ERR Upgrade Newbie- 6/11/22 Update- Final Assembly and Road Test....Sort Of

I connected the lighting to the MC last night to test it out. I got the headlights to work with engine direction but not the markers. Not sure if it's a programming issue or electrical yet.

I'm using the "feature" terminal on the MC board and followed the programming instructions on the Cab-1L but nothing. All of the commons are tied together under the same terminal too.

Thoughts?

Also, I'm not getting the correct sound out of the board. It's not going through the start up and rev sequence that it should. Can these boards be reprogrammed?

Being a ERR and Cab-1L newbie on both, I'm still feeling my way through programming engines with the remote.

Bob

If you posted a schematic of how you wired the lights it would make it a ton easier to analyze the issue.

Are you using the ERR RailSounds Commander?  If so, you should be getting all the sounds.  Not being able to hear what sounds you are getting makes it hard to say if it's working correctly.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

If you posted a schematic of how you wired the lights it would make it a ton easier to analyze the issue.

Are you using the ERR RailSounds Commander?  If so, you should be getting all the sounds.  Not being able to hear what sounds you are getting makes it hard to say if it's working correctly.

I attached a quick sketch John. I'm working from your schematic from your BEEP build.

Here is a short video with the sounds on start up. The boards are MC V-2 and SC V-2.10.  I will confirm the numbers on the SC board this evening.

Mystery solved, you are using the Sound Commander, not the RailSounds Commander.  The old Sound Commander didn't have startup or shutdown sounds.  I used the full RailSounds commander for my BEEP build.

As for the markers, the polarity is reversed, the feature output is positive in respect to frame ground, the headlight/taillight outputs are negative in respect to frame ground.

The reason mine weren't wired that way is I didn't use the feature output for the markers, I used the front/back headlights to make the markers color directional with dual-color common anode LED's.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Mystery solved, you are using the Sound Commander, not the RailSounds Commander.  The old Sound Commander didn't have startup or shutdown sounds.  I used the full RailSounds commander for my BEEP build.

As for the markers, the polarity is reversed, the feature output is positive in respect to frame ground, the headlight/taillight outputs are negative in respect to frame ground.

The reason mine weren't wired that way is I didn't use the feature output for the markers, I used the front/back headlights to make the markers color directional with dual-color common anode LED's.

That's why you're the expert John.

I will swap the wires later. I had a feeling that may be the problem but it was getting late last night and I decided to pull the plug for the evening.

I can live with the sounds as they are. I just didn't know if the board was working correctly.

Thanks sir!
Bob

I have officially completed my first ERR upgrade. I finished the wiring and got the shell back on with little problem.

I tested the marker lights and John had suggested but could not get them to work. Not sure if it was still a wiring issue or a programming one. I decided to connect them to the track power terminals. I figured they are always on anyway and they will be a indicator of when the engine is on a powered track or siding.

I took everything apart and cleaned up the wiring, had to replace the power wire coming from the pickups (it broke), and re-solder one of the motor leads. Better at that point then after I put it all together.

Once that was done I made up the JST plugs for the lighting. Now I can completely remove the shell and not have to cut any wires. I may update the lighting in my other two beeps and could swap shells depending on what I'm running.

Here are a couple pix of the final assembly. The three wire harness is the headlights and the two wire is the markers.

This was a fun project. I'm going to do an AC commander in my Santa Fe F3's next.

On the left is the lighting complete, and the right with the sound commander installed.

And here's the final product on a test run.

@RSJB18 posted:

I have officially completed my first ERR upgrade. I finished the wiring and got the shell back on with little problem.

I tested the marker lights and John had suggested but could not get them to work. Not sure if it was still a wiring issue or a programming one. I decided to connect them to the track power terminals. I figured they are always on anyway and they will be a indicator of when the engine is on a powered track or siding.

I took everything apart and cleaned up the wiring, had to replace the power wire coming from the pickups (it broke), and re-solder one of the motor leads. Better at that point then after I put it all together.

Once that was done I made up the JST plugs for the lighting. Now I can completely remove the shell and not have to cut any wires. I may update the lighting in my other two beeps and could swap shells depending on what I'm running.

Here are a couple pix of the final assembly. The three wire harness is the headlights and the two wire is the markers.

This was a fun project. I'm going to do an AC commander in my Santa Fe F3's next.

On the left is the lighting complete, and the right with the sound commander installed.

And here's the final product on a test run.

Bob,Looks greay and sounds great. Good things come from patience and perseverance.

Looks great Bob…..now onto the next project!!!

Very nicely done Bob, you are very patient.

Great job, now enjoy your train 🚂.

Next stop a big steamer!

wow, nice job! Beeping amazing Bob!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Next stop a big steamer!

And a bigger layout to run it on too! 🤣🤣

@RSJB18 posted:

I have officially completed my first ERR upgrade. I finished the wiring and got the shell back on with little problem.

I tested the marker lights and John had suggested but could not get them to work. Not sure if it was still a wiring issue or a programming one. I decided to connect them to the track power terminals. I figured they are always on anyway and they will be a indicator of when the engine is on a powered track or siding.

I took everything apart and cleaned up the wiring, had to replace the power wire coming from the pickups (it broke), and re-solder one of the motor leads. Better at that point then after I put it all together.

Once that was done I made up the JST plugs for the lighting. Now I can completely remove the shell and not have to cut any wires. I may update the lighting in my other two beeps and could swap shells depending on what I'm running.

Here are a couple pix of the final assembly. The three wire harness is the headlights and the two wire is the markers.

This was a fun project. I'm going to do an AC commander in my Santa Fe F3's next.

On the left is the lighting complete, and the right with the sound commander installed.

And here's the final product on a test run.

HATE TO SOUND GOOFY.... but ......YIPEE BOB.

Really great to see all that effort pay off with a good looking locomotive. 👍

Nice job, Bob.

Thanks folks for the comments and support.

@Dallas Joseph @laz1957 @Tranquil Hollow RR @Rich Wiemann @Dave Ripp. @Leroof @gunrunnerjohn

Bob

Congrats, Bob... ain’t command control great??? Looks like you’ve heavily greased the slippery slope

Looks great, Bob!  Great job!!

@Apples55 posted:

Congrats, Bob... ain’t command control great??? Looks like you’ve heavily greased the slippery slope

I've officially hit bottom and am on my second trip down.

Where the heck did my grease gun go????????

@Mark Boyce posted:

Looks great, Bob!  Great job!!

Thanks Mark.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

And a bigger layout to run it on too! 🤣🤣

Here you go, runs on O31 curves. This is the K-Line Reading Crusader, I just wrapped up a full command upgrade on it.  It got the works, cruise, sound, all led lighting, fan driven smoke, ground lights, flickering firebox, etc.

Great job with that Crusader, John!  Being from Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, I can't recall ever seeing photographs of models or the prototype of the Crusader until I got into O gauge 10 years ago.  It is certainly a neat streamlined steamer.

Looks nice John. Not my cup of tea though.

I have a Lionel B6 0-6-0 w/ a Pullmor motor and TMCC that I'm considering sending to Pat @harmonyards for a Pittman upgrade. ERR would follow.

That'll be a small Pittman I suspect.   There's not that much room in those guys.

I wouldn't expect it to pull 10 heavyweights.......

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Here you go, runs on O31 curves. This is the K-Line Reading Crusader, I just wrapped up a full command upgrade on it.  It got the works, cruise, sound, all led lighting, fan driven smoke, ground lights, flickering firebox, etc.

What.......no LED ditch lights John ?

Really nice GRJ .  What a talent.     And what an immense size area for the Crusader to run on.

I was looking at this thread Bob, and I have to ask.  Did you ever find the BEEP Commander Horn?  If not, try AUX1/2 next time you run it.

That’s a sleek looking engine John. During the summer my friends and I would hurry through dinner so we could get over to the, now defunct, Logan station at 6:15 PM on the Reading to watch the Crusader on it’s inbound trip to Reading Terminal. Of course, it was a F3 on the headend.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I was looking at this thread Bob, and I have to ask.  Did you ever find the BEEP Commander Horn?  If not, try AUX1/2 next time you run it.

John- the horn and bell functions work fine. Are you thinking of the issue I had with the marker lights off of the smoke output? I put them to the track pick ups.

Bob

It's not the horn/bell that I'm talking about Bob, the BEEP RS Commander you're using has a special second "horn" that is triggered by AUX1/2 when you're running, it's a fun feature.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

It's not the horn/bell that I'm talking about Bob, the BEEP RS Commander you're using has a special second "horn" that is triggered by AUX1/2 when you're running, it's a fun feature.

No- I was not aware. I will give it a try.

Thanks

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

It's not the horn/bell that I'm talking about Bob, the BEEP RS Commander you're using has a special second "horn" that is triggered by AUX1/2 when you're running, it's a fun feature.

That's a good one John. Got a good laugh when I hit the button......

Thanks for the tip.

It is a BEEP after all.

Perfect beep for the BEEP, John!  Looking good, Bob!

Interesting that I started this thread last Fall with a pic of the new Santa Fe F3's I had just bought.

OK so I got sidelined with the BEEP but now it's time to take on the big boys.

My plan- AC Commander, railsounds, all LED lighting, directional headlights, number boards, and red/green marker lights. No smoke. Adding electro-couplers on both engines too. I bought a MTH tether harness set with plans to light the dummy engine to match the powered unit.

I've stripped out the original e-unit and cleaned up the wiring. Started laying out the boards to see what will fit where. It's tight but I think everything will fit in the powered A. I want the flexibility to run the powered unit as a single A so I'm hoping to keep the sound set in this engine. The speaker and enclosure are the biggest issue. After the BEEP I figured this would be a cake walk- forgot about the two honkin' big pullmor motors.

Today I got the capacitors on the motors and AC comm board installed and tested. So far so good. More to come.

Bob

Drill holes in the tank, put a piece of plastic sheet over the speaker and the sound board in the tank, the AC Commander goes on top.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Drill holes in the tank, put a piece of plastic sheet over the speaker and the sound board in the tank, the AC Commander goes on top.

My original plan was to put the speaker in the bottom of the tank. That's why you're the expert John. I'll take a look.

I thought the AC comm needed the extra heat sink by mounting it to the frame. No?

Thanks

@RSJB18 posted:

Interesting that I started this thread last Fall with a pic of the new Santa Fe F3's I had just bought.

OK so I got sidelined with the BEEP but now it's time to take on the big boys.

My plan- AC Commander, railsounds, all LED lighting, directional headlights, number boards, and red/green marker lights. No smoke. Adding electro-couplers on both engines too. I bought a MTH tether harness set with plans to light the dummy engine to match the powered unit.

I've stripped out the original e-unit and cleaned up the wiring. Started laying out the boards to see what will fit where. It's tight but I think everything will fit in the powered A. I want the flexibility to run the powered unit as a single A so I'm hoping to keep the sound set in this engine. The speaker and enclosure are the biggest issue. After the BEEP I figured this would be a cake walk- forgot about the two honkin' big pullmor motors.

Today I got the capacitors on the motors and AC comm board installed and tested. So far so good. More to come.

Bob

Very cool Bob

Maybe, someday, I give updates like yours a try. Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing

@RSJB18 posted:

My original plan was to put the speaker in the bottom of the tank. That's why you're the expert John. I'll take a look.

I thought the AC comm needed the extra heat sink by mounting it to the frame. No?

The plastic covering the tank is to give it a baffle to improve the sound level and bass response.  The tank is the best place for the speaker, the sound has a clear path to the outside.  It's why a vast majority of diesels mount the speaker in the tank, it's the logical place to put it.

You do want to give the AC Commander metal to mount on.  Just run a 1" wide piece 1/16" aluminum strip across the top of the tank and mount it on the aluminum.  What I do is tap the chassis for 3mm screws since I have a ton of those from upgrades.  The little short 1/8" ones work perfect for mounting the aluminum strip, they don't stick down under the chassis far enough to cause issues.  If you do a bunch of MTH upgrades, you'll have a ton of those little 1/8" screws left over.

@Lionelski- thanks John. I find this stuff enjoyable.

OK- I may be crazy........

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The plastic covering the tank is to give it a baffle to improve the sound level and bass response.  The tank is the best place for the speaker, the sound has a clear path to the outside.  It's why a vast majority of diesels mount the speaker in the tank, it's the logical place to put it.

You do want to give the AC Commander metal to mount on.  Just run a 1" wide piece 1/16" aluminum strip across the top of the tank and mount it on the aluminum.  What I do is tap the chassis for 3mm screws since I have a ton of those from upgrades.  The little short 1/8" ones work perfect for mounting the aluminum strip, they don't stick down under the chassis far enough to cause issues.  If you do a bunch of MTH upgrades, you'll have a ton of those little 1/8" screws left over.

So now I need to jump into MTH upgrades??????

Sounds like a plan John. I'll pull the parts together.

Bob