Large Scale Central

LGB 4034 Sound Boxcar Questions

Electronics Power and Sound
#1

In another moment of weakness I picked up one of these for a song on eBay. Seller claimed the whistle worked but not the chuff, so it seemed likely the wiring was the issue, not the board. We will see.

It arrived and the first thing I noted was that one speaker wire fell off. For some reason it was solid wire and not well soldered - from inspecting the seller photo I deduce it came from the vacant hole near the red speaker wire at bottom left of the board.

[Anyone know why it says “NYP” on the pcb?]

My real question is about the dual 9V connectors. I read that one is for keeping the board alive for 30 seconds after power stops on the loco connecter (blue wires, seem to be intact.) So any thoughts on the other 9V? I put red arrows where the red wires from the 9V meet the board - one must be the ‘keep aline’ but which one?

Your comments are welcomed.

#2

Pete Thornton said:
[Anyone know why it says “NYP” on the pcb?]

http://www.nyp.com.hk/about_nyp.html

#3

Pete Thornton said:

My real question is about the dual 9V connectors. I read that one is for keeping the board alive for 30 seconds after power stops on the loco connecter (blue wires, seem to be intact.) So any thoughts on the other 9V? I put red arrows where the red wires from the 9V meet the board - one must be the ‘keep aline’ but which one?

Don’t have an answer to the real question. But what you read makes no sense to me.

#4

Pete, I believe you can either power the sound system from the 2nd 9 volt battery or connect it to the loco with the 2 red plugs on the ends of the blue wires. The other 9 volt battery kick starts the sound.

#5

Yes, one is track power (I guess to run it most times and sense speed) and the other backup battery (sound when stopped)

You might be able to figure it out from the drawing in this manual… https://www.onlytrains.com/manuals/4035-1.pdf

The drawing looks a little different, one manual for 3 different LGB numbers, but you can see the 2 plugs that would connect to a loco, and the 9v connector drawn.

Greg

#6

Thank you Jim and Greg. I had read that it gets power from the 2 loco connectors, and I will try that next - when my secondhand Tyco power pack arrives! (No test gear in Florida, yet.) And thanks for the Manual link, but of course my car is a 4034 and the connectors don’t look to be in the same place.

I contacted the seller who claimed he got a hiss and a whistle, and he indicates that it was plugged in to a loco. [I don’t have any track power or a loco.] I have tried it with 2 9V batteries but nothing happened. I’ll add a 3rd battery to the loco plugs and see if it wakes up.

I’m still very curious how it “chuffs”. As far as I know, the loco connector supplies track power for lights, sound, etc. But no chuff. Must be voltage driven.

#7

if you put a constant voltage to the “track pickups” leads, I would expect some limitation in the sounds, like they don’t vary. Let us know how the variable dc from the pack works.

Greg

#8

Well, that was interesting. I got out my LiIon pack and fed it to the board via the loco connector pins, and it did hiss and whistle. The green potentiometer controls the volume.

Investigating the 9V batteries, it appears they are wired in series and, if both are connected, the board produces a chuff. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)The chuff rate is altered by the white potentiometer. Varying the voltage on the loco connector made no difference except to change the overall volume.

So when your LGB train is running round and round your garden, you can set the chuff and sit back to enjoy the sound. Hmmm . . .

My current thought is that, if it needs 18V to chuff, then maybe the LiIon pack at 14.4V will also persuade it to chuff. Wonder if I can power the board from that AND make it chuff?

#9

I also found the whistle works. There’s a crude spring and bent wire contact switch underneath, so anything sticking up will trigger the whistle. It has a huge oval speaker so it doesn’t sound bad.

But the car won’t fit with my original plan when I bought it, so it is now for sale for $69 including shipping to the lower 48.

#10

Pete, I believe it was originally made by Starr electronics, 1 pot is for the sound volume and the other adjusts the chuff rate if hooked to the engine, you can still purchase something similar only updated with reel switches instead of the z bracket. Some decoders won’t work with Pulse Width Modulation so not sure it will work with newer stuff check out Chuff-Whistle-Bell sound for Model Trains, from HYDE-OUT MOUNTAIN LIVE STEAM on ebay

#11

Bill what are you saying? It’s not an LGB car, it’s not an LGB sound board, or the triggers underneath are not LGB?

Greg

#12

Greg Elmassian said:

Bill what are you saying? It’s not an LGB car, it’s not an LGB sound board, or the triggers underneath are not LGB?

Greg

Fascinating. It’s definitely an LGB car. The trigger undernearth is clearly not LGB - very homemade, as is the hole for the speaker. Google “LGB 4067 with Starr Sound” and you get some hits, but no active listings anywhere.

I did find an LGB sound boxcar of more recent vintage but the pcb looks much different (modern green with ICs) and the speaker is smaller.

#13

Not sure about the sound board as I only saw 1 picture but it certainly doesn’t look like an LGB board and the whistle trigger looks just like the ones that Starr electronics used in their sound systems

#14

The 4036 is LGB and never had sound.  LGB has a molded grill in all their sound cars, this one has a hollowed out circle/no grill.

Also all the older car sounds (not engines)  I have seen by LGB has Eproms. 

Ones without the Eproms are usually Digital (DCC) and not advertised as such, the Blue Chicken dance car is one example of a DCC sound car, the Red Chicken dance is DC only.

 

Greg, as always feel free to add any info I give to your web site,and this goes for others and their web sites for all my postings.

 

#15

Bill Barnwell said:

Not sure about the sound board as I only saw 1 picture but it certainly doesn’t look like an LGB board and the whistle trigger looks just like the ones that Starr electronics used in their sound systems

(This is an LGB 4034.) In the interests of completeness, here’s the interior. I am happy to believe it’s an after-market addition. The stand-offs for the board are balsa (!) and there’s a rubber cabinet stop on top of the speaker magnet for it to sit on. Green volume pot is at the bottom right, white chuff pot is along the top just right of center.

I also added photos from a recent FB listing of a “real” LGB sound car, for comparison.

#16

Your ‘real’ LGB sound car appears to have a replacement speaker in it. None of my LGB sound cars have a speaker that tall.

#17

Dan Pierce said:

Your ‘real’ LGB sound car appears to have a replacement speaker in it. None of my LGB sound cars have a speaker that tall.

Dan, I/we concluded it isn’t a “real” LGB sound car. The sound card is an after-market addition, as is the speaker and hole in the floor. Someone converted it.
Anyway, it is now sold so I can move on.

#18

good