I was going to install the Airwire G3 in my older Bachman Connie today and discovered all the info I had been saving in the computer no longer there. Has anyone done thie install before? Do I remove the factory board or wire to it. I will be using battery power which I have installed in the tender. I did remember to remove the conn7. Help please.
Lou
Lou,
I gutted the entire wiring (loco & tender)in my connie. I installed batteries, airwire and phoenix sound. I used the existing connectors from engine to tender. I used the 2 pin connector for chuff and the 4 pin connector was used for the motor and lighting. All works very well. I also installed a BBT drive when I had everything apart. Starting from scratch makes the install quite easy.
Good luck
Richard
Here is an article I wrote about using the Connie Installation kit I make http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/17049
Here are the actual instructions which can be used with any brand of R/C http://www.rcs-rc.com/PDF/Acessories/Installation-kits/BIK-CONNIE.pdf
I have never had a problem doing it this way and it is by far the simplest method.
Hey Richard
When you say gut did that include the factory board?
Lou
I got rid of the factory board as well.
Terry
Let me apologize for all the dumb questions before I go any further. I’m just concerned I will really screw this up. I was thinking of removing all the wiring from the factory board so I could use it as a mount for the smoke unit and slide the Airwire board on top, with insulation between.
Lou,
I removed everything including the smoke unit. I found no need for the circuit board for my install.
Richard
There aren’t dumb questions. Are you thinking of putting the airwire board in the loco?
For the boards I gut everything out and start over. I also remove the smoke unit and smoke box flicker. I can’t see the smoke outside, the lights are nearly impossible to see in the daylight on the ground. I tend to put everything in the tender. There is more room so there is more airflow.
Terry
Ok. I will Remove board and smoke unit. I think it’s a good idea Terry. I would like to put the new board in the boiler so I don’t so many wires between tender and engine, but by removing the smoke unit and the smoke box lights I guess I would only have 4 wires, thats not to bad. I’ll need to get a 4 pin connector.
Lou
I have removed the board and that mess of wires. I think that was my big problem. It now will now be very simple to wire up. Thanks for the help everyone.
Lou
Good timing on this thread. I’m in the middle of a conversion myself with everything in the tender. I’m planning on keeping the firebox flicker, but final decision hasn’t been made. I kept it on my Shay, but that was simpler as all components are on the same frame (no tender).
So far I have replaced the drive gear (Thanks Boomer), removed the wires from the track power bus and tested the frame alone (see video here http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/20719/cvsry-spy-video-r-c-test-of-co )
I have been doing a conversion also. But it stalled as I decided to change the outward appearance of the loco. Here is what I’ve been doing with mine…
I am installing a g-wire/Titan in mine. I also installed a USA Trains smoke unit. I hope to take advantage of the puff driving ability of the Titan to get puffing smoke.
I installed a small speaker in the smoke box in front of the smoke unit to take advantage of the Titan’s stereo sound.
I installed a simulated fire circuit from these guys:
http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/fire-led.html
To get the firebox flicker.
Like everyone else, I gutted the old factory boards. I put the batteries, Titan and G-wire in the tender. I installed 2 6-pin connectors to run wires from the loco to the tender.
Louis Sommers said:
Let me apologize for all the dumb questions before I go any further. I’m just concerned I will really screw this up. I was thinking of removing all the wiring from the factory board so I could use it as a mount for the smoke unit and slide the Airwire board on top, with insulation between.
Lou…
Pain makes man think, thinking makes man wise, wisdom makes life endurable. Sakini
Don’t forget your moaning chair. (http://www.freerails.com/images/emoticons/gerg.gif)
Finished my conversion a while back. All went smoothly thanks to all the advice. I put the battery in the tender and used the old wiring from tender to loco. I removed the old board and smoke unit. Installed the new board on the original mount, rewired and stuck the antena up the stack. Runs great. My next mod is my Shay and Climax. I will but the battery in a log car. I’m going to hollow out a log from the bottom large enough for the battery and the new board will go I hope in the locos. Ordered battery today.
Lou
That sounds like neat project Louis. Make sure you post pictures. I’d like to see how it works.
Got one project out of the shop now I can start the next. I’ll need to make a jig to hold the log before I start any cutting, do that Friday, start cutting Monday. Will take photos.
Lou
Finally found time to do my battery log car mod. I’ll post some photos if I can figure this out. Computers and I don’t get along very well.
Lou
Not to worry, we can walk ya through it…
Thanks. I downloaded the photos to tinypic, but from there I have trouble.
Lou
See the tree icon in the “reply” window, click on that, then grab the URL for the picture and paste in in there. Then hit “insert” and it’ll appear in the window…
