New SUPER-CHUFFER, Smoke & Lighting Board

Sorry for the mixup, the website has been updated and something is not right.

Click on the link in my signature, it has the correct link now.

Sorry to say I didn't take any pictures during the installation for that one.  I believe the MSRP on the MTH smoke unit is $50, but send me an email and I'll see what I can get you one for.

You want your diesels to chuff?

Anyone tried an SC in an older scale Lionel Mountain yet?

Should be doable as the Mountain uses a 3057 fan driven smu, but I am wondering about adequate space for the board?

Rod

I can't imagine not having room for it in a scale mountain!  I've put them into semi-scale K-Line locomotives.  The board is not that big.

John;

Thanks for the info.

I figure it should be a no-brainer, but I've been fooled before!

Rod

I've stopped using that term nowadays, someone is bound to try it with truly no brains!

In this case, it's should be a minimum brainer as the locomotive is way bigger than some.

No, well kinda, it would be nice to get ramping smoke with ramping prime mover RPM on a TMCC upgrade or even just a different smoke output at idle than while running

Good point Matt, having different smoke levels would require controlling the smoke heater as well as the fan, making this a bit more complicated.  Add to that the fact that I'd also have to decode the serial data to determine the prime mover RPM and the complexity rises a bit more.

A simpler version would be easier to do, just sense the motor speed based on the motor voltage and modulate it based on that value.  It still requires controlling the heater and the fan, so it's a bit more than the steam S-C board.

John;

The Lionel 8 VAC reg board already does this when used with the 8 ohm semi-smart smu. It responds to changes in the serial data stream to change the heater output to the smoke unit from about 3 VAC at idle up to near 8VAC at full throttle. This seems to work well with steamers, but I don't know if Lionel uses it on diesels.

I have no idea if this system could be retrofitted into an earlier engine and made to work with the original serial data link from the R2LC or the DCDS.

BoxcarBill or someone else may know.

Rod

Yeah, its beyond my capabilities but a thought that crossed my mind while doing a TMCC upgrade on a diesel and pulling the smoke unit al together because I did not want to deal with it running full bore all the time. Maybe a side project for you but I can imagine there is a small market for such a thing. Prolly wont amass a fortune with the diesel chuffer board tho

It seems that MTH PS3 diesel engines also have a similar feature (variable smoke intensity it's called) as discussed in this thread: 

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...96#36766448564597296

I can't say I am wild about it or indeed the operation of the Lionel equivalent, which I think accounts for what I have thought up to now was the erratic operation of some Legacy diesels. Good old low-medium-high settings are fine by me but I'm interested to know how the more advanced SMUs work. I'm convinced GRJ could design something better.

There's nothing that stops you from using the TMCC AC Regulator and having adjustable smoke.  I've toyed with the idea of coming up with the "cookbook" for installing the regulator in upgrades, but it's one of those things that I don't know how much demand there'd be for it. 

The AC regulator takes serial data, track power and ground, and outputs the heater voltage for the smoke unit. Equipping a smoke unit with an 8 ohm resistor and wiring this in should yield controllable smoke in an upgrade.

Attached is a sample schematic of a Lionel locomotive.  Although this one uses the semi-smart smoke unit, that doesn't affect the function of the regulator, it's driven directly from the regulator and not the smoke unit logic.  I haven't tried it, but it seems pretty much as simple as that.

Attachment? I'm not seeing it...

That's because it's a "virtual" attachment!

Here's the non-virtual attachment.

DUH! LOL Good one John, I was going to post about it after I saw it yesterday but figured someone would ask at some point.

Ahh...thanks.

That diagram is kind of useless unless your a tech or repairing that engine.  Here is a diagram that identifies the connections for a smart smoke unit. If you have a non smart unit, you will not have serial data to the smoke unit.

The AC Reg takes track power in and serial data in and provides hot out to the heating element, along with Track outside rail ground.  The - are common on the AC Reg.  Lionel uses the outside rail as common for TMCC and early Legacy.  The newer Legacy is different.  

If you notice the smoke switch only interrupts the power to the AC Reg, the smoke unit still has power.  On the smoke unit that connection powers the diode and regulator that can make power for the smoke fan.  That is why in some variations the smoke fan always runs unless the smoke switch is off.  Despite this diagram wiring, Lionel had variations to how they wired the AC REG and also how the smoke unit operated.  Bottom line is the AC REG takes the power and serial data in, and can provide controllable AC output to the smoke unit.  3 Levels of power and off via TMCC.  The voltage provided is base on the resistor use in the smoke unit.  8 and 6 ohm are the 2 types I have seen.   G 

If you follow the wiring in the diagram I posted, you can see how the regulator is connected, but this one is clearly a better illustration.  I have that diagram somewhere, but I couldn't lay my hands on it.  I believe my original statements were correct as to the regulator connection and usage.

As far as Legacy, that's somewhat of a moot point as I doubt anyone is installing the S-C in Legacy locomotives.  I have to say, I've had a few Legacy models that might benefit from a Super-Chuffer...

The newer Legacy has an "all in one" board with everything on it, including the smoke regulator.

For a diesel, I was thinking that since torque is directly proportional to the dc motor current, I envisioned some small smoke at idle,  increased puff of smoke at engine start up, and then leveling off but increasing as the diesel climbed a steep grade. All done proportional to the current.

Do real 1:1 diesels smoke like that?

Most real diesels should have little visible smoke for the most part, but the quantity of smoke would certainly be proportional to the prime mover load.  The Legacy diesels do vary the smoke output based on the prime mover RPM (simulated of course).  You can use the train brake and crank up the prime mover and see the smoke level increase for most of them.  I don't think the smoke level has any connection to the motor current.

Except ALCO's.    They smoke.

So, we're looking for an Alco Super-Chuffer?