Skip to main content

I have a Lionel Southern GP30 (item number 6-82141 from 2014 vol 2 catalog) that I really like the look of but despise the sound of.  The hi-pitch whine grates on my nerves like chalk on a chalk  board!  Therefore I almost never run it.  I have an earlier Legacy diesel ( PRR U28C, item number 6-38415 from 2012 vol 1 catalog)  that I like the sounds of but never run because it is not a railroad I tend to run.  I would like to take the U28 board and place it in the GP30 and place the GP30 board in the U28.

I have the shell off both and the board seems to be identical except the U28 chip is labeled u28c u30c and the GP30 chip is labeled 6-82141.

Has anyone done this or is there a reason that it would not work?  Are there actual modification to the later board that wouldn't be obvious?

i would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks for the help,

Don

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Well, the ERR board will only work with TMCC, it won't work with Legacy.  However, the swap that Don is considering shouldn't be an issue, just a one-for-one swap of the boards.

I have to add that since one of these engines is a 2-stroke and the other is a 4-stroke, they certainly won't be prototypically accurate as far as the prime mover sounds are concerned.

Thank you Pete and John for the responses.  

I took the respective boards out of there plastic holder and checked the Lionel part number.  On the PRR U28c, the part number is:  691 RSL1 B00 REV 1 and on the Southern GP30, the part number is 691 RSL3 A00 REV 2.  Do these have different numbers because of the sound chip used on each one or are there other difference that would not allow them to be interchangeable?

Although the pinouts appear to be the same, the Southern has a lot more wire plugged into it.

I would once again appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,

Don

PS;  I am one of those who prefer sounds that I like over prototypical accuracy.  I really have not been around enough trains to know the engine sounds of each type.

Last edited by DGJONES

Only Lionel knows for sure what changed between Rev. 1 and Rev. 2 of the RS-Lite boards.  However, I can say with about 99.98% certainty that swapping them won't damage them.  You may not get the exact results you seek, but you can always swap them back.  I've swapped various versions of RS-Lite boards around without any issues.

The "sound chip" is actually a FLASH memory, the RS-Lite boards are factory programmed to the application, so all the boards from a specific run are identical hardware wise.  The only issue I see is the possibility the serial data commands for sound have been altered in the intervening two years, but I tend to doubt that.  They guy that could certainly say for sure what the risks are would be Jon Z. @SantaFeFan, he's the authority on these having been the designer of both ends.

Add Reply

Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×