VLP Vlocity by Southern Rail Models

Items used:

ESU 58429 LokSound 5 DCC 21-MTC decoder with Vlocity sound

DCCSound Vlocity speaker

Microscale Micro Kristalklear or equivalent

Disassembly

To remove the body, the upper body needs to be splayed out from the lower skirt/chassis section. Use fingernails to get under the upper body skirt, splay out and insert bread packet clips or business cards as you go. Work your way around the perimeter of the body. Then lift the body off the chassis.

In this example, the factory LokPilot decoder is replaced with a sound decoder and speaker.

Out of precaution, the factory 23mm speaker is disconnected from the SRM motherboard. Some 23mm speakers have been faulty and may cause a short across the sound amp of the decoder, damaging it.

Factory speaker shown, though it can stay in the model, if now unused:

Remove the two existing wires on top of the PCB at "SPK". These wires run down to the existing 23mm speaker buried in the chassis.

Installation

1) Solder the new sugarcube speaker wires to "SPK". Polarity does not matter.

2) Place the speaker on top of the lighting PCB. Note the specific location must be followed, otherwise the speaker will interfere with body detail when the body is reinstalled. Line up the leading edge of the speaker with the blue seating, behind the cab.

3) Use a small amount of adhesive such as Microscale Micro Kristalklear to bond the speaker to the PCB.

4) Remove the existing decoder or 21 pin DC socket PCB or decoder. Plug in the sound decoder with the correct mounting orientation as shown below.

Ensure the 21 pin black header socket on the decoder is facing UP! Also check that the decoder hasn't been forced onto the plug and is out by 1 row of pins. Incorrect mounting will cause the decoder to fail and this mode of failure is not covered by ESU's warranty.

5) Next, slip the body back on to the chassis and the installation work is done.