American
Flyer
800-809
Northerns
A
Review
and
TMCC
Conversion
Click
on
images
for
larger
view.
First
I
debated
whether
to
convert
the
new
Northern
to
TMCC
because
it
can
only
be
done
by
removing
the
nice
Railsounds
unit.
It
does
sound
nice
But
TMCC
it
had
to
be!
So
much
for
collectabilty
and
originality.
It
is
my
loco
and
I
have
a
TMCC
layout! These boards are off the shelf items by ERR and do not need to be customized |
|
I
used
the
Electric
RR's
Cruise
Commander
board
but
a
standard
AC/DC
commander
or
others
will
do
also.
I
had
to
add
a 1/4" thick plastic spacer
between
the
heatsink
and
the
chassis
for
speaker
clearance. . There is a tether added between the tender and loco for the power. motor, headlight and smoker |
|
I
used
both
the
track
power
and
tender
power
coupled
through
the
tether
to
give
really
good
power
pickup. All of the original electronics are removed including the volume control. A square hole was cut in the tender's front casting for the Molex tether connector. A notch was enlarged in the loco's blackhead to clear the loco's tether. |
|
I made a bracket out of .032" aluminum for the sound board that used the volume control bracket mounting holes. |
I |
The
hall
effect
trigger
board
is
removed
from
the
front
truck
and
a
reed
switch
and
magnet
is
added
to
the
rear
truck
for
the
chuff
trigger.
This means it will have only 2 chuffs per driver revolution instead of Railsound's 4 but with only one smoke chuff per rev from the smoker it actually looks better. |
|
The antenna is simply a piece of solid hookup wire spot glued with CA glue to the bottom of the tender chassis. Not real professional looking but it's where it does not show. | |
I
thought
the
smoke
unit's
sound
baffle
was
installed
backwards
but
after
making
a
replacement
baffle
it
did
not
really
matter
which
way
it
was
facing.
I
did
make
the
hole
a
bit
larger
and
it
helped
reduce
the
squeaking
sound
until
you
reach
high
speeds.
Even
a
bit
larger
hole
may
have
helped
that.
It
must
be
the
velocity
of
the
air
and
size
of
the
hole
that
starts
it squeaking.
The smoke element was changed from the original 18 ohm to 27 ohms to work with TMCC and bypass their smoke board. The smoke output is more than adequate but two puffs per driver revolution would have been a better design. |
For more details on silencing the smoke unit click
here. |
With
the
TMCC
and
the
ERR
Cruise
Commander
the
performance
was
outstanding
to
say
the
least! I spent a couple of days before doing any modifications mulling over the best way to proceed and design the installation of the components. Document the wiring before starting so you don't make mistakes. Carefully keep track of the screws and parts when disassembling so you get the right ones back where they belong. One item that you need to be aware of is that to remove the chassis from the loco I had to remove one of the valve gear hangers to get clearance. There is a small spacer washer or lock washer under the bracket that must be reinstalled or the valve gear will bind.
|
The Tether connector Mouser part #s are: 6
pin
connector
shell
part
number:571-874562 The
Electric
Railroad
Company
|
Wiring
Diagram Click on drawing for larger view |
|
Testing before final assembly | TMCC Conversion finished |