PS-2 Upgrades not for the Faint of heart FINISHED

 A lot of work involved, but PS2 or 3 make for a big improvement over PS1, so you get quite a lot for it.  

George, you sure picked a hard one.  Job well done.  You got it right.

Thanks guys.  I just added the picture of the bare frame.  It was my customer who picked it Marty!.  These both will be learning experiences.  Luckily I had to repair the 5V version of the Veranda the week before.  Seeing how that was done at the factory will help.  I will be manufacturing specialty brackets and a custom wire job.  G

WOW!  Near though about doing a cab forward.  Or for that matter taking one apart.

Thanks for posting. I've been thinking about doing a brass 3rd Rail Cab Forward, but not looking forward to the job. I'll study your photos for what I can learn. 

You Go G!!!

Then rest for some time.

I need you to shoehorn in a S gauge PS3 into a Lionel trackmobile!! 

 (or I'll have to do it!)

Great job!!

 

I bought a PS2 for my Hudson.  Then I bought Jim Barrett's DVD.  While watching the video, I realized the project was beyond my capabilities considering my arthritis, carpal tunnel, and wrist cartilage damage.  So I paid someone almost as much as the upgrade kit to do it for me.  He did a wonderful job!  I hated to spend more on the project, but once I had the kit, I just sucked it up and put out the money.  I have one more PS1, but I do not think I will upgrade it.

Better than factory. Nice work George. 

 

Pete

Looks very neat, George.  Good job!

Hey George, I have contemplated, maybe a time or two, buying a used PS-1 Veranda and having someone I know convert it to PS-2. 

 

Larry

I'd love to have command control in my Turbines.  However, I think this one is over my head.  Please keep this thread updated, I'd like to see your progress and the finished project.  

 

 

Gotta tell you, George, you picked about the two most difficult installation platforms I can think of. 

George. what did you use to attach the PS2 board to the top of the tender shell. I'm contemplating a similar install and am considering Velcro in case I need to remove it for anything.

 

Milwrd   

Add a Shay to the list.

 

Dave

 

This is a good primer on why I have others do mine for me. 

.....

Dennis

George, does the heat sink fasten to anything metal to dissipate heat, or does it suffice in itself?  I assume the tender is not metal.

Dave, That was one of my first when I was a rookie.  I had the shell off 10 times getting the wires fed through the shell and to the front in a non visible or PINCHED manner.  Almost swore off repair work!  G

For the Vanderbilt, the shell thickness supported drilling and tapping for screws.  I removed the reverse light to gauge the thickness of the shell.  The forward part had a very thick rib so I could use a longer screw no issues, the aft section was thinner and I had to use shorter screws.  So it has one screw visible at the fwd section of the bracket.  One in the hole under the board, and one in the heat sink mounted metal to metal.  I used heat shrink on my drill bit to mark the max depth I could drill, and drilled carefully and slowly.  The metal is soft so it did go smoothly.  I used locktite on the threads.   I should have taken a picture of the engine internals.  I broke the 10 pins into 2 bundles. One going fwd for the tach reader and lights, the other aft to the smoke unit.  I had to disassemble wires to get flexible heat shrink over them so you only see black.  I left the original motor wires and power wires in place and I solder them to the PCB.   They already where hidden.  G

Nice job George. I actually like doing them when it's a real challenge and you have to think outside the box.

Ralph

Here is an update.  I manufactured the slave board bracket, and modified the PS-2 bracket for a rear mount.  The target height is 2" top of slave to chassis.  The boards will stagger mount as shown.  Need to leave room for the volume pot, but this is the basic configuration.  Also is a picture of the coupler wires.  I retain the original wiring, and wired them into the new PS-2 couplers.  You can see the contact pad.  The longer wires will connect at the board later.  This allows for less independent wires and better movement of the coupler with the truck.   G

George, your work continues to impress! Very nice job! Keep up the great work. 

BTW,

If there is anyone here who would like to have my OGR DVD for the PS2 installation on the Hudson, I will be happy to give it to you for the cost of shipping.  It is very detailed, just over my current abilities as I stated a few days ago.

Hi Mark,

 

I sent you an email regarding the DVD.

 

Best,

Dave

Here are some more pictures.  Have the switches, volume pot and battery charge port mounted along with the PS-2 board.  I used the fwd switch for smoke control and than positioned a smaller PCB volume pot over the other unused switch hole.  The rear smoke switch was removed (PS-2 only needs one smoke control switch) and the charge port fit right in, other than new holes for the screws.  The larger switch is the 3 way switch for rear coupler or aux tanker coupler (selectable).

 

You need to pay attention to access holes, and also make sure you clear the fuel tank properly.  Either have the screw head inside or outside the tank, but not right on the ridge.  I also made sure heatsink screw reachable for removing the board.  I will post some more later tonight as I have the front half wired.   G

Here is some of the front wiring dressed up,  Remember to check how the contact pads are wired.  PS-1 was all straight 6V, so I have to move some wires to ensure I had PV and Interior for the CAB light, and Marker wires for the front LEDs.  Also need to make sure you have gray 5V on the pad that will connect to Red on the LEDs.  Also this is a parallel LED set up in the shell, so I cut one red and one black to reconfigure as series LEDs which is how MTH does PS-2.  Make sure you cut the red from LED and the Black from the other and connect them.  That way they run in series.  

 

Smoke elements need to be put in parallel.  This unit had the separate electronic board that was removed, but the trace that puts the elements in series needs to be cut.  The front smoke will run from the PS-2 board and the aft from the Slave.  You could run both off PS-2 but I want to reduce the load on the PS-2 board, that is why you have the slave board. 

 

I don't have motors fully wired yet, but fwd motors will run off slave in parallel and the rear set off the PS-2 board with a tach reader on the first motor.  I also have the tender harness wired up.  This unit has a 5 pin tether.  I used Yellow for coupler, White for PV (purple), Green for reverse light and red and black for the speaker in the Aux tender/tank car.

 

This unit will have 2 8 ohm speakers in parallel.  One in the engine fuel tank and one in the Tender.  The coupler is selectable from the 3 way switch I mentioned earlier.  You can run this without the tender.  Both tender and the engine have electo couplers.

 

Last picture show the wire nest.  Front looked worst.  Moving aft   G 

That middle picture is zinc rot on the smoke units.  One fan housing was bad, and the other smoke housing was bad,  Had to install new housings.  Smoke units were unused.  I have seen this occasionally.  I missed it initially, but when I was getting ready to wire the smoke units I noticed the fan motor was loose. When I went to tighten I found the housing cracked.  Inspecting both to find the other element housing leg crumbling, plus cracks around the housing.  Sooner or later it would have failed and released fluid inside the shell.  G

I wish I had the ability to do something like this.

 

Really enjoying your progress.  

 

Is it possible to install TMCC in one of the early PS Turbines?  And, have sound?  I have all of them but would love to have TMCC.  Command control would really make'm fun!

A OK Dave

Sure, but I don't know if Lionel has the turbines sounds.  G

Mark,

 

For some reason, when I try to email you - it has started bouncing back on me as undeliverable!

 

I'll keep trying.  BTW, yours seem to come thru to me just fine...

 

Best,

Dave

Dave,

very strange.  I have been getting other emails.  i just checked again, the one in my profile is correct, and it worked before for you.  Besides, you are just replying.  The wonders of modern technology.  At work, we would call it a 'feature'. Ha, ha

George, beautiful work!!

 

PS2 upgrades are not easy to do, this is hard work

 

Thanks,

Alex

I violated that principal on the last upgrade.  I thought I measured correctly, but I was about 1/8" off and the screw head hit the tank.  A little time with the Dremel and it all fit.

 

These are all very impressive.

 

I have a PS2 upgrade kit and I am not sure where I want to install it. I recently acquired a used 3rd Rail Dash 9 with a QSI board and sound.  Is the PS2 board comparable with that single huge can motor in the 3rd Rail and engine?  The speaker is all the way in the top of the engine's radiator and it looks like a lot of the engine would have to be disassembled to change it. Whew!

 

Has anyone tackled one of these?

Several years ago when the PS-2 kits first came out I bought several and install them in PS-1 with out much difficultly. Then I got brave and took a Lionel Atlantic with no sound and installed a PS-2 took some work but got it done and thought it was well worth the work. Only problem is lighting, the Lionel still used a bulb and the led with the PS-2 does not give out much light thru the Lionel lens, same with the tender lights and haven't taken the time to come up with a fix. After I retire maybe then!

George,

I noticed the zinc rot problem on a CR SD80MAC. The unit had been barely used. I suspect this issue is very common and under reported.

 

Chris

LVHR

I find the white LED with a 220 ohm resistor gave me tons of headlight intensity.  For the markers, I typically replace them directly with the LED bulb.

 

If you are talking bulbs, you need to replace the Lionel 14-18V bulbs and use the MTH 6V bulbs.  They are plenty bright.  If you are trying to use the marker LED through a lens that won't work.  They are meant to show through a hole in the marker housing.  G

I don't think common, but it does occur.  At first I only saw fan housing go bad. Then a bowl.  In this case one of each.  I think I am around 5 total repairs for this issue.  The problem is MTH doesn't sell the housings separately. I am going to ask if they will.  They have PCB separately now.  G