Question for gunrunner john or alex m.?

I have this unit too, though I have not run it recently.  It has the dumb smoke unit but does use a ACREG (Generic) according to the Lionel parts list.

If it is a match, you might want to purchase the N&W J 611 Smoke PCB which is a smart unit, and the ACREG for that unit.  Then the cherry switch chuff trigger sends a signal to the smoke unit to puff the smoke fan.  This would also give you a High, Medium and Low Smoke setting via TMCC CAB-1 settings. Wiring is similar you just need the right Smoke unit top and ACREG.

To increase chuff you will have to go with a different sensor. or modify the cherry switch cam.  G

Electric Railroad now offers a "Puff and chuff" circuit. You can also search this forum for the schematic if you want to build one yourself. Its made up of less than a dozen easily obtained components. Its designed to work with a switch like a micro switch or reed switch. It will pulse the fan as often as the the switch opens and closes. If you want to get 4 chuffs the reed switch and magnets on a tender or trailing truck wheel is your easiest solution. The signal has to be isolated from the sound board or R2LC chuff input using a diode.

Pete

There's no reason to replace the smoke unit to get synchronized chuffing.  I know that Alex has modified the cam for more chuffs, but I go the easy way and use a reed switch and two magnets. Two magnets on the trailing pilot gets you pretty close to four chuffs/rev of the drivers.

I add a simple two transistor circuit that buffers the RailSounds input from the motor control, there is already 5V available on the smoke unit.  The only thing you're giving up is the smoke volume adjustment, but you'll pay around $60 for parts to get it.  In addition, you have to make sure the smart unit has the same mounting as the existing smoke unit, or you'll be doing some extra mechanical work as well.

Sorry I missed this thread, we were at TrainStock all day!!!!!!!!!!!

Lionelzwl2012, you're in the best of hands with GGG, Gunruuner, and Pete.

Alex

I think he wants four Chuff Sounds and synchronized smoke.  I may be confused, but not sure why the chuff signal is being buffered.

The smoke units are close.  Unfortunately yours is the one piece bowl, and the J is the 2 piece.  So the PCB swap is not a direct fit.

It is up to you put I think you want to add the reed switch to replace the cherry switch so that you get four chuff sounds per revolution.  Adding the Smart smoke with regulator gives you the puffing in sync with chuff, based on  the serial data from the reed switch going to the AC REG too.

Will see what John's circuit does for you.  The J is 38095 and that is the TMCC RS 5,0 with smart smoke.  I have the engine and it is very nice.

So it all depends on how you want to skin the cat.  I guess we need to see what ERR puff and chuff is too.  G

To get four chuffs, you need more than either my simple circuit or the ERR Puff-n-Chuff.  Neither will do anything to change the chuff rate.  You need to supply contact closures to trigger chuffs with any of these solutions.  The solutions are as mentioned, either a reed switch with magnets or adding lobes on the cam that actuates the cherry switch.

The reason the chuff is buffered is the same reason that the ERR circuit buffers it, to protect the chuff input to the RS board from spikes from the motor.  Do a search here and you'll find that several people have connected the motor directly to the chuff switch and the RS input, only to find that it zaps the RS board.  My circuit was build simply because I didn't want to wait for the ERR board, and I didn't feel that it was worth the $35 for a simple circuit.  It performs the same function as the ERR Puff-n-Chuff.  Also, since there was already 5V available from the smoke unit, I didn't feel the need to have a dedicated 5V supply.

Got it, so motor control is the smoke fan motor, and your not buffering the cherry switch Chuff signal to RS, you preventing Smoke fan motor from being directly controlled by the cherry switch which is interrupting Serial data. Or buffering the smoke fan from the serial data.

I imagine that is the same thing the smart smoke does with the extra components on the Smoke PCB.  G

Correct, apparently the spikes from the motor will zap the RS input, or at least have a real potential to do so.  I know of two people that connected the motor directly and then had to replace their sound board, so 2+2 = it's probably not a good idea to do that.

The smart smoke unit buffers the fan, but of course it also receives the serial data to know when to run the fan continuously, that's when the train is stopped.  I'd like to add that to my little circuit, as the Puff-n-Chuff or mine have the fan either stopped or running, based on the position of the chuff switch.

The serial data is not in the picture electrically here, the chuff input is a discrete contact closure to either the RS board or the R2LC.  Of course, the chuff switch input results in the actual chuff sound being generated.  In the case of the R2LC input, it generates the serial data to the RS boards to actually command the chuff sound.