MTH Y6B sound upgrade

That is likely a 5 volt file so your options may be somewhat limited.

Hopefully Marty F. or someone else who knows for sure will chime in shortly.

Rod

Hi Rod,

I guess I'll see if someone else knows for sure. Thank you for the reply.

Joe

If the engine is the original with a 5V system (9V like battery and round charge port) you are limited.  To what you have.  G

Thank you for your reply. So how can I tell? Are there specs on these locomotives or is the only way to find out is to look inside?

The MTH web site production year is one clue.  The other is to look at where your battery charging port is.  If round it is a 5V system.  If rectangular it is 3V.  The other would be to open tender and look at the circuit board or battery to tell.  G

Good morning GGG,

Unfortunately, I don't quite understand what you have been telling me. I guess that the charging ports you're referring to are under the tender. I've attached 2 images. The 1st showing the bottom of the tender of the MTH Y6B that I wish to update the sound file and a 2nd of an older MTH N&W Class A that was upgraded and has the sound file that I'm interested in. I purchased the Class A second hand years ago already updated. I believe that it was an original PS1 model.

Anyway, looking at the bottom of the tenders, it's clear that the charging ports are different. I hope that a picture is worth a thousand words and you will be able to tell me if the Y6B is upgradeable to the sound file that I'm interested in. If so, back to my original question, what sound file is available?

Thank you,

Joe

Yes,  The y6B  has the round port so that is the older obsolete board called PS-2 5V.  The Class A has the newer PS-2 3V board which was/is in production longer so there are better sound files for it.

Unfortunately you can't load a 3V sound file into a 5V board.  George

You say the A was upgraded.  The MTH upgrade kit was always and only a 3-volt system.  Charging port {of the Y6B} on the picture looks like a 5-volt system.

Depending on how anxious (i.e., $$$$) you are for a different sound, you could look into a service kit that had a 3-volt board with connectors for a 5-volt system, used top replace 5-volt systems that went bad.  I put one in a UP 4-8-4.  GGG could discuss that with you.

[{...} added in edit]

For the end user, it's actually cheaper to buy the upgrade kit and just move the connector shells from the old 5V board to the 3V board.  I have a box of dead 5V boards, so if you need connector shells, I'm your man.

GRJ, what do you mean by connector shells?  My understanding is that if you didn't get the service kit board I mentioned above, you really had to gut the loco to install an upgrade kit.

The difference between the 3V board and the 3V board with 5V connectors is just the plastic shell on the board connectors.  You can pry the ones off the old 5V board and slip them on the 3V board and you have your board.  The only extra thing you need is a 4 ohm speaker and the battery/charging port harness, which is inexpensive.  I've done this twice as I had the 3V board and a dead 5V locomotive.

OK, first, thanks to everyone for your input, but now I'm more confused than ever. I guess what I'm looking to find out with my Y6B, is there a sound file that has the upgraded whistle that is compatible. I have 2 of these loco's and I'm looking for the least expensive solution, since they both run fine. I've attached a link below of a MTH Y6B that has the correct whistle sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6h5jCBBEoU

Thanks, Joe

RJR confused you.  RJR he as two different engines.  His Y6B is original and is a PS-2 5V.

His Class A is a PS-1 that was upgraded to PS-2 so it is a PS-2 3V.

Joe, Sorry, but there is no change you can do to your Y6B sound file without investing in new boards.  That is were this topic got off course.  G

Your pictures show that the Y6b is a round 5 volt charging plug and the Class A is the newer 3 volt rectangular charging plug.

This means you are hooped for a different sound file for the Y6b, UNLESS you upgrade it to a 3 volt board set by swapping plug connectors as GRJ suggested.

The 5 volt boards and 3 volt boards use the same connector harnesses and have the same pinouts, except the actual plastic connector shells are a different brand between the two, which means they wont fit. If you swap the plastic shell connectors you are good to go, and you can use the 3 volt board with your existing wiring harnesses. You can then load the newer Y6b sound file.

You will need to change the speaker to a 4 ohm, change the battery to a 2 cell 2.4 volt, and change the charging port to the rectangular style, as was pointed out above.

For your Class A you can load any current 3 volt sound file of your choice.

Rod

The upgrade, if you buy the board with the 5V connectors, is mostly a PnP affair.  Unplug the old board, mount the 3V board, and plug in the connectors. 

You will have to change the battery connection and charging plug, that's a small harness you buy as well.  Obviously, you'll need the 3V battery as well.  The battery and charging harness is about $18 for the pair as I recall.  Finally, you need a 4 ohm speaker to replace the 16 ohm one you currently have.

Post clarified above.    The jack in the Class A picture looks old style, but hard to tell.  The upgrader could have left the old port there.  But as I noted above an upgrade would be the 3-volt model.

GGG, do note he's asking for a price.

RJR, You got me confused, two different tenders are shown  Top is round port, the bottom is the converted and you can see the rectangular in the right bottom corner. 

Joe, I will send you an e-mail, the conversion is not as simple as stated since the PS-2 5V is mounted differently than 3V boards.  Some of the connectors are slightly different locations, so placement matter depending on the length of the harnesses.  G

GGG. I was looking at the second "hole" to the left of the label.  Thought it looked like the 5-volt port.

Well, thank you to everyone for the information.  Unfortunately, what I had thought would be an easy sound upgrade turns out to be more than expected. All I really wanted was the upgraded Hooter whistle. With all the advances it toy train technology, who doesn't lust for the latest and greatest. I hate to sound jaded, and no pun intended but, the existing whistle sound really blows, and doesn't even come close to a real N&W whistle. I never was happy with that, but at the time, it was top of the line and acceptable.

As far as the upgrade goes, it looks relatively inexpensive, if I did it myself. Since that is beyond my comfort zone, it doesn’t make sense to move forward.  Like the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Maybe with a little more research I might give it a try in the future. I’ll probably look inside the tenders of the Y and Class A to see the difference.

Any further info on where to purchase the needed parts or how to proceed, will be appreciated.

Thanks again,

Joe Kunka

Joe, Did you get my e-mail?

I wonder if someone at MTH would upgrade the 5-volt file?

Why not wait until the 5V board croaks, then you'll need the 3V board anyway.

Good idea. they used to do that sort of thing ...Never hurts to ask.

GRJ, it may never croak.

Ironman, try telephoning MTH and speaking sweetly to someone in a tech position, rather than a receptionist, instead of writing..

My train hobby has been on the back burner for the past few years. Still running trains, and a purchase here and there, but I haven't advanced much since I started building my layout when DCS first came out. The bug has bitten me again and I thought a simple sound upgrade would be an inexpensive way to rekindle the fire.

I think I'm going to give MTH a call, it can't hurt. There may be a sound file that is closer to what I'm looking for or as suggested, maybe they could upgrade the Y6B for the earlier system. 

Is it possible to upgrade only a whistle or bell sound? 

Well, the only people that could change the whistle would be MTH.

Hello again,

I doubt that I'll be upgrading any time soon unless my call to MTH provides a sound file option. I'll admit, I don't have much hope there. It just doesn't make sense to mess with a nice running loco.

I do have a couple more questions? First, is all the hardware upgrade confined to the tender? Second, if so, could my converted 3v Class A tender be connected to the 5v Y6B without damage? I haven't done this since I know one of the do not's, in the MTH manual, is not to switch tenders. 

Thanks again, Joe

DO NOT CONNECT A DIFFERENT PS/2 TENDER!  Many are wired the same, but not all!  If you verify that the wiring is indeed identical, you could probably try it.

You should not do this with your units.  Your upgraded engine has a simple set up and need the diodes on the PCB on the engine to run the engine smoke and lights.

Your Y6B most likely uses a MUX board and doesn't have the same wiring convention.

Or if the smoke control is on the Y6B engine than the board is in the engine.  It is a sure way to risk loosing 2 $200 board sets.

Don't call Midge, she is parts.   Call into the service line and talk to the service rep with your request.   Ultimately it will go to Service Manager for a decision.  G

A 5-volt tender should never be connected to a 3-volt loco, or vice-versa.

Hardware upgrades may be in loco and/or tender, usually both

I figured that wasn't a good idea and will not consider trying. Looks like my one hope is with the service guys.

Thanks again everyone!

Let us know if they do it.  Worth capturing that sound file.  I was successful in getting them to upgrade early PS-2 3V files for F-3s to support number boards off the ditch lights, but apparently that is just a check box in the sound program.  I imagine changing a specific sound file for whistle is a little more involved.  G

You never know, I suspect that the process is pretty modular, so it may not be as hard as you might imagine.  The real question is if they'll even consider it, regardless of the effort.

I'll keep you all posted either way.

Any have the number to call?

410-381-2580.

Many years ago a man named Tim Alder was the DCS contact, x4513.  I do not know if he's still there.  Wouldn't bet on it

thanks

Spoke to MTH. Tech guys aren't available on Mondays. I guess I'll call back tomorrow.

Well, I got my answer. I spoke to a guy named Jeffrey, in the service department, and it would not be a productive use of time for the sound guys to revise a file for a system no longer supported. The suggestion was try a 5v sound file from another locomotive and wait until the board fails, then upgrade. I figured this would be the answer I'd get.

I could have been amazed if they would do it, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I suspect that was Jeff Stank, he runs the maintenance department.