EMD SW1500 Details


cct70 said:
As for painting the gauges, handles, etc. on the control stand in the cab, I'd suggest Sharpie fine tip markers. That's what i use.
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Thanks Tom, that is a great idea. I have a very fine paint brush for this type of work, but I can imagine the control with the Sharpie would be a lot easier than the brush for this fine detail.
 
wheeler1963 said:
You've got a problem there, I can see it just by the pictures. You've got what is called "ghosting". Your gloss-coat was not smooth enough and now you have air space showing behind the decals. Once decals are applied to gloss, they should actually show a bit darker than the surrounding paint.
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And that is the part that I am finding weird. There actually is no "Ghosting" or "Silvering" behind the decals. It’s just the angle of the model and the lighting on my work bench that is showing the difference in shininess’ or sheen between the decals and the gloss coat. When you look at the shell straight on, the decals is actually darker than the surrounding paint like you mention. I took a photo with the flash on this time to even out the shine between the two finishes and to show that there is no air behind the decal.

View attachment 23561

Here is the lacquer thinner that I have been using.

View attachment 23562

There is something that I noticed today because I bought some new gloss coat and Testors brand thinner. My old gloss coat that I bought last year looks more yellow than the newer bottle of gloss. The older bottom has never had anything added to the original bottle and has always been poured into another container for mixing, so it has remained uncontaminated. But as you can see by the photo below it is not nearly as white or clear at the new bottle on the left. Maybe this bottle on the right is old stock or has gone bad? I wonder if this is causing my lack of luster on my gloss finish.

View attachment 23563
 
wheeler1963 said:
Brad, what brand decals are those?
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These are Microscale brand decals off of sheet 87-554.

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2..._Code=87-554&Category_Code=NW&Product_Count=2

Have you or anyone else ever seen Gloss Coat that colour like the bottle in my photo. I can't imagine this stuff going bad. I don't think it will be a problem once I spray the model with the new Gloss coat and Thinner. It just seemed strange to me that it didn't lay down on the model like it does on yours after three coats (Smooth and glossy).

What PSI do you spray your Gloss and Dull Coats at?
 
Brad, maybe it had something to do with the thinner you used the first time. Mine stays pretty clear all the way to the bottom of the bottle, and I use the larger square bottles. 15-20 PSI is where my regulator is set.
 
Brad, I saw them in the last newsletter from Micro-Scale. They've had some like that for number boards also. I would need 40 sheets just to catch up on all of mine though!!!
 
Espeefan said:
The Tsunami non turbo 645 boards replace the newer RTR boards. I have one in a newer SW-1500. Not sure about the BB's. You could probably cobble together something to mount the board on, or use a micro Tsunami.
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Alan, you are the guy I want to talk to then. I figured I would quote you here so that I don't fill up Jerome's thread with my questions and also to keep it on topic of my build. Are you using the "Tsunami TSU-AT1000 Digital Sound Decoder" and if so what speaker did you go with to make it fit.

View attachment 24116
TSU-AT1000

How much for a photo with the shell off? (that just sounds wrong)?

***Origional question asked here so I don't confuse people***
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11992&page=87
 
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The TSU-1000 is a shrink-wrapped decoder with a 9-pin JST socket on it that can plug right into the Digitrax DHAT harness, which is a no-solder harness designed to clip onto the blue box components. It has a socket on the other end, with a plug in it for the speaker wires, making it so that the decoder can be unplugged from the locomotive and the speaker(s).
 
diburning said:
The TSU-1000 is a shrink-wrapped decoder
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I know of the decoder you are talking about Eric. I am thinking the AT1000 which is the board version of this decoder might be the better fit for this application.

View attachment 24118

I was thinking of removing the stock board which is pictured here:

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And then putting a small speaker somewhere in the area where the dummy harness is in this photo (under the stacks). I think this is what Alan is talking about. I am sure the Athearn MP15AC would be a similar application so if anyone has a photo of a sound equipped SW1500 or MP15AC (Genesis) for reference it would be greatly appreciated.:D
 
Well, this is a RTR so I'd use the TSU-GN1000 which has resistors on the board for the bulbs as well as having a similar layout, although the TSU-AT1000 would work too (hook the bulbs to the positive common next to the F5 and F6 pads)

The TSU-GN1000 and TSU-AT1000 have the same dimensions, but a different layout
 
diburning said:
Well, this is a RTR so I'd use the TSU-GN1000 which has resistors on the board for the bulbs as well as having a similar layout, although the TSU-AT1000 would work too (hook the bulbs to the positive common next to the F5 and F6 pads)

The TSU-GN1000 and TSU-AT1000 have the same dimensions, but a different layout
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Thanks Eric, I never even noticed the GN1000 on the site. I wonder why the board is mentioned as a shoe in for Athearn but it doesn't have the screw holes in the top left and bottom right hand corners for mounting into the stock locomotive. The board almost looks like it is made for an Atlas style mount as does the AT. Double sided tape then?

View attachment 24119

TSU-GN1000

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TSU-AT1000
 
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It is made for the Athearn Genesis locomotive which has a similar type of mount, but I can tell you from experience that the TSU-AT1000 will not fit on the Genesis mount (I had to remove the mount and mount it on top of the motor with double sided tape)
 
diburning said:
It is made for the Athearn Genesis locomotive which has a similar type of mount, but I can tell you from experience that the TSU-AT1000 will not fit on the Genesis mount (I had to remove the mount and mount it on top of the motor with double sided tape)
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The weird screw arrangement on the Athearn units with stock boards seems to be an issue with the replacement board manufactures. They seem to cater to the Atlas style. So is the only difference between the AT and GN version just the fact that the GN has built in resistors for the bulbs and a different board arrangement?
 
The GN is arranged to make it easier to install into an Athearn while the AT is the Atlas style board. They both have resistors for 1.5 volt outputs as well as 14 volt commons.
 
NWCanuck said:
Alan, you are the guy I want to talk to then. I figured I would quote you here so that I don't fill up Jerome's thread with my questions and also to keep it on topic of my build. Are you using the "Tsunami TSU-AT1000 Digital Sound Decoder" and if so what speaker did you go with to make it fit.

View attachment 24116
TSU-AT1000

How much for a photo with the shell off? (that just sounds wrong)?

***Origional question asked here so I don't confuse people***
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11992&page=87
Click to expand...

I did use the GN-1000 in my SW-1500. I drilled out the throttle stand in the cab and inserted the capacitor up inside it. I don't remember the speaker size I used, but it matched the hood width very closely. I fabricated an enclosure from thin sheet styrene, and removed the wire grill on top at the front. I drilled holes so that the speaker fires upward, then replaced the grill. This is a shoehorn fit, complicated by the SP light package. I'll think on taking the shell off :D...it was such PITA to get everything in there without interfering with something else. It can be done though. Beware of the shrink wrapped model...not sure how much room you have vertically, and with respect to Eric, absolutely NO Athearn clip on harnesses. Sound is just plain too demanding of electrical and data pick up, so I always solder all connections. Not saying it won't work, I just prefer to do it bullet proof the first time! Soldering is too easy ;)
 
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The clip-on harness is made for the blue box to simplify installation. Personally, I use it when installing decoders on other people's engines at their request, but I solder all of mine (except for one). I'm a little picky about the details on the blue box engines so I currently own ZERO of them.
 
diburning said:
The clip-on harness is made for the blue box to simplify installation. Personally, I use it when installing decoders on other people's engines at their request, but I solder all of mine (except for one). I'm a little picky about the details on the blue box engines so I currently own ZERO of them.
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Yes, I'm just leery of using one with a sound decoder. I dislike friction fits on anything, and am afraid the demands of a sound decoder would be too much for reliable operation with the clip on harness. Just my thoughts. My problem is I hate opening them up unless it's absolutely necessary :D

I currently have just a few BB's left...sold most of them off as improved models came available
 
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