Need Help With a Dead RailSounds 5.5 Board -- Q for GRJ

Use this chip puller or the chip may crack getting it out...

Luckily I have that exact model; I generally use it to pull teeth but I'll give it a try.  Thanks for the "tip."

As long as the chips are good, you can still get the RS5 board, it's the programming that makes it a RS 5.5 board, the basic board is exactly the same.  I have RS 5.0 and 5.5 boards here, they are the same hardware, just different chips.  I bought a unpopulated RS 5 board last year at the parts half-price sale to have a spare for this kind of issue.  Obviously, if the chips have been damaged or died, you're probably out of luck.

I happen to have that exact locomotive and a matching dummy.

Thanks GRJ.  Any tips on safely pulling the chips out of the boards? Doesn't look easy.  John

The major tip is USE THE PLCC EXTRACTION TOOL!  It will pull them straight out and not crack the socket.

When using the PLCC tool, you have to make sure the two jaw ends will fit all the way down and grip under the chip.  I have two of them, the cheap Radio Shack model needed some file work on the jaws to work correctly.  Once you have the jaws totally under the chip, just squeeze to grip the chip corners and the chip should come out.  Sometimes it helps to stabilize the chip with your opposite hand thumb to keep it from tilting as it comes out.

To install the new chip in the socket, you just set it on top and make sure all the pins are aligned and it's sitting straight.  Take note of the orientation, the dot and the sloped side should go to the arrow or dot in the socket.  Also note the corner cut as another indication of proper orientation.  Then, just press it into place. 

GRJ, thanks so much, very helpful.

CJACK, from the picture you posted the tool looked so massive I thought you were joking.  Sorry for the misunderstanding.  I had never heard of a PLCC Extractor before but see on the internet that the Jonard EX-5 is indeed a highly rated IC extractor (I still don't know what PLCC stands for).  Ordering one today.

One question I keep forgetting to ask is: might there be something wrong with the engine's other electronics that caused the RS board to die, or is it normal for these boards to just up and die once in a while?  As I said earlier, this one just started to break up a bit, got worse quickly, and died all within about a minute or two running around the track.

Thanks guys!  I'll let you know how it goes.  John

Ha, sorry. I should have put a dime next to it. GRJ put me on to it some time ago and I just pulled it out and took an iPicture of it.

PLCC - Plastic Leadless Chip Carrier

Plastic Leaded Chip Carriers (PLCC) are four-sided "J" Leaded Plastic body packages. Lead counts range from 20 to 84. PLCC packages can be square or rectangle. Body sizes range from .35" to 1.15". PLCCs are JEDEC standard compliant.

Success!!!  Thanks again GRJ and Cjack.

After receiving the PLCC tool, I pulled the Conrail chips out of their original board and swapped them into a RS board from another Legacy diesel and they worked perfectly.  Much relieved.

Also, GRJ gets another two-fer.  Check this out:

SEVERAL years ago I purchased a 6-29893 Vision Line Stock Car from Charlie Ro.  When I received it I didn't have a layout or anyway to test it so I put it on the shelf.  When I finally pulled it out to test some years later the 2-year warranty had already expired, and the sounds didn't work, just a buzz.  I removed the shell and was able to tell that the RS chip facing up was getting very hot with the car just sitting on the track.  I talked to Mike Reagan about it at one of Lionel's open houses (I live in Raleigh, NC) but he could only suggest sending it in for service, which I have been putting off ever since.

When I had such good luck with my Conrail RS chips, I decided to test the Stock Car chips the same way.  Thanks to GRJ's caution above -- "Take note of the orientation, the dot and the sloped side should go to the arrow or dot in the socket" -- when I was pulling the smaller of the 2 ICs from the Stock Car RS board I discovered that it was factory mounted UPSIDE DOWN!!  I put it back onto the board the correct way and - VOILA - it works perfectly!  GRJ, the PLCC tool has already paid for itself.  What more could I ask.

Thanks again for all the help.  John

I'm impressed that the chip survived that experience, but it's great that you were successful!  I found an old MTH PS/1 board with the socket mounted backwards, that was an interesting experience.

Because it wasn't working out of the box and was making a funny buzz I never put it on track voltage for more than a few seconds.  Then when I realized the chip was getting hot in those short few seconds I just put it aside until now.  Probably saved it from burning up.

Probably!

@GRJ

I can't begin to explain to you my friend how much money you have saved me on my layout. I will say this, many people that post here have helped me but you GRJ stand out of the crowd.

I recently got into Model Railroading seriously, I used to collect HO American Flyer stuff as a kid but never anything serious. I currently am building a 12x5 layout in O Scale, none of which would be possible without this forum, and the amazing people that share information here.

I have an Atlas O Master GP-60 with TMCC and RS, I purchased it USED and, other than some minor shipping damage, is a perfect and highly detailed diesel engine. After almost 2 months of solid performance, the sound became, both, unresponsive and extremely distorted. Imagine all the engine sounds playing over and over constantly and at the same time, it was a disaster and literally changed how I felt about the engine. I am not too much of a sound fan but I do not like engines that are not performing tip top, even on the audio side.

Well with the info you have posted here (and many other Railsound threads) I purchased the tool (PLCC - Plastic Leadless Chip Carrier) and re-seated both chips on my Railsound board. I had to completely remove the shell and remove the entire sound board to access one chip on the bottom of the board while the other is on the opposite side (top). Needless to say this engine lives to see another day, or should I say SPEAK lmao, because of your contributions.

Thank you and I hope this helps others as much as it helped me.

Daniel J Gonzalez

Homestead FL

DJGRR

You're most welcome, glad I could help in some small way.