Digitizing Märklin 88075 “Commodore Vanderbilt”
Jun 13, 2021 15:36:32 GMT -5
Kez, tjdreams, and 5 more like this
Post by scanrail on Jun 13, 2021 15:36:32 GMT -5
Hi friends,
I would like to share my 2 years old experience in digitizing a very rare and unique model – Märklin 88075 “Commodore Vanderbilt” steam locomotive. I already published this report on German ZFI forum, but I just thought it is still worth to re-post it here after 2 years in order to inspire others on what is possible in Z scale. Two years ago, ESU offered previous, 4th generation of their LokSound decoder; 5th generation is on the market today.
First, I have to say that I am still wondering why Märklin decided to make this model – a single-existing locomotive for American market even without a perspective of remaking in different paint schemes. However, it exists indeed and it is very good for collectors and Z scale enthusiasts.
“Commodore Vanderbilt” loco has a very big and roomy tender, so it was not even a question for me to add a sound to this model. However, it is a problem to find a suitable sound project for this locomotive, so I decided to use ESU LokSound Micro v4.0 sound decoder that can be loaded with the most suitable project for Southern Pacific GS-4 streamlined steam locomotive.
Sound decoder from ESU is noticeably more expensive than comparable solutions from Doehler & Haass (roundly 100 EUR against 66 EUR), but there is no choice – D&H has no sound projects for American locomotives at all.
Before installing sound decoder, I decided to pack the loco with some additional features. First, I replaced old lightbulb with modern warm white LED insert that Märklin uses in new steam locomotives. I also added warm white rear LED light into the tender – 1 mm hole was filled with a small piece of fiber optic and 0402 SMD LED. Interior lighting was also added to the driver’s cabin (for use with AUX output of the decoder).
All these features required a complex wiring. Not all kinds of wire are suitable for this; I used ultra-thin 0.28 mm diameter high flexible multi-stand wire in black PTFE coating. A bunch of seven wires (2 for track, 2 for motor, 1 – common for LEDs, 1 – for headlight and last for cab light) was packed into thin shrinking tube that came from under the cabin to the tender.
I used LS1511 loudspeaker (15 x 11 mm) – a slightly bigger and more powerful model than the smallest available (LS1308 13 x 8 mm). I did not use the soundbox and attached the speaker directly to the floor of tender with double-sided foamed adhesive tape. It is impossible to attach the speaker to the roof because it has a rounded surface inside. As a result, I got a very loud and clear sound; I even had to decrease a volume slightly.
It makes a big sense to equip a digital decoder with a buffer capacitor, but it is even more recommended to add it to the sound decoder to improve stability and quality of sound output. Roomy tender easily allowed adding a capacitor. I managed to install 10 x 13 mm size 1000 μF 25V high-density electrolytic capacitor connected via "classical" scheme with resistor and diode. The result was excellent, even better than expected – despite “Commodore” has only two powered axles, it ran 100% stable on even a slightly dirty tracks absolutely without jerks and stops. And sound was never interrupted too. Additionally, decoder was sealed into the clear shrinking tube.
Despite it took a lot of time and efforts, I am very satisfied with results and now I have a one more very nice addition to the collection of sound-equipped digital Z scale locomotives.
2020 Update: Later, I replaced old 5-pole Märklin motor with near-silent coreless one (after some minor milling work on chassis). I also replaced can-type electrolytic capacitor with my own special buffer circuit board with a total capacity increased to 2000 μF (I reported about them here: azlforum.com/thread/1510/buffer-circuit-boards-digital-analog)
Regards,
Alex
I would like to share my 2 years old experience in digitizing a very rare and unique model – Märklin 88075 “Commodore Vanderbilt” steam locomotive. I already published this report on German ZFI forum, but I just thought it is still worth to re-post it here after 2 years in order to inspire others on what is possible in Z scale. Two years ago, ESU offered previous, 4th generation of their LokSound decoder; 5th generation is on the market today.
First, I have to say that I am still wondering why Märklin decided to make this model – a single-existing locomotive for American market even without a perspective of remaking in different paint schemes. However, it exists indeed and it is very good for collectors and Z scale enthusiasts.
“Commodore Vanderbilt” loco has a very big and roomy tender, so it was not even a question for me to add a sound to this model. However, it is a problem to find a suitable sound project for this locomotive, so I decided to use ESU LokSound Micro v4.0 sound decoder that can be loaded with the most suitable project for Southern Pacific GS-4 streamlined steam locomotive.
Sound decoder from ESU is noticeably more expensive than comparable solutions from Doehler & Haass (roundly 100 EUR against 66 EUR), but there is no choice – D&H has no sound projects for American locomotives at all.
Before installing sound decoder, I decided to pack the loco with some additional features. First, I replaced old lightbulb with modern warm white LED insert that Märklin uses in new steam locomotives. I also added warm white rear LED light into the tender – 1 mm hole was filled with a small piece of fiber optic and 0402 SMD LED. Interior lighting was also added to the driver’s cabin (for use with AUX output of the decoder).
All these features required a complex wiring. Not all kinds of wire are suitable for this; I used ultra-thin 0.28 mm diameter high flexible multi-stand wire in black PTFE coating. A bunch of seven wires (2 for track, 2 for motor, 1 – common for LEDs, 1 – for headlight and last for cab light) was packed into thin shrinking tube that came from under the cabin to the tender.
I used LS1511 loudspeaker (15 x 11 mm) – a slightly bigger and more powerful model than the smallest available (LS1308 13 x 8 mm). I did not use the soundbox and attached the speaker directly to the floor of tender with double-sided foamed adhesive tape. It is impossible to attach the speaker to the roof because it has a rounded surface inside. As a result, I got a very loud and clear sound; I even had to decrease a volume slightly.
It makes a big sense to equip a digital decoder with a buffer capacitor, but it is even more recommended to add it to the sound decoder to improve stability and quality of sound output. Roomy tender easily allowed adding a capacitor. I managed to install 10 x 13 mm size 1000 μF 25V high-density electrolytic capacitor connected via "classical" scheme with resistor and diode. The result was excellent, even better than expected – despite “Commodore” has only two powered axles, it ran 100% stable on even a slightly dirty tracks absolutely without jerks and stops. And sound was never interrupted too. Additionally, decoder was sealed into the clear shrinking tube.
Despite it took a lot of time and efforts, I am very satisfied with results and now I have a one more very nice addition to the collection of sound-equipped digital Z scale locomotives.
2020 Update: Later, I replaced old 5-pole Märklin motor with near-silent coreless one (after some minor milling work on chassis). I also replaced can-type electrolytic capacitor with my own special buffer circuit board with a total capacity increased to 2000 μF (I reported about them here: azlforum.com/thread/1510/buffer-circuit-boards-digital-analog)
Regards,
Alex
