Just a horn please....

It can, but it takes a bit of work.  The ERR Commander products put out a 5V logic signal on pin #3 of the RailSounds connector (normally unused) whenever the whistle/horn is activated.  This signal can be used to trigger the traditional horn.

 

There are instructions on the ERR site to tap the signal into Lionel whistle/horn boards of various types, that will solve the problem for them.  If you have some other horn board like Williams or MTH, here's what I'd do.

 

Use a low current reed relay like the Spartan 9000 to switch in a diode offset to the supply to any standard conventional horn board.  This will result in sounding the horn.  This takes 10 diodes like the 1N4005 and the relay to accomplish.  The relay is driven directly from the 5V logic signal, and the NO contacts short four of the diodes in one direction in the diode chain to create the DC offset to sound the whistle.

Excellent.

 

Thanks for that detail, John.    I long ago added TMCC to a couple PW diesels and am probably going to do a couple others, and have been wondering about keeping the original horn.

 

This is a good subject; I like ghood sound as much as the next guy, but I'm getting

to the point that when it comes to installing upgrades, sometimes I want to bother

with (and pay for) RS, and sometimes I just don't...

 

My last steamer ERR upgrade was my old - but pristine - Weaver Dreyfuss Century

Hudson with a PT tender. (The PT-antenna-adventure is another story.) I put in only the Cruise Commander - no sound, not even an Electrocoupler. The loco came with

no whistle, no nothing sound-wise.

 

No regrets, and I intend to do that more in the future. Sound is nice, but after I ran the loco, I - and some of my O-gauge friends - realized that the "Sounds of Silence" were pretty nice, also. I mean, the locos never leave the room, and the constant chuff/roar/

whatever can get tiresome.

 

So, ERR, could you offer a cheap (and I mean $20.00) "Whistle/Horn board"  - with

included small speaker - that plugs into the RS spot on the CC board? Skip the bell,

if you'd like (I seldom use it). I would simply like the loco to have a voice.

 

I won't pay for RS just to get the whistle, so the $20.00 board sale would be better than nothing for you. Of course, your costs are completely unknown to me.

 

 

 

Well, the relay was $1,08, and the diodes are about 10 cents each.  I get $around $2 in parts vs. the $99.95 for the RailSounds Commander, your call.  You have to buy the Cruise Commander whether you use the original horn or not.

Well, if you use a standard sound board and the $2 worth of parts I mentioned, you have your solution to this issue as long as you use an ERR Commander, either the AC/DC Commander or Cruise Commander.

D500

 

Yes to silence some times. Our group has a major "I like sound" guy and he runs everythng LOUD! (It is mostly his layout so....) Sometimes a few of us really like to just see trains move and not rattle the house.......I am thinking this through on a few conversions I would like to do....sound or no sound....no sound is winning so far.

 

Rick.

Gee Rick, if you want no sound, what's your problem?

John,

 

-(sigh)-

 

I just want to cruise around and blow my horn!

 

Rick

BTW John,

 

What is the average cost for the cruise/command board conversion (paying someone to do the work) of a MTH SW-1 or a MTH VO-1000 verses just the price of parts?

 

Thanks again,

 

Rick.

I'm not sure what folks charge for installation, I've always done my own.  Putting the basic board in is pretty easy, I spend most of my time customizing stuff like lighting.  For diesels, there isn't much effort, A Cruise Commander install can be done in an hour or so.  For steamers you have to deal with the tether and isolating the tender shell for the antenna.  Those run up the complexity at times.

 

Boxcar Bill does installations, you might ask him what a basic installation costs.

Thanks John,

 

Would ERR with cruise and sound be plug n play in a Lionel H16-44? (later model with two can motors).

 

Rick.

No problem at all, the Cruise Commander works great with one or two motors.  I have a number of diesels with dual motors and the CC, no issues at all.  The biggest choice you face is picking a sound you like.  There are only a few generic ones that ERR sells, but you can add a different sound board from Lionel, they have recently started selling a number of different sound sets in the parts department.

 

Other than having DC motors, there isn't a lot of restrictions on what you can install the Cruise Commander into, I've used it with old Williams stuff with no flywheels, it didn't notice at all.

Cool,

 

I have learned a lot here. I think I can do this myself....just have to "jump in" and get it done.

 

Thanks John,

 

Rick.

I've never worked with the Electric RR upgrades, but eventually want to install them in all of my locomotives.  Glad to hear that you can keep your original horn/whistle, but would there be any way to disable the bell sound in the ERR module?  One of my locomotives is a British model, and therefore would have no bell.

 

Aaron

Well, if you keep your original horn with the modifications described here, there'll be no bell, because they only respond to the whistle command from the TMCC remote.

 

If you use the full RailSounds Commander, just don't push the Bell button, no bell.

Aaron, the bell is not compulsory, just don't press the bell button and it won't sound.

This is a great thread.

I have a bunch of Williams GG1's that I love and intend fitting with ERR Commander.

I have never thought sounds in an electric are very appropriate anyway.

FYI, here's a proposed circuit to wire in any standard conventional horn and activate it with the Cruise Commander or the AC/DC Commander.

 

 

Can you out cruise and sound into an MPC Pullmor engine?

Cruise no, sounds yes. You can add a AC commander and have better control.

 

Bill

John, Won't these horn boards run off straight DC? If not, why not?

I've never tried to run the horn board off DC, so I honestly can't say if they do or they don't.   It would be an interesting test.  If they run of DC, you could just power them with a single diode and the relay.  I don't currently have a Williams TB-II in hand, so I can't do the test myself.

I pulled a weaver horn board out of my box of parts. Connected a speaker and 9 volt battery. Confirmed, it will run on straight DC.

I presume it sounds continuously on DC of the right polarity, right?  If that's the case, you could just switch the power with the relay and have on diode to create the DC.

 

One glitch here is the half-wave DC may drive it nuts, so it might take a sizable capacitor to smooth the DC from a single diode.  A bridge rectifier is another solution that might work better.

Ok, back to the ERR commander board. The railsounds connector has 3 pins; 1-pos, 1-neg, and +5v serial data correct? Are the +\- pins AC or DC? If they are DC the horn board could be powered directly from the commander. Your 5v reed relay or a transistor could be used to switch on the horn.

Flash,

 

I have no idea! But there is so much to learn here.

 

Boxcar Bill,

 

I was told by a member in Rome NY that you are "the man" to purchase ERR boards from! I have at least three locomotives to convert to command with cruise. How should I contact you to to "do business" with.

 

Rick.

Flash

 

   The pins are AC

 

Rick

 

  You can contact me through my forum email or through are web site below.

 

Bill

Boxcar Bill,

 

Just visited your web sight. I now know what I need (I think) and price. THANK YOU!

 

Now, two of my locomotives are MTH. Would the electronics being removed for conversion be worth anything? Do you buy them?

 

Thanks for the time.

 

Rick.

Gunrunner John, Boxcar Bill,

 

Could a sound board and speaker from a MTH locomotive be mounted in a building near a grade crossing on the layout and be activated from the cab 1 remote in any way when running TMCC locomotives?

 

Rick.

Rick

 

   We don't deal with MTH, I am sure they are of some value. Contact GGG from here on the forum, he can probably be more help then I can. He is a MTH Repair Tech.

 

 

  I have never tried it, I think it might be cost prohabited.

 

Bill

The PS/1 electronics can't really be activated using the CAB1 if it's in a building, it doesn't respond to TMCC in any fashion.  You could add something like the ERR ACC Mini-Commander to trigger the bell or horn function.

 

Rick, typically the PS/1 electronics can be worth $30-40, so they're worthwhile to list here and if they don't sell, on eBay.

 

Thank You Gentalmen,

 

So much info just for the asking, what a place, what a group, what a Country and What a Lord!

 

Merry Christmas Everyone.

 

Rick.