Sound in a Roco BR212?
Hello all, Firstly, apologies for a long absence. Decorating and christmas been occupying my time, and then a glut of UK-outline releases have distracted me from German railway modelling. Anyway, after all the madness involved both the above events, I feel the need to do a bit of modelling! While making an order for Krois couplings, CT Elektronik's sound decoders caught my eye, and I bought one for my Roco BR212. However, there isn't a lot of room in the loco, so I'm having to be creative in considering where to fit the decoders (the CT decoder is sound only, no drive function) and speaker. As things stand, I'm looking at fitting a Zimo MX620 as the drive decoder, as these can have 'momentary' functions, ideal for the Krois coupling. The decoders would be located within the bonnets (they are both sized for use in N gauge), and the speaker in the fuel tank area. This would leave the cab free, which having painted up the control desks I'm considering lighting! I'm fairly confident that this is the way to go, but I'd be interested to know whether anyone else has tackled fitting sound to Roco 212s, and whether there's any acoustic benefit from positioning the speaker elsewhere. Cheers Richard

Rich, I've recently rebuilt a Roco OBB2048 (ex-DB V100) and I'd think you're probably heading in the right direction. For your interest the web page(s) detailing it's construction start here: http://www.euram-online.co.uk/railways/euro/obb2048/obb2048.htm It might be of interest to you as I re-motored mine to get better running. It also reduces the current draw to allow the use of smaller decoders and uses a smaller motor which might allow space for the decoders within the chassis. The main issue with sound (as I'm sure you're aware) is the size of the speaker - there's a bit of room under the fuel tank that could be cleared to fit a reasonable sized one. If you've got either patience or a milling machine even the standard sized ESU LokSoundv3.5 speaker would seem to fit - though I'm not sure where you'd put the decoder! Cheers, Steph

Hi Steph, Looking at your pictures, it seems that Roco have redesigned the chassis it some point- mine has a wiring run to the fuel tank area for the decoder. The motor also appears different. I'll probably follow your lead on handrails. The Roco ones are rather poor! I might actually go for a slightly smaller speaker than could be the largest for the space, so that I can make a bass reflex tube to go with it. I'm even tempted to take a tube up to the exhaust port, but that's getting into silly territory. All the best Rich

I'm contemplating doing the same thing to a couple of Roco V100's using Loksound V3.5's with the stock speaker. The speaker will indeed fit between the fuel tanks. I'm looking at replacing the motor with a round can which should make a bit more room inside the shell for the decoder. One thing to look out for when you use N scale decoders in an HO loco is not to try putting too much lighting into it; the function outputs on N scale decoders can't handle as much load as the HO ones can. I had a loco "lose its mind" a few times when all the lights were turned on. The engine shut down completely until it had a chance to cool off. Jurgen

One thing to look out for when you use N scale decoders in an HO loco is not to try putting too much lighting into it; the function outputs on N scale decoders can't handle as much load as the HO ones can. I had a loco "lose its mind" a few times when all the lights were turned on. The engine shut down completely until it had a chance to cool off. Jurgen, That's why I went for the replacement motor - the Roco open frame one is relatively inefficient so tends to draw quite a bit of current. Using the Mashima 1430 ups the torque, reduces noise, it's smoother and draws less current. In this way you're reducing the amount of current the whole decoder is requiring (which is the issue leading the decoder overheating). Similarly, putting the decoder in the open probably helps keep it cool. Dimming the lights down really helps too... Looking at your pictures, it seems that Roco have redesigned the chassis it some point- mine has a wiring run to the fuel tank area for the decoder. The motor also appears different. Rich, There's definately a change in design at some point. For a start the version I have didn't have a DCC socket. In terms of appearance that's no bad thing as I think the current DCC-ready version has the socket in the cab. At least mine has the cab interior free! Cheers, Steph

Probably a bit off scale, but a few years ago there was an article in the Continental Modeller about a guys who had a smoke unit attached to the 212 exhaust. Loco had full sound, when it took off smoke (admittedly white and not dark!) would belch out of the exhaust. Cool idea if you have 1 gauge John