Hi

Myself and two friends purchase recently a Liliput BR05 "Cab Forward" which is part number L131541 for AC, you can purchase it with sound or without. I ordered mine with sound and it came with an ESU 21 pin decoder. Placing it on my lokprogammer it identified as a V4 micro decoder from ESU, but the size is of the normal V3.5 decoders, maybe it has some new firmware. I don't know if this was factory installed, however must probably it was installed by the people from where I purchase it.

It is a very nice engine, mostly metal all around, and it runs smoothly. However, only two problems or flaws that the three of us have experienced so far, 1) If you attached the side plates included in the kit to the front wheels it will derail in the curves (even using R5) and 2) once we installed the smoke generator the unit will go into short circuit. It was not difficult to find out about the reason, as while you did not put the top frame back it would work fine, then once you put back the top frame it would go into short circuit.

After examining the locomotive all around I found out that first the schematic included in the manual was mostly ok, however it did not reflect some changes which I guess are part of the conversion they do so it can be used on AC systems. If you remove the slider you will notice that there is no cable, because it is directly attached to the metal frame. Meaning that all the metal frame of the locomotive is on the polarity of the so called positive referenced of the system. Which I believe if I am not wrong this is not the normal case for locomotives in Marklin systems. The external body (metal part) of the smoke generator is connected to the negative reference. So at the moment you insert it on its base no problem as this was cleverly isolated from the frame. But once you put the top frame back it will contact with the top of the smoke generator. If you are lucky the black paint they put in top of the smoke generator and the black paint in the inner part of the frame may do the isolation. So I asked myself how long will it last with friction from the vibrations as you run the locomotive around your layout ?

My friend and I have all put some additional isolation between the top of the smoke unit or generator and the frame, you can use what you consider best, silicon tape, masking tape, plastic or carton washer, etc. I personally used and prefer Kapton tape, as I believe it will be much more lasting.

For those of you who are interested I have included the changes I found to the electrical circuit or diagram and included some pictures to help to identify the pin out of the connectors and other parts.

I am not responsible for any mistakes, however after verifying it twice it seems to be ok. But normally I like to verify or check out 3 times, to avoid mistakes, you know, you can be tire, distracted, etc.

So I hope this information is useful to anyone purchasing the same unit. Please if you find a mistake or if I am wrong evaluating the problem let me know.

On the other hand I hope it did not infringe any rights, I just used a copy of the original diagram to reflect the changes I found and most pictures were taken by my self (I apologize for the quality, I am not expert taking pictures).

regards,
Roger

Yes, some extra details were needed.

You are correct, the tender all around is metal except the very top part which you remove to access the decoder and speaker. That small cover is plastic. The other plastic parts are some small parts in the front and in the back, but the point is mostly metal all around except some small parts.

No no lights in the cab. It would have been a nice feature. However, is is a nice project to be done by ourselves. I haven't tested the decoder fully. If I'm not wrong aux3 and 4 outputs must be available at the decoder, however you are going to use it with anything demanding current consumption you will have do one those many projects around the forums where you have to add a transistor to help out.

The only change I have done with the lokprogrammer (and I am sure you can do it also with a CS2) is that the decoder was set up to turn on lights and smoke generator together. I separate them and have f7 to turn the seuthe 11 on and off. Also, change values of dimmer in ESU (set to 15) decoder so when locomotive is standing you get less smoke and more when it is running.

br, roger

Thank you very much Armando.

Hi again folks,

An idea for whoever is interested.

I just purchase the new Roco BR10 which comes with sync smoke effects.

In a way it has some similarities in design with the Lilliput BR05 CF and it is that all the drive, motor and electronics are on the tender. On the main body you will only find some electrical parts for the smoke unit and lights. There is a lot of space inside that kept me thinking there must be some helpful thing to do about it.

Well I believe that if we purchase the parts of the smoke unit as spare parts from the Roco BR10 we can fit them inside the body of the BR05 from Liliput and have a similar situation. Most components are easy to connect and install. The tricky part would be to have it sync with the sound as in Roco's BR10, but I remember to see some sync possibilities in some of the ESU decoders. This will require some further investigation. I will have this as an upcoming future project. I some one follows this idea and does something about it, let me know about your experience or success.

The beauty about what Roco did to their BR10 units is not only it is very nice to see smoke coming out from the cylinders area and also the poofs of the smoke and sound on sync, but yet better is the extra long reservoir with for the smoke fluid giving it a very long lasting time for the smoke effects. The lok has also outstanding sound quality. I am experiencing some derailment problems, but I will check out the forum to see who else is having this problem and possible solutions.

Best regards to all.

Roger

Just love it, Frits...

Wish that M makes one that can go on R1 too, just as 05 001...