8.0 Install speaker into fuel tank and
route wires up right front channel
Now things are moving quickly. The next step is to mount the
speaker into the fuel tank relief. I selected a speaker from
another Model Railroad Hobbyist sponsor, Railmaster Hobbies
. It is a 14 x 25 mm unit with its own
enclosure – DS1425-8. The speaker enclosure is just a bit lon-
ger than the fuel tank boss on the frame.
Put some caulk in the bottom of the relief and then position
the speaker front to rear so that an equal amount of the enclo-
sure extends beyond the boss on each end.
It would be best if you set this aside for overnight or for a few
hours to cure. If you must press on right now, keep checking
back that the speaker enclosure hasn’t shifted as you work.
Figure 23 was taken after the trucks were wired and the wires
secured per step 9. At this time you wouldn’t have the Kapton
22
22: Decoder channel insulated with Kapton tape.
We need to cover the entire decoder relief with Kapton tape,
including the sides. I find that having multiple widths makes
the job easier. One of the nice things about Kapton tape is
that, being only 0.001 inch thick, it can be overlapped without
excessive thickness build up.
Run 3/8-inch Kapton tape down the length of the channel
on the right side. Route the motor wires over this tape and
through the wire relief hole in the right front of the frame. Use
blue painters tape (less messy than traditional masking tape)
to secure the orange and gray motor wires out the right front
cable relief, as shown in figure 22. Run a length of the 3/8-
inch Kapton tape down the left side, slightly overlapping the
right piece – the motor wires should emerge from the frame
between these pieces of tape. Use two pieces of 1/4-inch
Kapton tape, one down each of the two sides to complete the
insulation of the decoder cavity.
Make hobby knife slices through the vertical tape at the cable
troughs to allow room for the wires to connect the trucks and
speaker to the decoder.
21
21: Lubricating the frame half where the trucks rotate.
DCC Impulses column - 13
MRH-Jan 2013
