Finally our Concor PRR Aerotrain has been improved and equipped with a Loksound V4 decoder. Now it can run reliable over our layout. Concor’s model has some good features which are marred by some unhappy design choices that seriously limit its tracking abilities on the layout. These shortcomings were remedied along with a conversion to DCC and sound. Btw the decoder is a V4 instead of a Select decoder because the Select decoder I bought turned out to be a V4.
All 6 locomotive wheels have been exchanged for wheels with a better profile for good tracking. For the same reason all swiveling action has been eliminated on each single axle truck in every vehicle throughout the train.
The connection with the first coach behind the locomotive has been rewired for maximum flexibility. This coach also houses the ESU Loksound decoder mounted sideways on a brass “spine” that also acts as a big baffle for the speaker mounted on the other side. Not much of the interior is left but the coach lighting has been retained to conform to the rest of the train. In my opinion the sound quality is great. FYI the volume in the video is already reduced.
One source of frustration was the need to disassemble several coaches to make up a train. The disassembly was necessary to (dis-)connect the wiring, the stiffness of which also caused derailing. The wiring between coaches has been reduced from 7 to 4 wires for more flexibility (two for pick-up and two for interior lighting).
This train has been split into locomotive + sound decoder coach, 2 groups of 3 intermediate coaches and the tail coach with one coach just ahead of it. Besides ease of handling, coupling up of each group is done as before with magnets in the diaphragms but with all wiring eliminated. Instead these diaphragms now feature two brass strips that pass on current collection throughout the train with contact enforced by magnet action.
Each coach group has its own function decoder to switch on or off the interior lighting and, in case of the tail car, operate the red tail light or white backup light.
Marc
