PS3 upgrade of 1996 C&O Allegheny

I think what makes it tough for us home installers, is the heavy all metal O scale steam boilers. If you make one slip, there will be a short. Plastic bodied diesels can be slightly easier with that. There just isn't a lot of room for any error with modern electronics. I've seen some PS2 boards recover from shorts in wires. That is rare.

 I'm not sure what engine you got the first PS3 board out of or if you bought the kit? Was there a separate boiler board?

Remember to follow the directions as PS3 (lighting) is wired much differently than PS2.

 Steam engines can be more work with the tether and metal bodies. I have 3 Alleghenies that I upgraded. The 3rd Rail was tough. I need to go back in and modify the smoke unit. I just hate working in there. I also have a Niagara that the polarity switch failed on (or is wired wrong?) and I keep putting off fixing it. I've put in quite a few polarity switches so I may have got lax on my wiring?

When you are feeling "braver", you may wish to change the soundset? There are different ones for the different model PS boards.

This one is PS2 also:

The PS/3 steam upgrade comes with the PS32 board stack, it's the same boards you get to retrofit older dead PS/2 boards.  There is no separate boiler board, the PS/3 steam upgrade is basically a PS/2 steam upgrade with a different board.

John, if that was for me, I'm aware of how they come. Good info for others though.

The OP did not state how he originally got the PS3 board for the attempt. I would guess that it was a kit. I could also be wrong. I have taken boards out of other engines for upgrading important ones. It was mentioned that he had trouble putting the heavy boiler back on so I would guess he installed the board in the engine? That would make it very difficult with the PS3 board size. That's why I asked what it was out of originally. Some would take it out of a diesel too.

I've only put a couple upgrades in the boiler, and those were all PS/2.  Since most of the upgrades were upgrade kits, I already had convenient cabling to put the boards in the tender.

Engineer-Joe posted:

John, if that was for me, I'm aware of how they come. Good info for others though.

The OP did not state how he originally got the PS3 board for the attempt. I would guess that it was a kit. I could also be wrong. I have taken boards out of other engines for upgrading important ones. It was mentioned that he had trouble putting the heavy boiler back on so I would guess he installed the board in the engine? That would make it very difficult with the PS3 board size. That's why I asked what it was out of originally. Some would take it out of a diesel too.

Joe, I started the Allegheny upgrade with an official MTH PS3 upgrade kit.   I used the tach reader, strip, wire harness and receiver port/jack in the boiler with no problems other than occasional short (which I resolved with better wire management).   My problem was in the tender and the provided PS3 board.   The directions do not clearly indicate what some of the wires do.   There was a black wire that had a flat copper ring on the end that I assumed was a ground wire.   Not sure but after I secured it to the tender frame I smoked the board.   That may have been the issue or perhaps the speaker connection.   No worries though, I've got it working under PS2 and now I have a DCS controlled Allegheny for a third of the cost of a new one.

If you download the PDF from MTH for the PS3 kits, they are in color.  This is what I did which made things come together a little smoother than making guesses.

The black wire with the ring IS the frame ground, the red wires from the same connector are the center roller. 

There can be plenty of pit falls if your not careful. Pinching wires which grounds them chassis AC can smoke boards.  Exposed solder joints of the tach reader, engine PCB can also ground to shell if you do not watch clearances.  SMoke fan motor leads, same.  List can go on. 

I lost track of how many PS-32 I have put in the boiler as a repair.  Just did this dreyfuss.

G

So I got a good deal on a PS3 upgrade kit from ModelTrainStuff and have successfully upgraded my 1996 Allegheny to PS3.   The sounds are great and the quilling whistle is worth all of my time and effort.   The C&O PS2 tender I was using is now back with my Greenbrier.   The huge Allegheny tender was easy to work in and now I'm thinking of upgrading to a better speaker.   The speaker that comes with the PS3 kit is small and a bit tinny.   It doesn't do the PS3 sound set justice.  I used the color PDF instructions that Texassp recommended and seeing the wires in color helped.   I've chalked up smoking my first PS3 board to a learning experience.  The directions could be clearer for non-electricians.   Though I am grateful for MTH offering the upgrade program for without it I would own only one Premier PS2/3  steamer.  Christmas came early for me since I literally can't wait to get home and play with my Allegheny's whistle :-).   I'll post a video featuring the Allegheny's PS3 sounds soon.

Sometimes they sound better if you put a baffle over the speaker. A plastic cap or similar works well. 

I also like the Peerless modern speakers.

madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-2-fullrange/peerless-830970-2-full-range-4-ohm/

Now I have to go check if my one Allegheny with PS3 has the quilling whistle or not?

Just a general tip for metal boilers causing shorts etc.--get some liquid electrical tape and paint areas that might come in contact with wires. It's a band-aid for a solution. But hey, if it works, style-points don't count.

Don

Looking forward to your upgraded Allegheny running on the “South Fork Railroad” soon🚂

Well, here's what it is. I can't check with my phone app as it keeps crashing. I looked on the remote softkeys and no playable whistle. So I look at the MTH site for the Allegheny, and their site's product locator keeps taking me back to the home page!

 Some days I want to scream!!!!!

Don Merz 070317 posted:

Just a general tip for metal boilers causing shorts etc.--get some liquid electrical tape and paint areas that might come in contact with wires. It's a band-aid for a solution. But hey, if it works, style-points don't count.

Even better and not as messy, some Kapton tape.  It's very thin, not messy, and has excellent strength.  It's the stuff used in aerospace applications.

is there anyway to access the MTH sound files for download while the site's search function is down?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Don Merz 070317 posted:

Just a general tip for metal boilers causing shorts etc.--get some liquid electrical tape and paint areas that might come in contact with wires. It's a band-aid for a solution. But hey, if it works, style-points don't count.

Even better and not as messy, some Kapton tape.  It's very thin, not messy, and has excellent strength.  It's the stuff used in aerospace applications.

I'll have to try this tape too!

Engineer-Joe posted:

is there anyway to access the MTH sound files for download while the site's search function is down?

Joe, type the basic URL and then add the 7-digit product number, that still works.

Here's an example, this is the Premier Propane Turbine

https://mthtrains.com/20-2261-1

Trouble is, I don't know the product number for an Allegheny with playable whistle!

I will look for the ones I know of.

Will the HO version's sound set, work in an O scale if I leave the chain files alone?

That's the only engine I can think of that may have the playable whistle and the correct sounds for the Allegheny.

Unless the recent Rail king version had it?

Try looking for someone talking about it.  You may have to wait until they fix the website if you can't find a product number.

Joe have you tried looking up by engine description and look thru engine list this has worked for me sometimes, for instance mth trains.com then type in up big boy for example and look threw list has worked fo me. Mine is just an example try name of engine line Pennsylvania etc see if that works for you. Alan

This is the PS3 sound file I used for my Allegheny upgrade.   It includes a playable whistle.

https://mthtrains.com/20-3505-1

I like that you can listen to the MP3 of most of the PS3 sound sets on the MTH website.  Though the MP3 does not include the sound of the engine at speed.

Alan Mancus posted:

Joe have you tried looking up by engine description and look thru engine list this has worked for me sometimes, for instance mth trains.com then type in up big boy for example and look threw list has worked fo me. Mine is just an example try name of engine line Pennsylvania etc see if that works for you. Alan

Alan, the website search is BROKEN!  You can't look up anything there, you have to know the product number until they get it fixed.  Obviously, I'm sure Joe has looked up any number of things on the MTH site when it was working.

John I know you said the mth sight is not working but look what I found!

https://mthtrains.com/30-1116-1 here is another but premier  https://mthtrains.com/20-3115-1

will attach sound file I found for this 3 volt board from upgrade sound files on mth web sight!

Alan

p.s. hope this is the file your looking for found others as well.

Alan, they were looking for a PS/3 file with a playable whistle, none of those models have that capability.  It has to be a PS/3 sound file.

I suggest reading back in the topic to see the situation.

ok thanks John

The feature I like the most of my PS3 upgraded Allegheny is the playable whistle.   The MTH sound file is a lot closer to prototype than the PS2 file.   Being a C&O fan, I was watching this video and noted

that the PS2 whistle on my C&O Greenbrier does not sound the same.   The PS3 playable sound file is much closer.   As such I think I'll buy another PS3 upgrade kit and upgrade my #614.

Great job Ken and Joe!!  They sound good!

Ken, that video is fantastic!  It certainly shows what the prototype is capable of!

Mark Boyce posted:

Great job Ken and Joe!!  They sound good!

Ken, that video is fantastic!  It certainly shows what the prototype is capable of!

Thanks again Mark. Your posts are always positive and I appreciate the compliments!

Engineer-Joe posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Great job Ken and Joe!!  They sound good!

Ken, that video is fantastic!  It certainly shows what the prototype is capable of!

Thanks again Mark. Your posts are always positive and I appreciate the compliments!

I wholeheartedly agree.  Positive feedback part of what makes this hobby fun!  

You’re welcome, Joe!  Thank you for letting me know.

I learn a lot from your comments and questions.  You bring up things I haven’t thought of or run into!  That is why I opened this topic.  I’ve done diesel upgrades, but not steam upgrades yet.

Obsidian posted:

Engineer-Joe posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Great job Ken and Joe!!  They sound good!

Ken, that video is fantastic!  It certainly shows what the prototype is capable of!

Thanks again Mark. Your posts are always positive and I appreciate the compliments!

I wholeheartedly agree.  Positive feedback part of what makes this hobby fun!  

 

For sure, Ken!!!  I learned about trains back in the Dark Ages, or BI - Before Internet.  I was a total lone wolf from the late ‘60s until early ‘00s.  The fun value has grown exponentially even when I don’t have time to run s train!!!

 Thank you!!!