Example 1: Heljan O Gauge LNER A4

Kit: MS950; 2x YLR603010 speakers

Heljan's/Hatton's big A4 certainly looks impressive, and uses a similar platform to their A3 model. The tender provides an 'L' socket for DCC conversion, which we have retained here and used one of the new Zimo MS950 large-scale decoders.

Below shows the original blanking plate that comes with the model, followed by the MS950 fitted into place.

That's DCC conversion done! However, we still need to fit speakers...

There is a rectangular aperture underneath the 'L' socket, but it is not quite large enough for our YLR603010 speaker, which is generally our preferred speaker for O gauge. Therefore we disassemble the tender in order to remove the metal block ready for millling.

After milling, it looks like this, and the YLR603010 3W speaker sits nicely in the enlarged hole. A little BlackTack is used to lift the speaker off the metal, so that the speaker's membrane can move freely.

Speaker wires soldered to the appropriate contacts on the 'L' socket, and decoder/socket screwed back into place.

Now, that is fine, and all done now, except we would like to get even more sound out of it, and since the MS950 provides a pair of independent audio outputs, we aim to fit a second YLR603010 in the boiler too! Heljan have helpfully included the wiring for this speaker already, so we just need to get into the boiler to do the work.

Remove the speedo, and front bogie...

Body retaining screws removed, and carefully lift the body off. Heljan's speaker wires are revealed, long enough to reach to the front of the boiler. A nice big flat platform is available, so lots of space to work with.

Attach the YLR603010 to the base with some BlackTack, and join the wires - very simple!

Lovely!

Example 2: Addition of Lamps

Kit: MS950, 3x bi-colour lamps, YLR603010

Another example, same approach, but a couple of lamps on the front instead of the 2nd speaker.

Please note that these guides are provided as useful resources for you, as-is. YouChoos cannot be held responsible for errors in the information, or for any damage caused to your models or equipment if you choose to follow any of the steps detailed here.