As many of you are aware, we recently wrote a
review of Athearn's new SD70ACe models. These are one of their latest releases in their
Genesis line of locomotives. They are well known for their outstanding level of detail, which sets a new standard for plastic models. The paint job is excellent, and the overall quality of these locomotives is very good. They are offered as with a DC control system, or with a factory installed DCC system, which includes sound. I got my first sound locomotive just over a year ago, and since then I have been hooked, so I purchased two of the DCC and sound equipped models. I had heard good reviews, and they sure looked good in the pictures, and I was sold on them. One just did not seem like enough, but three was about of the budget, so I settled for two. If you read my review, or if you are reading it now out of curiosity, you know I was very happy with the models. I was quite content with them without making any changes, until the other day.
A couple of days ago I was browsing through
Tony's Train Exchange, for some DCC components, and just for kicks, I clicked on their locomotives section to see what they had. I stumbled upon an
article that described how to improve the quality of the sound. As I read the article, I found it was a simple project, and I decided to try it. I figured, I had two locomotives, if I made one sound strange, it would not be the end of the world, and I would just undo what was done. The article describes a flaw with the speaker housing, inside the locomotive. The flaw is actually surprisingly obvious, and it is a bit disappointing that it was overlooked by the folks at Athearn. There is a hole in the speaker housing. For the highest quality sound, and to emphasize the bass sounds, the speaker should point into an airtight housing. This amplifies the sound, and especially amplifies the lower pitch sounds. To hear the difference, click on the links below, and turn up the volume! I recorded similar sequences of the modified locomotive, and the unmodified locomotive. Pay special attention to the differences in the bass sounds.
Now that I have have teased you with the result of this project, let's do it together. It really only takes a few minutes, and it is fairly simple. I will be modifying my second unit as I write this, and there will be pictures, for anyone who finds those helpful. The first thing you will have to do is remove the plastic shell from the frame of the model. To do this, you will need to remove the couplers and two screws in the bottom of the frame, above the fuel tank end of either truck. I found it helped to access them by also removing the fuel tank, but that is not necessarily required. Once you have removed the screws, carefully pull the plastic shell straight up and off the frame.
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| Screw locations for removing the shell. All photos by James Ogden. |
Be very careful removing the shell from the frame, as there are wires that connect the light bulbs in the shell with the electronics fastened to the frame. The speaker housing can be found right behind the cab. After removing the shell, you will need to remove the speaker housing. This is attached by a single screw on the engineer's side, which connects it directly to the frame. Removing the screw will not immediately free the housing. Once the screw is removed, you will have to carefully slide the speaker housing forward and up for it to come away from the frame. I found that it helped to remove the tape on top of the housing to do this. It gives you a little more wiggle room. The frame and speaker housing are both very durable, so do not be afraid to wiggle the housing gently if you need to to get it out.
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| Location of the speaker and speaker housing. The screw to remove the housing is on the other side, see the next photo. |
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| This screw needs to be removed to remove the speaker housing. |
Once the speaker housing has been removed, you will need to remove the speaker. This is attached by two screws, on either side of the speaker.
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| These screws hold the speaker itself in place. |
Once the speaker has been removed from the housing, the hole will be obvious. It is in the bottom of the housing. Placing a piece of styrene or similar material in the hole will solve the problem. Some suggestions I found specified that 0.020 inch styrene would do the trick. I found it was even simpler than that, and you will probably laugh when you read this. I had an expired MetroCard from the New York subway system. I cut that into pieces that would fit in the hole, and glued one piece in the hole from either side. I also glued them together to prevent them from vibrating together and rattling. Primitive? Maybe, but it did the trick!
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| That hole is what needs to be filled. |
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| I told you I cut up a fare card! |
In the above picture, you can see two screws in the speaker housing. Unscrewing those will allow the two halves of the speaker housing to be separated. A gasket can be placed between the two halves to create a better seal, or they can be glued together, as I did. While I had the halves apart, I first glued the plastic into the hole, since it was easily accessible that way. Then I put glue all the way around one half, and placed the other half on it, and screwed it back together. Once the plastic and housing halves were all glued together, the speaker can be mounted in the housing again, just like it was. The housing can then be reinstalled in the locomotive. Make sure to screw it back into the frame, or it will make awful vibrating noises, and you will wonder where the extra screw came from! Once the speaker housing is replaced, it is time to replace the shell. This is a delicate operation, because all the wires have to be stuffed back inside the shell, and the sanders have to be gently pushed apart to allow the shell to slip over the frame again. It can be tricky, but patience is key. Be very gentle, so none of the details are damaged, and double check often to make sure you have not pinched anything. Once you have the shell back on, replace the screws and couplers, and then find some track and fire the engine up. Sit back and enjoy the diesel rumble!
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