Next step is the dismalding of the Loco.

Unsolder all the wires that keep the old motor, reversing unit etc to the body.




Keep everything that has to gone in a plastic bag (the process can be reversed....).

Not need to take off the running gear(except partially to change traction tires).

The nude frame looks like this:



Careful inspection of the frame and specially the gears, wheels etc. Check that work smooth. (I do some test rounds with the frame towed by another Loco..).

Good cleaning of all the old oil and dirt. (The method depends how much dirty is the Loco. This one was very clean)



Put oil in all the moving parts.



Check again: Everything smooth and quiet.

I decide to use the old reversing unit bracket for the mounting of the decoder.



Screw on the base plate and check that fits the body perfectly!!!



Then the installation of the motor which is straightforward.

Small drop of oil both sides of the rotor axle...



Check the motor with DC 9-16V forward and reverse: OK

Regards

Costas

one has to experience the sound in the right place, not every train room is suited for a sound decoder, it depends on the size, size does matter.

John

Next step is the installation of the electronic circuits.

According to the targets of the project, the theoretical plan is the follow:



And the table with the part list needed:



First I did the preparation of the ΤELEX couplers.
Soldering new very thin 36 AWG wires. (Black and Orange)



I did one more mass connection in the front coupler, as the articulated frame of this Loco plus the way the body is connected to the frame does a lot of problems with the ground contact (Brown wire).



As you can see I have put protecting diodes on both TELEX couplers. Is not necessary actually and I have done conversions (BR 86) without diodes with the same decoder without problems. The Power consumption of each TELEX coupler is less than the 250mW of the AUX of the decoder. Plus I don't use the TELEX in Continuous mode. But any way I put them.

I decided to solder the SMD components (resistors and diodes) on the 21 pin circuit board after preparation.
First I intefify the lines to the funtion cables on both sides of the board. Then find a suitable area to remove the vernish and expose the cooper line.

Front side: f0 (front) grey wire



Rear side: f2 (cabin light) Br/Gr, f3 (front TELEX) Br/Ye, f4 (rear TELEX) Br/Wh



For f0(rear) it was not possible because the space is very limited. So I will do a small PCB in the rear to solder the resistor there.

Then remove of the cooper with a 1.5mm drill carefully







Then solder the SMD components according to the plan





The whole procedure is very demanding and needs precision and patience, but is worthy to do. If you do any mistake you just change the holder not the decoder.

But this does wiring so much easier and specially in Locos with limited space!!! (Märklin do that with special holders in the whole line)

That's for today.

I had enough fun!!!

Thanks for your nice commends.

The sound or not sound in conversions is something that we have discuss a lot. I think that first is a matter of money (3x the decoder) for something that I am not convinced that is necessary-especially for electric Locos.

In this type of conversions -with 21 pin holder- to and sound is just 5 minutes. Find space for the speaker (or the right speaker, there are speakers for every space) plug the new decoder and speaker!!! That's all.

Regards

Costas

Thank you Harold for your nice comments

Usually I am using the wires that are come with the decoder. In special occasions (TELEX, Loco-Tender) I use ESU 36 AWG. They are available in ten different NEM colors no Märklin color code.
All are copper.

The dimensions of the complex bracket + holder + decoder are: W=35mm H=21mm to 18mm D=9mm. You must add 1-2mm for the wires.
Usually the space of the old reversing unit is enough. In the case of electronic reversing units you can use the old bracket.
Of course there are some locos with very limited space. In these rare cases you have to use a decoder in plastic wrap like 60982 60985 etc or to create the space (not recommended except you are very experienced and have the right tools).

The problem is the speaker. But in the market there are many. You must be very careful with the resistance of the speaker. Must be the right for the decoder. Most modern decoders working with 8 or 4 Ω speakers.

You can feel free to do questions. In this forum there are many people who like to answer questions...

Regards

Costas

Edited by user 30 May 2017 10:06:11(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I'll soon show my BR 85 conversion, my own had at least 4 different upgrade versions. this time it will have lots of accessories.

John

Loved the process in pictures