However, further reduction of weight is not desirable unless sound is a high priority.

This is all neat and tidy. No work is required except replacing motor and track power connections with more flexible wires that are less likely to fatigue and break as I struggle with reassembly.

Carving (machining) a flat top surface on the metal casting creates space and provides a convenient mounting for battery power and radio control components. Electrical insulating tape is used between components and bare metal as well as holding everything in place. Since the metal casting is a snug fit in the body shell, there is no room for wires between the casting and sides of the body housing. The only space for wiring is between top of components and hood roof.

This photo shows arrangement of components with wiring complete except for front and rear lights (white, yellow and blue leads). LEDs with series resistors are already mounted in the body shell. With so much metal, I was concerned about radio reception and mounted the radio receiver with antenna at front of the loco above the driver's cab. The battery is above the motor and battery power supply at the rear of the loco. The narrow hood limits battery choice to 550 mAh storage, smaller than I would prefer, but probably adequate given the motor's low power consumption and the fact that most of the owner's layout is powered. The BPS has also been trimmed by removing wire stress relief holes and eliminating the battery plug and socket by wiring directly to BPS terminals.

It has become common practice for manufacturers to use clear plastic light diffusers or light pipes for loco lights. To save space, I use a tiny surface mount LED glued directly to the diffuser or light pipe with clear epoxy cement. I also use warm white LEDs instead of the more readily available blue-white LEDs that are totally unrealistic representations of loco lights. With a 12 volt supply, I use a 4.7 K-ohm series resistor, which means the LED current is about 2 mA.

The battery turns on and stays on when track power is detected. A magnet (mounted on a pencil) and two magnetic sensors are used to manually turn battery power on and off. Since a sensor's activation range is about half an inch, (I aim for about 0.375" to make sure switching is reliable), it should be mounted as close as possible to top or side of the loco shell. The "on" sensor is already included on the BPS circuit board. I generally mount the "off" sensor on or near the radio receiver because the radio antenna is best located as far away from the motor as possible. This same precaution applies to the sensor because the motor's magnetic field will falsely activate the sensor.

The purpose of this post is to publish some videos showing progress toward our objective. I say "our objective" because this has been a cooperative effort with an S-CAB user, whom I will call "Bill". It is work in progress and these videos, taken on my workbench using a cell phone, are not intended to be sophisticated little movies.

Until now, a search of this S-CAB website for "Titan" (use the search box at top of the page) produces an obscure reference on the Price List page. It has remained obscure because there's not much demand for Titan. However, Bill has persisted with great patience and tenacity. It began mid-2011, when he noticed QSI was replacing their then-current sound decoder (Revolution) with a new product called "Titan". 

Bill purchased and sent Titan to me as soon QSI began delivery. By July, 2011, with some help from QSI, I converted Titan for use with S-CAB and battery power. This decoder is a very ambitious product; both in terms of functionality and technical complexity, which makes it difficult, both for me as I work on S-CAB radio control and battery power, but also for users trying to install the product. I thought it premature at this early date to publicize S-CAB compatibility. I had no experience installing or operating a loco with Titan. Bill was busy testing S-CAB (with Tsunami) and BPS power in one of his locos and did not follow up immediately with a Titan order.

However, an order for S-CAB with Titan did come through Northwest Short Line (NWSL) from a purchaser with computer programming experience. I mention this because this client dragged me reluctantly into providing S-CAB support for programming Titan CVs. With professional programming experience, he did not require me to get involved with actual programming of Titan CVs. Consequently, I was not well-prepared for the full scope of a Titan installation.

In each of  the following videos, Bill's loco is operating with BPS battery power. No power is connected to the rails. A Titan decoder is controlling the loco in response to operator commands transmitted by radio directly from the S-CAB throttle to a radio receiver in the loco. All loco system components, including BPS and battery, are installed in the tender. An S-CAB throttle is the only other device used in these videos (excluding my cell phone).

This experience has me thinking about decoders and loco control from a new perspective. As a loco operator, all I can do is use available controls so that the loco does what I want, within the constraints of its design. I can't command a steam loco to perform like a sports car. A decoder should be configured to reproduce physical constraints of the loco model's full size prototype. It's not important whether the throttle uses 28 or 128 speed steps. I can whip the throttle to full speed with a flick of the thumb and the loco simply accelerates at a maximum rate allowed by the decoder. If I whip the throttle back to zero, the loco slows with prototypical realism if CV4 has been set appropriately. An elegant feature of Titan is it's capability to operate braking separately from throttle control. Just quickly move throttle to zero and use a function button to manage brakes. This capability is not unique among sound decoders, but braking sound effects are handled quite convincingly by Titan.

I acknowledge that many layouts are not big enough to operate steam locos operating in prototypical fashion, but keep in mind these videos show an S scale loco operating on six feet of track.

This is not journey's end, but I'm now convinced that Bill's persistence has been justified.

This innovation began with a customer inquiry. Richard is scratch-building an O-scale model in which he plans to install a Tsunami sound decoder. He wants to use S-CAB radio control and BPS battery power and operate the model on both his home railroad and his local club layout, which uses conventional DCC with wireless throttles. Since the club's wireless throttles operate at a radio frequency almost the same as S-CAB, radio interference prevents simultaneous use of both systems.

I suggested we consider a dual control configuration to allow S-CAB battery power operation at home and use of the club's existing DCC system when operating on their layout. With this arrangement, Richard can operate with S-CAB at home, then switch to conventional DCC before taking the model to his club's layout where he can use one of their wireless throttles. Finding space for the necessary switch seems feasible in an O-scale model.

The configuration I will describe provides two methods of control as well as two power sources for the model; power from the rails when DCC is present and from the battery when there is no track power. No switching is required to implement the dual power source and the transition is virtually instantaneous making the model oblivious to track power glitches and interruptions. As a bonus; the battery charges while the model runs on track power.

For readers interested in how it's done, I've included a diagram. For those who prefer to skip the theory and simply decide if it's something useful, I photographed the completed setup during work-bench testing. The required components (a diode, a resistor and a switch) are all wired on a simple circuit board, which is easily assembled by hand.

Engineering: It's useful to distinguish between DCC power and DCC signal. The former is supplied to the track and used to provide both power as well as communicate instructions thru DCC messages. In the decoder, track DCC is rectified to provide DC power supply and the DCC signal, with its encoded message, is separated and eventually finds its way to the decoder's microprocessor.

Looking at the schematic, left and right rail inputs go to both the BPS (for battery charging) and to the decoder thru it's black and red connections (consistent with NMRA standards). These black/red connections provide power to the decoder. Notice that the left rail input also connects to a resistor and from that resistor to a 2-way switch. The purpose of the resistor is to prevent track voltage passing thru the switch and destroying the decoder's microprocessor. The blue connection to the switch is DCC signal derived from S-CAB radio. Depending on switch position, the purple wire carries a DCC signal derived from either track or radio to the decoder.

The BPS feeds power to the radio and decoder thru a diode, the purpose of which is to prevent back-feed to the BPS from the decoder's rectified track power. As a result of the diode, the decoder will be powered by the higher of rectified track DCC or 12 volt BPS output. The brown connection is Tsunami function F5 output, which is used to turn off battery power when the loco is not in use.

Application: Here is the system as it will be delivered to the client (with a smaller, better quality speaker) photographed while on the work-bench for testing. The decoder and radio is standard S-CAB conversion of a TSU-1000 decoder with one wire added to bring the DCC signal from the radio (blue wire) thru the switch and back to the decoder (purple wire). As viewed in the photo, switch left connects track DCC to the decoder; switch right connects radio DCC.

The BPS and battery are also standard S-CAB products. The perforated prototyping board is customized for this application. (A factory-made PCB could be much smaller.) Gray wires from rail pick-up are connected thru the circuit board to both BPS (gray wires) and the right/left rail (red/black) connections of the decoder's 9-pin JST socket. 12 volt supply from the BPS connects directly to the decoder thru a diode mounted on the circuit board. The battery has sufficient energy storage to serve as both primary (on home layout) and back-up power source (at the club).

Bench testing demonstrates that the configuration works exactly as expected. I hope, in a future blog post, to follow-up with a report of the client's experience, both at home and on his club's layout.

Tsunami decoders are a SoundTraxx product. The manufacturer's proprietary rights are acknowledged. Decoder modifications described herein are not endorsed or recommended by SoundTraxx and modifying a decoder voids manufacturer's warranty. However, I never deliver anything without thorough testing.

I'll discuss two topics in this blog: radio antenna options and use of a DCC adapter.

The S-CAB radio receiver is designed to be bundled with selected decoders to create a ready-to-install package following exactly the same installation instructions as a non-radio decoder of the same brand. How the antenna is mounted on the radio receiver circuit board affects radio reception, but loco installation space limitations sometimes require a less-than-ideal antenna mounting. These photos show three options using what is called a "chip" antenna.

Antenna orientation affects radio reception and reliable transmission distance deceases as the antenna becomes less effective. Informal tests using an S-CAB Throttle indicate reliable transmission distance of 30 to 50 feet with lengthwise and vertical antennas. Crosswise mounting produces the smallest package, but radio range is reduced to 15 feet. These tests were performed indoors where walls, metal ducting, electrical wiring, etc. interfere with radio propagation. Outdoor transmission distances can be 100 feet or more.

The planar antenna to the right, which looks like a tiny circuit board, performs well and is definitely superior to the cross-wise mounted chip antenna. It keeps the radio receiver assembly no thicker than what is required for the radio module (5/32") and overall length is 1.75" compared to 2" for the lengthwise chip antenna.

Precautions are required when locating radios inside metal enclosures, such as a brass loco tender or diesel loco metal body. S-CAB allows a number of antenna options to deal with this issue. For steam locos, the tender coal load is a convenient place to hide the antenna and vertical mounting of the chip antenna gives best reception.

However, a 3 inch length of wire makes a reasonable antenna, but it's difficult to prevent it tangling with other wires or laying against a metal surface when reassembling a loco. Use single stand wire, thick enough (20 to 24 AWG) so it's not too flexible and keep it insulated from any metal surfaces.

For modelers with obsolete or rarely used decoders, S-CAB radio receivers can be equipped with a "DCC adapter" which provides a DCC output identical to track DCC pick-up. When this output is connected to a decoder (instead of rail pick-up), the decoder is not aware that commands are communicated by radio instead of thru the track.

These photos show the DCC adapter mounted on the radio receiver. The grey wires connect to the right/left rail inputs of a decoder (polarity is not important). The adapter's red and black leads are positive and negative battery power connections.

Adapter and radio receiver can be separated, but four connecting wires are required.

The disadvantage of this arrangement is full power for the decoder must be provided by the adapter instead of connecting battery power directly to the decoder. DCC output from the adapter is limited to 1 amp maximum, which is adequate for most smaller scale locos.

Since this is a medium sized steam loco with a good-sized tender, conversion to radio control and battery power looks a relatively straightforward project. Modelers familiar with Bachmann products will be aware of phrases such as "DCC-ready", DCC On-Board" and I can now add a new one; "DCC not ready". I suspect this loco is a relatively recent release of what appears to be an old design. It's clear that DCC was not considered when producing this product.

Most of the project involved the tender, which I'll discuss later, but the engine was the real drama. Its design is conventional; a split-frame metal chassis with the rest of the model mostly plastic. Right and left-half frames are electrically separated and measurements indicate that motor terminals are connected to each half-frame. Fortunately, rail pick-up via driver wheels is insulated from the loco frame and rail power is routed to the motor through phosphor bronze contacts between wheel wiper assembly and frame halves; highlighted below.

A cardinal rule of decoder installation is isolate the motor terminals from everything except decoder motor output (orange and gray wires). There must be someone in the world who knows how to remove this loco's body and get access to its motor. Removing the bottom cover plate (in photo above) allows wheels to drop from the chassis but valve-gear is still attached to the rest of the loco. Taking the valve gear apart is often a path of no return and all other options risked serious damage to a brand new loco. Without access to the motor, the only option is leave the motor connected to loco frame.

In fact, the contacts were not removed, but simply reversed and brought through holes drilled in the bottom cover so rail pick-up is wired to the tender where track power is used by the BPS for battery charging.

Connection from decoder to motor must be through the loco frame. For this, two brass shims were added and held in place by the bottom cover.

Once obstructions are cleared from the tender, installation follows a familiar arrangement with BPS and its magnetic sensor flush against the top of the tender. By mounting the decoder and radio receiver on edge against the side of the tender, there is room for a double-size battery. The only compromise is a smaller, low profile speaker, which fits on the tender floor below the battery. It's an acceptable trade-off. A larger speaker would only provide marginal improvement in sound quality, whereas the larger battery doubles loco operating time on battery power.

Here are some close up views of wiring between engine and tender. The loco's headlight is not accessible and is factory wired in parallel with the motor. This leaves 4 wires; 2 motor connections and 2 for left/right power pickup.

The owner allowed me a few days to operate this loco after its conversion. The result is quite convincing, both with respect to performance and sound. I programmed decoder momentum settings consistent with this type of loco and limited the model's maximum speed. This makes loco exhaust more realistic and, to my ear, the small, low profile speaker provides excellent sound. As with operation of a real loco, the engineer needs to think ahead and anticipate braking distance. There is, of course, the totally unrealistic emergency stop initiated by the 'Halt" button.

Despite my earlier complaints about this model's readiness for radio control and battery power, I see real value in working with an economical product to achieve the same results as models three and four times its price.

Here is a report I received from Peter Vanvliet. His latest run time from a 2 AH battery in an S-scale loco is remarkable and demonstrates the benefit of a good motor and mechanism.