Loksound for my VO-1000

cnw1961

Member
Jan 7, 2006
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Germany
I ordered a LokSound V3.5 decoder with Baldwin sound just after Christmas and it was eventually delivered today. Hey, it only took 2 1/2 months :rolleyes: . I installed the decoder in my Stewart Baldwin VO-1000. The Stewart diesels are DCC ready, that means, they have an 8pin NMRA plug. To install the LokSound decoder, I only had to remove the "blind" plug that is in place for DC operation and plug the decoder in – that’s all, no soldering, no jumpers etc.

The round 0.9" (23 mm) speaker that comes with the LokSound decoder is not suitable for this Baldwin. I ordered a 2/3" x 1" oval speaker that fits perfectly above the front truck, no modification to the frame needed. I glued the speaker face down to the frame. I didn’t use a special baffle for the speaker, I wanted the shell of the loco to act as a baffle. Without the shell, the sound is really weak, but it increases dramatically when the shell is in place. To close some gaps in the frame (and the "baffle"), I glued some styrene pieces to the frame. But I found out that it is not necessary to close those gaps, the sound is just as good without the styrene pieces.

vosound1.jpg

Only the LED retaining clip had to be modified. It touched the top of the speaker and hindered the shell to snap in . So I cut off the rear end of the clip (with the two pins that are used to attach the clip) and glued it to the shell.

vosound2.jpg

The sound is very loud (I turned it down to approx. 40 %) and as good as you can expect of such a small speaker. The motor control of the LokSound decoder is superb, the engine runs smoothly and can crawl very slowly.

So, if you are looking for a very well detailed switcher that runs perfectly and you want to install sound without any problems, the Stewart Baldwin VO-1000 is the right engine for you.

Deano, I hope this decoder installation gets your seal of approval. :D :wave: :wave:
 

cnw1961

Member
Jan 7, 2006
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Germany
Miles, if you don’t want to use a baffle for the speaker, it is very easy to install a LokSound decoder in your "Bricks". You can place the LokSound speaker above the rear truck and the decoder on top of the speaker. I would close the gap between the speaker and the motor/pc-board with a piece of styrene. It might enhance the sound. If you want to use the baffle that comes with the decoder, you might place the decoder on top of the pc-board or in the cab. But it would be a tight fit, so I cannot tell for sure if you can place the decoder there.

brick.jpg
 

UP SD40-2

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Apr 29, 2006
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Outstanding Job!

cnw1961 said:
Deano, I hope this decoder installation gets your seal of approval. :D :wave: :wave:
Kurt:wave:, YOU BET this gets MY seal of approval!:thumb::D OUTSTANDING JOB!!!;):D GREAT choice of sound decoder too:thumb:. Kurt, THANK YOU!, for letting me add this GREAT tutorial to the "Decoder Install" sticky at the top of this DCC Forum:thumb:.

Folks, this is a PERFECT EXAMPLE that shows NOT ALL decoder/sound decoder installs are hard;). GREAT JOB KURT!:thumb: THANKS!:D -Deano