Farish Class 31 Diesel - Next18 version

Kit: MS580G with 2 mini GoldCaps

Here is Graham Farish's updated 31 now with Next18 decoder socket and speaker on board, a most welcome improvement.

There is enough length from the Next18 socket to fit the larger of the Zimo MS sound decoders, the MS580. The version we have selected here is the 'G' version of the decoder which has no onboard stay-alive, but instead comes with wires for an external 5V stay-alive and is supplied with a pair of mini GoldCaps.

The GoldCaps are joined in series (they are each 2.7V, so in series give 5.4V, which is what the 'G' is designed for). Although the GoldCaps are very small, there isn't quite enough room on the 31 to fit them, so a little modification is required...

The PCB switch to control the tail lighting is not really necessary under DCC control, so we very carefully snip the switch off the board and join each terminal permanently with a short piece of wire (we actually used old resistor legs in our model).

With the GoldCaps wrapped in Kapton tape, these fit in just right, and the 31's body goes on nicely. These GoldCaps give as much as 5 seconds of back-up time, which is quite incredible in an N gauge model!

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