In the SuperChuffer instructions, it shows that its connected directly to the smoke unit fan and track power is used for the smoke unit resistor. You mentioned using a smoke unit regulator here, but I didn’t see that mentioned in the SuperChuffer instructions. What is that used for… is it necessary?
Actually track power is NOT directly used for the smoke resistor, it's either controlled by the RxLC or the smoke voltage regulator. The early modular Legacy all used a smoke voltage regulator.
The Super-Chuffer instructions cover the most commonly used installations. In addition, the Super-Chuffer installation actually doesn't change the source of power for the smoke resistor, that remains unchanged.
John,
Thanks for your quick reply.
Sorry for the confusion, you are 100% correct. I misread the schematic. My apologies, I should remember to not attempt tasks that involve too much brain power after a certain hour in the evening.
So as a follow up, to use the smoke unit regulator with the Legacy R4LC, do I need to change out the older 27 ohm smoke resistor for something else?
Yep, the smoke resistor for the regulator is an 8 ohm resistor. However, all the regulators I got from Lionel do the same thing, they start out fine, but after a few seconds they cut back the smoke to where I don't get any smoke volume.
The regulator starts out fine, and I get smoke for a bit...
After a few seconds, it tails off where there is no smoke produced! 
While I spar with Lionel about getting working regulators, I'm going to put a bandaid on mine so I have a working locomotive. I'm building a small board that will switch in half-wave track power using the anemic signal you see here to trigger it, and I'll just swap the resistor and drive it from half-wave track power.
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@gunrunnerjohn posted:Yep, the smoke resistor for the regulator is an 8 ohm resistor. However, all the regulators I got from Lionel do the same thing, they start out fine, but after a few seconds they cut back the smoke to where I don't get any smoke volume.
While I spar with Lionel about getting working regulators, I'm going to put a bandaid on mine so I have a working locomotive. I'm building a small board that will switch in half-wave track power using the anemic signal you see here to trigger it, and I'll just swap the resistor and drive it from half-wave track power.
The smoke voltage regulator doesn’t need a thermistor, does it?
@rplst8 posted:The smoke voltage regulator doesn’t need a thermistor, does it?
No, that only came in with the RCMC electronics around 2011.
John, have you given any thought to designing and marketing your own smoke resistor regulator? Something that could accept a range of voltage input and keep a fixed voltage going to an 8 ohm resistor? The Lionel regulators seem to be quite fickle.
A product like this could have good applications for improving smoke output in conventional and TMCC models as well as puffing or fan driven units.
@Ryan Selvius posted:John, have you given any thought to designing and marketing your own smoke resistor regulator?
It's one of an endless parade of good ideas for future electronic projects. 
I've never gotten around to building a TMCC/Legacy serial data receiver code base for the PIC processor, so projects like that are on hold.
How difficult would it be to create something comparable to your LED lighting regulator? I am imagining a board that runs off 8-20 VAC track power and steps it to the correct voltage/current for a known value smoke resistor which would allow the smoke unit to operate at peak performance at all times. Perhaps it can have a transistor circuit to use the smoke input from the R2LC/RCMC to turn it on and off which would have the added benefit of not overloading the smoke triacs on older R2LC’s.
When I was still doing train repair, smoke units were one of the most common things I worked on. Everything from replacing cooked resistors to trying to improve smoke output on conventional engines as well as TMCC models. If a product like this existed, I could have sold hundreds. I can’t begin to count how many customers at the shop bought starter sets and complained of the anemic smoke output. I could have sold countless upgrades and most people likely would have sprung for the extra cost.
Not sure what your projects list looks like but I think this one could have some siginificant potential.
Well, my dance card is full, but who knows. 
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Yep, the smoke resistor for the regulator is an 8 ohm resistor. However, all the regulators I got from Lionel do the same thing, they start out fine, but after a few seconds they cut back the smoke to where I don't get any smoke volume.
While I spar with Lionel about getting working regulators, I'm going to put a bandaid on mine so I have a working locomotive. I'm building a small board that will switch in half-wave track power using the anemic signal you see here to trigger it, and I'll just swap the resistor and drive it from half-wave track power.
Just wondering... have you made any progress with Lionel support/parts on this issue?
Nope, haven't had a chance to follow up.
So I really want to do an upgrade like this to my Scale T1 I picked up at York. Obviously, the Legacy/RS6 sounds from the Lionmaster version make a lot of sense to use since the numbers match and all. However, does that sound set actually provide "articulated" chuff sounds? Every video I've watched of the Lionmaster version (and I know there was an earlier TMCC version) seems to only have four chuffs per revolution. I never hear an syncopation of the chuffs either.
Am I missing something?
So here's a puzzle.
I recently got an RS6 board from Lionel. The first one they sent was dead. The second one works, and has the T1 5511 numbers in the crew talk, the whistle and bell work perfectly as do the coupling/uncoupling sounds.
While testing it out on the bench though, I noticed that the chuff switch I was using did not make the "chuff" sound. The chuff switch is connected to pin 17 on the R4LC (S03 code) and latches to frame ground when closed. On my scope I can see the serial stream getting modified by the switch closure, however the RS6 board produces no chuff sounds. However, the smoke does puff from the smoke unit attached to the smoke/fan controller.
After re-watching the videos here of @Bruk and @gunrunnerjohn's T1 upgrades I ALSO noticed my RS6 board doesn't seem to be playing the steam background noises (like the sound of the generator and "whine" of the locomotive at rest).
Anyone have any ideas as to why that might be? Did the RS6 board not get programmed correctly by Lionel?
Hoping one of the above or @GGG or @SantaFeFan could maybe shed some light on it.
@rplst8 posted:I ALSO noticed my RS6 board doesn't seem to be playing the steam background noises (like the sound of the generator and "whine" of the locomotive at rest).
Are you sure that you don't have the jumper for signal sounds installed? The missing chuff and background sounds indicates you're in signal-sounds mode and not RailSounds mode.
The Signal-Sounds will suppress all the non-operator triggered sounds, that would be the chuff and background steam sounds. It's highly unlikely that it's programmed incorrectly.
What RS6 motherboard is it plugged into?
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Are you sure that you don't have the jumper for signal sounds installed? The missing chuff and background sounds indicates you're in signal-sounds mode and not RailSounds mode.
The Signal-Sounds will suppress all the non-operator triggered sounds, that would be the chuff and background steam sounds. It's highly unlikely that it's programmed incorrectly.
What RS6 motherboard is it plugged into?
I have it plugged into the same one you used earlier in this thread, the 691-MB15-A01.
Based on the diagram below, if I don't connect anything to the switch/battery jumper I should be in RailSounds mode, correct?
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Well, you should be, but that's all I can think of that might affect it. FWIW, I received a couple of defective motherboards from Lionel, one had solder bridges under the whole end of the RailSounds board, almost half the pins were all sorted together! How it didn't blow the boards when I powered it up is a mystery.
If you have any RS6 equipped engines, try swapping that board into them.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Well, you should be, but that's all I can think of that might affect it. FWIW, I received a couple of defective motherboards from Lionel, one had solder bridges under the whole end of the RailSounds board, almost half the pins were all sorted together! How it didn't blow the boards when I powered it up is a mystery.
If you have any RS6 equipped engines, try swapping that board into them.
I don't have any other RS6 locomotives, BUT, I did have a RS 5.5 board so I put that on there. It's a diesel board for an SD40 but it worked perfectly, so I think the MB15 motherboard is fine. I suspect it wasn't programmed correctly. When I first got it from Lionel, it made no sounds other than a slight "click" on powerup. I sent it back and about three weeks later it came back now this. I guess back it goes again. 
Yep, other than sticking it in another RS6 equipped engine, I can't think of any other tests you can do. I have a motherboard that's wired up to test the RS6 sound boards.
