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I finally got around to a project I've had in mind for some time. I took a K-Line Plymouth switcher and upgraded it to TMCC command with full Railsounds. The ERR MiniCommander 2 is under the front hood, and the ERR Railsounds Commander and speaker is in the cab behind the shield.

I would have loved to have electrocouplers, but that wasn't happening, so I settled for sound. With TMCC upgrades, the antenna is always a sticking point. I solved that problem by removing the handrails and replacing them with black insulated wire, they connect inside to the antenna of the MC-2. The only issue is the wire is much softer than the steel handrails, so I have to straighten it occasionally.



I did have to eliminate the rather large smoke unit for the task, but my smoke unit in this one happened to have been consumed by Zinc Pest anyway, so no loss! I did remove the stack extension and use it on the engine, but there's no smoke unit under it.

Here's a "quickie" video of it's first track test.

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@BillYo414 posted:

I also thought the bell cord was the antenna. Pretty cool project! I bet it's a blast to zip around the layout.

It's good for a couple of boxcars, that's about it's limit going up the grades.  On the level track, it will haul half a dozen modern boxcars with low rolling resistance.

@John1361 posted:

Awesome GRJ

I've been contemplating doing that with my Plymouth.

What sound card did you use?

Nothing available really sounds like a Caterpillar engine to me ( which is one reason I haven't decided to do the project yet)

I used the Gasoline powered doodlebug ERR board, it's the closest thing to a small engine like this would have.  There are very limited options available.  I decided that sound that wasn't totally prototypical was way better than no sound.  I didn't want to do this without sound, that just adds a whole dimension!

I used the same sounds in my K-Line Speeder command upgrade.

@RSJB18 posted:

very cool John. Gives me more projects to add to the list......Love to see a picture of the innards.

Well, I thought of the innards after I put it together.  After that exercise, I didn't feel like taking it apart again!

I will say the layout is pretty simple.  The MC2 is under the hood mounted to the top with foam tape.  I used the MC2 with the two incandescent light outputs so I could use all the existing lights.  I added a connector in addition to the MC2 connectors so that I could separate the hood from the rest of the body for maintenance.

The RSC is in the cab, it neatly fits behind the plastic cab shield if you take the plastic carrier off the board.  I managed to cram a small speaker in behind it and use the rear window opening as the grille opening.  The running lights were wired in series and directly to track power.

@RSJB18 posted:

The grab bars on these are metal, had you considered just attaching a wire to them? Not sure if they would take solder though.

The problem is the hangers are also metal, so they shorted them to the diecast chassis.  I needed some insulation in order for the handrails to work.

@RSJB18 posted:
Oh... and where's the swinging bell...

I got your swingin' bell!

Well, I thought of the innards after I put it together.  After that exercise, I didn't feel like taking it apart again!

I will say the layout is pretty simple.  The MC2 is under the hood mounted to the top with foam tape.  I used the MC2 with the two incandescent light outputs so I could use all the existing lights.  I added a connector in addition to the MC2 connectors so that I could separate the hood from the rest of the body for maintenance.

The RSC is in the cab, it neatly fits behind the plastic cab shield if you take the plastic carrier off the board.  I managed to cram a small speaker in behind it and use the rear window opening as the grille opening.  The running lights were wired in series and directly to track power.

The problem is the hangers are also metal, so they shorted them to the diecast chassis.  I needed some insulation in order for the handrails to work.

I got your swingin' bell!

Thanks John.....

thought you'd appreciate the bell comment (made with tongue firmly planted in cheek)

@coach joe posted:

Very nice John.  So Pat's smoke unit wasn't needed?

Nope, I was going to have to sacrifice the smoke unit anyway.  I'm thinking of trying to stuff a MiniCommander2 in one of my other ones and keeping the smoke unit, that would be cool.  However, I think the MC2 is just a bit too tall for the cab, which might doom that option to failure.

Nope, I was going to have to sacrifice the smoke unit anyway.  I'm thinking of trying to stuff a MiniCommander2 in one of my other ones and keeping the smoke unit, that would be cool.  However, I think the MC2 is just a bit too tall for the cab, which might doom that option to failure.

John, do you know of a smaller smoke unit that might work and free up space?  I've been considering this upgrade on my Strasburg Plymouth, and always enjoyed the smoke output.

@PSM posted:

John, do you know of a smaller smoke unit that might work and free up space?  I've been considering this upgrade on my Strasburg Plymouth, and always enjoyed the smoke output.

There's no smoke unit that fits in there with the MiniCommander 2 board, it takes up the entire length of the hood.  I was looking at a couple of the HO smoke units, but when I went to fitting the electronics, I realized that was a fool's errand.

I may do another one with the MC2 in the cab if I can hog out enough material to make it fit.  Then I could keep the smoke unit but I wouldn't have sound.

@C&O Allan posted:

How do you get the Horn/Bell to work?  I've installed several MiniCommanders and all I get is the motor sounds.  Is there a programming step I missed?

The ERR MiniCommander 2 has no sounds, but I used the full RailSounds Commander with the gas powered sound set for the sounds. The trick was getting the RSC board and speaker in the space available in the cab behind the engineers.

I'm not sure what you're installing, but I don't know of any command controlled sound board that won't give you basic horn/bell functionality.

Gotcha.  It does have a full Railsound board that I thought I wired correctly.  So did you just wire the sound board without connecting it to the minicommander or is there any connection needed?  I thought the railsound board would need a serial notification as to when the horn button was triggered - does the railsounds board work without the board connection if running in Command Mode?

@C&O Allan posted:

Gotcha.  It does have a full Railsound board that I thought I wired correctly.  So did you just wire the sound board without connecting it to the minicommander or is there any connection needed?  I thought the railsound board would need a serial notification as to when the horn button was triggered - does the railsounds board work without the board connection if running in Command Mode?

For any command control of a sound board, you must tie in the serial data stream.  For the MiniCommander 2, the two leads are Common and the Feature - RS Data leads, see below.  If you don't connect the serial data, you just get conventional operation with the transformer controls.

ERR Mini Commander 2 Wiring Diagram

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  • ERR Mini Commander 2 Wiring Diagram
Last edited by gunrunnerjohn
@Ron_S posted:

After shoehorning a CC and RSC into the camelback, this project looks even tighter. I need to get a few mini commanders not with smoke I see.

The Camelback is child's play compared to this one.  I have the MTH Camelback that I have the CC, RSC, and also fan driven smoke and the S-C and C-G installed.  It's my York demo that I put on my test stand at the booth.

Smoke was not possible with this one as the MC2 had to go where the huge smoke unit lived.

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn

The Plymouth was actually easier than my K-Line Speeder, that one I had to do bodywork with Styrene sheet to expand the equipment cavity, then have the whole thing painted.  The Plymouth just needed interior work, no modifications of the body.

Here's a little video before I got the engineers seated, I had to come up with seats and appropriate figures.

@B rad posted:

That is funny. I did 18 years at Timco/Haeco (mostly Boeing but some Douglas and Airbus) and now in my 11th year at Honda Aircraft Company. A&P in the earlier days but QC since 2001.

BTW, love the command speeder too.

Brad

Wow, Honda.  I was working on a software consulting contract for a lithium battery for the Honda Jet at EaglePicher.  However, the company didn't believe us when we told them they could never get FAA certification of their design due to the way it was developed.  I never did hear the end of the story, but I know it never made it onto the airplane.

Most of my time was as an independent software consultant doing fuel systems and cockpit avionics for Smith's Industries.

Wow, Honda.  I was working on a software consulting contract for a lithium battery for the Honda Jet at EaglePicher.  However, the company didn't believe us when we told them they could never get FAA certification of their design due to the way it was developed.  I never did hear the end of the story, but I know it never made it onto the airplane.

Most of my time was as an independent software consultant doing fuel systems and cockpit avionics for Smith's Industries.

I knew there were some battery issues years ago but don't remember the details. All was resolved though. Certs went through.

Seems that with having trains, some avionics and  software capabilities would really come in handy. I'm dreading when one of mine breaks 😄

Last edited by B rad
@B rad posted:

I knew there were some battery issues years ago but don't remember the details. All was resolved though. Certs went through.

Seems that with having trains, some avionics and  software capabilities would really come in handy. I'm dreading when one of mine breaks 😄

Pretty sure that the solution to the battery issues was not using the lithium battery!

There's no smoke unit that fits in there with the MiniCommander 2 board, it takes up the entire length of the hood.  I was looking at a couple of the HO smoke units, but when I went to fitting the electronics, I realized that was a fool's errand.

I may do another one with the MC2 in the cab if I can hog out enough material to make it fit.  Then I could keep the smoke unit but I wouldn't have sound.

Thanks.  Looks like it's moot anyways (for me at least); I just checked the ERR site and the Mini Commander has been discontinued permanently.

@Big Jim posted:

So, with the Commander M forever out of production, now what is a poor soul to do?

The Cruise Commander M isn't forever gone, it's just currently being manufactured.  It should be back in three to four months

The Mini Commander 2, OTOH, is gone along with all the other Mini Commander stuff.  The existing receiver chip is unobtainium, so without a redesign of the board, it's out of production permanently.

The Cruise Commander M isn't forever gone, it's just currently being manufactured.  It should be back in three to four months

The Mini Commander 2, OTOH, is gone along with all the other Mini Commander stuff.  The existing receiver chip is unobtainium, so without a redesign of the board, it's out of production permanently.

My mistake, the Mini Commander is what I meant to ask about.

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