This weekend I installed an ERR Railsounds Commander (RSC) into a conventional K-Line Alco S-2 that dates from the late 80's or early 90's. Its a great engine, that runs smooth and has a ton of power. The only things missing were the sounds of a four stroke diesel to go along with it.
It was a tight squeeze getting the extra components under the engine's low hood. I had to reroute the original wiring and remove most of the counter-weights. But it sounds really good!
The only problem is that now the electronic e-unit won't work without shutting off the power and waiting for at least 8 or 9 seconds after the last sounds have turned off.
I ran it a few times without the 9v battery that's required for the shut-down sequence sounds (or power interruptions) and the direction button needs to held down for 2-3 seconds in order to activate the e-unit.
This problem did not exist before, so my thinking is that the RSC board is backfeeding the electronic e-unit with just enough power to trick it into thinking it wasn't actually activated. I also replaced the single incandescent bulb with three LEDs to provide more space for RSC and speaker and noticed that these stay dimly lit for a second after all sounds stop.
I'm no electronic wizard, but my thinking is that I could place a diode on the power lead to the RSC board to prevent this possible backfeed. Does this sound correct? If so, what specifications for a diode would work for this application?
Thanks for the help!
Tom
