It’s fine. Just goes to show you how ridiculous 3 rail electronics are. This is the same engine:

TMCC (EOB)

LS5L

Ha; those pics are exactly my scenario.  It crazy what came out of the loco compared to the decoder going back in, which in my opinion has more capability and customization options.  Did you wire your motors in series or parallel?  Some say to wire in series for smoother operation and better low speed control.  Need some advice.  Thanks for your reply btw.  I'll post pics when I'm done.

I left them in parallel. It runs fine. If you're installing this in a narrow hood diesel, my tip would be to solder the wires to the underside of the board facing inward. Otherwise it can get a bit tight to get the shell back on. The pics above were the first one I ever did. This is the 2nd, wired as suggested. It’s much less of a mess

Boilermaker,

Fair enough, but you're not pointing out anything that we don't already know.

Q1: Ridiculous?  I don't think so.

Q2: Old, with a different packaging architecture, and thus larger? Definitely.

Q3: Did you relocate your smoke unit? I don't see it in the second photo.  Given that, your comparison is not quite apples to apples (but I'll admit it's close).

Unfortunately it will take more than small size to get all of us to change to DCC.   (You wouldn't understand -- It's a Jeep thing.)

M.H.M.

I never said anyone would switch because of the package size. If you want to switch, then switch because  of the pre-packaged, unadjustable, constantly recycled generic sound packages.

Legacy or ERR arent much smaller with the multi-board sets.

I took the smoke unit out. Its a diesel... dont need it.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

...I took the smoke unit out. Its a diesel... dont need it.

AMEN!

In the real world, a diesel that is constantly smoking needs some serious maintenance. A properly  maintained diesel locomotive does not make any smoke. I never understood why the 3-rail manufacturers added the cost and complexity of a smoke unit to a diesel. Makes no sense.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

I left them in parallel. It runs fine. If you're installing this in a narrow hood diesel, my tip would be to solder the wires to the underside of the board facing inward. Otherwise it can get a bit tight to get the shell back on. The pics above were the first one I ever did. This is the 2nd, wired as suggested. It’s much less of a mess

That turned out great.  What did you use to mount the adapter board to the frame?  I also ordered some JSC connectors to unplug the lighting wires going to the shell as you did.

@Rich Melvin posted:

AMEN!

In the real world, a diesel that is constantly smoking needs some serious maintenance. A properly  maintained diesel locomotive does not make any smoke. I never understood why the 3-rail manufacturers added the cost and complexity of a smoke unit to a diesel. Makes no sense.

Because the consumer sees value in it whether right or wrong.  I could care less either way but it's a selling point.

@NSPirate posted:

That turned out great.  What did you use to mount the adapter board to the frame?  I also ordered some JSC connectors to unplug the lighting wires going to the shell as you did.

I 3D printed the black sled that it sits on so that I could use the original atlas board mounting holes and screw the ESU decoder down. The light plugs are 1.2mm JSTs. I bought a big bag on amazon for a couple bucks. Chosen because thats what the plug is in Tang Band speakers, but they work for anything.

@Rich Melvin posted:

AMEN!

In the real world, a diesel that is constantly smoking needs some serious maintenance. A properly  maintained diesel locomotive does not make any smoke. I never understood why the 3-rail manufacturers added the cost and complexity of a smoke unit to a diesel. Makes no sense.

Oh no! You were my..... hero? mentor? whatever! done.

I may have to cut you off?

Sure, new diesels don't smoke much. Every video I watch has them smoking like pigs. As a steam guy, I guess you may say they don't make any steam/smoke?

OK, I'm done here. return to the op. Our grandson has to run with every engine smoking. Where did he get that from???

I probably have at least a dozen Lionel/Train America Studios smoke units laying around from my DC to DCC conversions. They're not compatible with the decoder boards plus they're a toy train feature that I can do without.

You may want to consider taking advantage of the extra speaker connections on the adaptor board. I place 2 speakers in my locomotives, one in the fuel tank and a smaller 1" speaker on the frame. The smaller is a super bass speaker that really takes full advantage of the wonderful sounds in an ESU LokSound decoder.

I, too, wire my motors in parallel. I secure my decoders using standoffs and double-sided tape. I connect all lighting directly to the adaptor board leaving enough slack if the shell needs removed, which it shouldn't if you install everything correctly the first time. I use 750 ohm 1/2 watt resistors and adjust the brightness of all lighting with the LokProgrammer in which you'll want to invest.

As mentioned, make sure to route the wires under the adaptor board. Atlas does not provide much room for much of anything beneath the shell. Make sure not to pinch them either. I normally use a slotted screwdriver to push wires away from the shell when attaching it to the frame. The cab area seems to be the most likely spot where wires get pinched.

I have some MTH PS-1 locomotives I want to convert to LokSound, but I want to keep smoke and remote couplers.  I know some guys have been able to adapt them to work.  Do you, and if so, how?

@sinclair posted:

I have some MTH PS-1 locomotives I want to convert to LokSound, but I want to keep smoke and remote couplers.  I know some guys have been able to adapt them to work.  Do you, and if so, how?

See here: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...s-smoke-and-couplers

I could be incorrect, its been a while since I messed with PS1, but I believe the smoke unit runs directly from the track, so it may not be an issue.

I also echo catnap's suggestion to use 2 speakers if you have the room to do it.