Sound Activation Buttons 6-5906

If the whistle button on the old transformer does not work you will need two controlers, one for the whistle and one for the bell. I think all you need to do is reverse the polarity on one of the 5906 controller's wires. one should blow the whistle and one should ring the bell.

When I ussed them I only activated the bell.

Hope this helps.

At $20-30 each on the used market, it could be pricey and I think then I'd be better off just attaching a powermaster at $40 each on the used market.  They do the job with whistles and bells plus give me Cab-1 control.

I've been operating my small layout in this fashion for years - postwar ZW for power, a pair of Powermasters and a CAB-1 for control. I can even run/access basic features of my MTH PS-1/2 locomotives with this configuration.

You can build a whistle / bell control for a few bucks in parts...

That last part was always a little dicey for me. 

I was trying to use the bell and horn for the very specific sequences required to control subway sets though (auto mode under conventional control), so maybe it works better if you are just trying to blow the horn or ring the bell once in a while.  I could never easily get the required timing right using the CAB-1 for programming the subway sets.

-Dave

I agree, there's nothing mystical inside a 5606, they're easy to reverse engineer.

here is how I make an external one

www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=412

www.jcstudiosinc.com/OGaugeAut...AndWhistleController

Dale H

"I could never easily get the required timing right using the CAB-1 for programming the subway sets."

CAB-1 can't generate the short pulses necessary to program PS-1 or PS-2 in conventional mode.  The TPC has "macro" sequences to accomplish this.  If you make up your own controllers or buy the sound activation buttons you can learn to jab the short pulse sequences with just a little bit of practice.