idlemarvel
Neither idle nor a marvel
Warning: long posting, only read if interested.
This is how I did it, not necessarily the best way. The smoke generator is quite a tight fit. This is using the older (not oldest) digital pulsed smoke generator Massoth 8413501 with the square design. The new one 8415001 (rounded) might be an easier fit but I doubt it. I also used the Cylinder Smoke module 8413901; to be honest I can’t see how you could use the smoke generator without it as the hole in the top of the generator is quite large, far bigger than any piping you could use to direct the smoke to the chimney.
For chipping the loco I used a Massoth XL following the instructions on the Massoth wiki for an XLS decoder: How to fit a Massoth Pulsed Smoke Generator into LGB 26841 0-4-4-0T Meyer http://wiki.massoth.de/index.php/LGB_2x841_"Saxonian_IV/k"/en
Note that the smoke generator (digital version) contains its own decoder. Before installation you need to set the address to the same address as your loco decoder, and change any CVs you may need to change. Refer to the Massoth manual. I left most of the settings except the address, but I added a function key for “blow-out”. It’s probably a good idea to lock the decoder settings at this point (CV15=0).
As I planned to use the XL decoder as the pulse generator (to get the “chuffs”) I changed CV 120 to 1 on the XL.
Open up the loco. There are six screws, locations of one side of the loco shown in the three pictures below:
Lift the body off carefully taking care not to pull the wires.
As supplied the decoder plug is in place to enable DC mode operation. Carefully remove the decoder blank plug from the circuit board as shown below:
Insert the Massoth eMOTION DCC Interface Cable 10pin 8312062. Connect the coloured wires to the appropriate screw connectors on the XL decoder. The last blue wire is not required so cover the bare wire end with insulating tape. (You could use it to make the cab light separately switchable from the headlights using e.g. A2.)
To make room for the smoke generator the front weight has to be removed. It may be possible to replace half the weight (see later) but for now remove the entire weight. I concluded the best place to put the smoke generator was directly under the chimney. The relatively low height of the boiler meant that the smoke generator had to be fastened to the base of the loco, so some holes were drilled to provide air inlet for the smoke generator and for attaching the smoke generator.
Trim the circular bogie attachment washer and drill two holes A and B to attach the smoke generator.
Only the power and pulse input cables were required in my case. Tidy up the unused cables, and fit the Cylinder Smoke module.
Decide where you want the cylinder steam to emerge. I decided just above the forward bogie cylinders. Drill a 6mm hole at each side inside the body line and cut the cylinder steam pipes to length. Use a diagonal cut at the smoke outlet end as per Massoth instructions so that moisture drops drip out and do not block the pipe.
Fit the decoder with double sided tape provided with the decoder. The smoke generator power cables should be connected to Track + and – and the pulse generator to A6 and ground. The provided cable for this has three wires so carefully refer to the diagram 6 on page 10 of the Massoth manual for the smoke generator instructions for which two wires to use.
Remove the chimney pot by unfastening the pipes and twisting the stack to align the lugs inside the loco body and pulling gently.
Drill out the centre of the chimney to 9mm (or 8.5mm if you have such a drill bit). The smoke generator chimney pipe is 8mm external diameter but there is a lot of friction when you try and insert the chimney smoke piping. Make sure that you really centre the drilling out as the plastic of the chimney will be quite thin when finished. Also cut the bottom end 3-4mm of the chimney pot where it is inserted into the body or it will not fit above the smoke generator. Cut the chimney piping so it finishes just below the top of the chimney when fitted.
The final result before refitting the body looks like this. I placed a pluggable chocbox connector on the power cable so I could more easily disconnect the smoke generator if I need to update CV on the smoke generator.
In the picture above there is no front weight. You could cut the weight in half and fit the rear half if required (suggested line shown in pencil below):
Here is a video of the result below.
The chuffed smoke effect is far superior to the rather feeble and steady flow from the supplied smoke generator. Whether it is worth the extra money and time is another matter. Getting the smoke pulses to link to the cylinder movement is difficult and not completely satisfactory when using the decoder pulse generator. I guess it would be much better using a wheel based sensor (optical or magnetic), but that is more expense, time and wiring. The sound is from a hastily added Uhlenbrock sound module I borrowed from my PIKO BR80, not shown in the pictures above. The fitting of that was easy using the SUSI interface on the XL decoder. There is an option to connect the Uhlenbrock sound module to the pulse generator as well which I didn't try but looks easy enough, although it involves soldering a few wires to the underside of the Uhlenbrock module which is quite small, so you would need a steady soldering hand.
This is how I did it, not necessarily the best way. The smoke generator is quite a tight fit. This is using the older (not oldest) digital pulsed smoke generator Massoth 8413501 with the square design. The new one 8415001 (rounded) might be an easier fit but I doubt it. I also used the Cylinder Smoke module 8413901; to be honest I can’t see how you could use the smoke generator without it as the hole in the top of the generator is quite large, far bigger than any piping you could use to direct the smoke to the chimney.
For chipping the loco I used a Massoth XL following the instructions on the Massoth wiki for an XLS decoder: How to fit a Massoth Pulsed Smoke Generator into LGB 26841 0-4-4-0T Meyer http://wiki.massoth.de/index.php/LGB_2x841_"Saxonian_IV/k"/en
Note that the smoke generator (digital version) contains its own decoder. Before installation you need to set the address to the same address as your loco decoder, and change any CVs you may need to change. Refer to the Massoth manual. I left most of the settings except the address, but I added a function key for “blow-out”. It’s probably a good idea to lock the decoder settings at this point (CV15=0).
As I planned to use the XL decoder as the pulse generator (to get the “chuffs”) I changed CV 120 to 1 on the XL.
Open up the loco. There are six screws, locations of one side of the loco shown in the three pictures below:
Lift the body off carefully taking care not to pull the wires.
As supplied the decoder plug is in place to enable DC mode operation. Carefully remove the decoder blank plug from the circuit board as shown below:
Insert the Massoth eMOTION DCC Interface Cable 10pin 8312062. Connect the coloured wires to the appropriate screw connectors on the XL decoder. The last blue wire is not required so cover the bare wire end with insulating tape. (You could use it to make the cab light separately switchable from the headlights using e.g. A2.)
To make room for the smoke generator the front weight has to be removed. It may be possible to replace half the weight (see later) but for now remove the entire weight. I concluded the best place to put the smoke generator was directly under the chimney. The relatively low height of the boiler meant that the smoke generator had to be fastened to the base of the loco, so some holes were drilled to provide air inlet for the smoke generator and for attaching the smoke generator.
Trim the circular bogie attachment washer and drill two holes A and B to attach the smoke generator.
Only the power and pulse input cables were required in my case. Tidy up the unused cables, and fit the Cylinder Smoke module.
Decide where you want the cylinder steam to emerge. I decided just above the forward bogie cylinders. Drill a 6mm hole at each side inside the body line and cut the cylinder steam pipes to length. Use a diagonal cut at the smoke outlet end as per Massoth instructions so that moisture drops drip out and do not block the pipe.
Fit the decoder with double sided tape provided with the decoder. The smoke generator power cables should be connected to Track + and – and the pulse generator to A6 and ground. The provided cable for this has three wires so carefully refer to the diagram 6 on page 10 of the Massoth manual for the smoke generator instructions for which two wires to use.
Remove the chimney pot by unfastening the pipes and twisting the stack to align the lugs inside the loco body and pulling gently.
Drill out the centre of the chimney to 9mm (or 8.5mm if you have such a drill bit). The smoke generator chimney pipe is 8mm external diameter but there is a lot of friction when you try and insert the chimney smoke piping. Make sure that you really centre the drilling out as the plastic of the chimney will be quite thin when finished. Also cut the bottom end 3-4mm of the chimney pot where it is inserted into the body or it will not fit above the smoke generator. Cut the chimney piping so it finishes just below the top of the chimney when fitted.
The final result before refitting the body looks like this. I placed a pluggable chocbox connector on the power cable so I could more easily disconnect the smoke generator if I need to update CV on the smoke generator.
In the picture above there is no front weight. You could cut the weight in half and fit the rear half if required (suggested line shown in pencil below):
Here is a video of the result below.
The chuffed smoke effect is far superior to the rather feeble and steady flow from the supplied smoke generator. Whether it is worth the extra money and time is another matter. Getting the smoke pulses to link to the cylinder movement is difficult and not completely satisfactory when using the decoder pulse generator. I guess it would be much better using a wheel based sensor (optical or magnetic), but that is more expense, time and wiring. The sound is from a hastily added Uhlenbrock sound module I borrowed from my PIKO BR80, not shown in the pictures above. The fitting of that was easy using the SUSI interface on the XL decoder. There is an option to connect the Uhlenbrock sound module to the pulse generator as well which I didn't try but looks easy enough, although it involves soldering a few wires to the underside of the Uhlenbrock module which is quite small, so you would need a steady soldering hand.
