Some folks on the forum gave me some assistance a while back to get my MTH Hiawatha running again - bad tether connection. Well it's acting up again and the engine is dead in the water now. I know I could upgrade to TMCC, but I run mostly conventional. So - can I just get an ERR sound module and pop it in and eliminate all the original electronics? Or - do I have to keep the tether set up? I can't recall if I was ever able to run the engine by itself - is the reverse unit on the board in the tender? I'm more interested in running the engine with my K-Line Hiawatha cars and having all the sounds is secondary.

Any assistance is appreciated.

KC

Having done several ERR and also TAS conversions, I think you will be very pleased with an ERR conversion (TAS no longer available). You will need your tether. The boards will go in Tender. ERR has a new RailCommander sound board which will give you Rail Sounds 4.0 capability. You will have TMCC control over your Loco. ERR is very helpful and their service is excellent. RW Green

This will be an interesting thread. Rwrgeen I assume you are saying that you done complete conversions frome Proto 1 to TMCC ERR? A few more details would very useful. I am also considering this. Just wondering if the ERR TMCC will work with the Proto sound board even to a limited degree, to keep the original sounds like chuff whistle and bell. Or will that board that get trashed and replaced as well.

Swannko, I have done an ERR sound on an MTH Steamer it was not a proto version though. The only issue is that the ERR board needs to see a certain voltage to operate properly. That Voltage will make the can powered engines fly around the track. Diodes or something like it will be needed to slow down the engine. If I recall all of the electronics were in the tender, sound board sat on top of the main board. It was RailKing J class streamer.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jon in NJ,

ERR now has two sound products. Their original Sound Commander 2 and the recently announced Railsounds Commander. The new Railsounds Commander is a great option for adding Railsounds 4.0 to locomotives that run conventional. Since it can use a battery, the sounds come on right away and stay on.

I’ve done several Proto1 to TMCC upgrades and all involved complete removal of the existing electronics. At the time, I used ERR’s Cruise Commander combined with a Digital Dynamics Railsounds 4.0 kit. Today, I would use Railsounds Commander instead for many reasons, including that it’s much smaller and does not require playing around with VCO adjustments.

Although I’ve heard of older TMCC products that allowed retaining Proto 1 sounds, as far as I know, there are none available today.

Thank you for the replies so far. Question - if I would put the railsounds board in, I would still have to retain the reverse board - correct? I'm assuming that there is a reverse board and a sound board in the tender. Or - could I just put in a regular lionel reverse that is used for DC motors and also use the railsounds board?

Thanks,

KC

With an ERR conversion, all boards will be new. RW Green

I'm not familiar with this specific loco, but I suspect the sound and motor control electronics are all together. You are correct that you would need some kind of motor control/reversing unit to go with the Railsounds Commander. If you have no interest in TMCC, you could probably just add an after-market reversing unit. Someone with more experience with those will probably jump in and recommend one. I'm assuming the existing one is bad since you indicated the loco was dead in the water.

Looking at the ERR site a conversion to TMCC for a can engine will be as follows

AC / DC Commander Kit
- DC Motor version, R2LC 69.95

For basic sounds

Sound Commander
- Steamer (Atlantic Whistle) 54.95

For Rail sounds 4.0

Steam RailSounds Generic steam 99.95

In my opinion at $125 it's a maybe for me. Definitely not at $170. Sure would nice keep some of the basic original sounds. I will call them on Monday to be sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Jon in NJ:
Looking at the ERR site a conversion to TMCC for a can engine will be as follows

AC / DC Commander Kit
- DC Motor version, R2LC 69.95

For basic sounds

Sound Commander
- Steamer (Atlantic Whistle) 54.95

For Rail sounds 4.0

Steam RailSounds Generic steam 99.95

In my opinion at $125 it's a maybe for me. Definitely not at $170. Sure would nice keep some of the basic original sounds. I will call them on Monday to be sure.

Used PS1 board off the forum = $30

I took the shell off the loco to see what I could see. There is a board attached to the smoke stack. Would there be a board to handle the smoke and light or is it more likely that this is the reverse board? BTW, the engine is the old PS1 Hiawatha 4-6-4. It is a really nice engine with the metal tender, which is why I want to get it running. The wires run from the board to an on/off switch which might be to turn off the smoke, then to the tether.

KC

KC,

I am pretty sure that board is for smoke. I believe all major electronics are in the tender. At least they are in all of my MTH stuff.

You mention PS1, You probably know that there were battery issues with these old PSI Locos right?

If left un-used for long periods the battery would die and potentially scramble the chips in the LOCO, making it useless.

I think I am going to go with a separate reverse board and the ERR sound board. Can anyone tell me - is the smoke unit and board separate from all the other electronics? Meaning can I keep the smoke unit as is making sure it's getting track power and gut out all the other boards in the tender and replace them?

Thanks,

KC

quote:

Originally posted by SWANKO:
I think I am going to go with a separate reverse board and the ERR sound board. Can anyone tell me - is the smoke unit and board separate from all the other electronics? Meaning can I keep the smoke unit as is making sure it's getting track power and gut out all the other boards in the tender and replace them?

Thanks,

KC

The PS1 smoke unit assmy should be getting their power directly from the rollers. You should be able to trace wires and see that. I have not been in there for a while.