DJM OO 14XX with MS Sound and Stay-Alive

Kit: MS500; SugarCube7; 2x 470uF Flat Tantalums

With the advent of the Zimo MS Sound decoder range becoming available, we thought we'd revisit our DJM 14XX sound installation approach. The little MS500N looks good as a simple plug-in, so should be a much easier kit to put in.

Our example model already has a working lamp on the front, but that doesn't change anything else about the approach.

The tiny new MS500N does fit in OK, though it is easier with the shrink wrap removed, as it makes it thinner - recover in Kapton tape if you want to do this, to avoid any short-circuits with the PCB in the model.

However, the other benefit of going with this little decoder is that we can add a small amount of stay-alive directly, and this model really would benefit from it! We therefore ensure that the appropriate wires are added for this purpose (blue and grey shown).

At the bunker-end, the SugarCube7 is the easy option. Usual issue though is to take care with the cab doors when you remove the roof, as they just pop out and are a bit fiddly to get back in as the roof goes back down!

Back to the front end again, the MS500N is plugged in. We test-fit it into the boiler, which just about goes in OK, but is tighter than we expected. It looks like it is going to be very hard to get the Tantalum capacitors in for the stay-alive too!

A pair of 470uF Flat Tantalums (16V) are joined in parallel. We can connect up to 1000uF total direct to the MS500 without the need for any extra components.

Everything is now wired up, but try as we might, we just cannot get this all to fit in the boiler! The MS500 is quite delicate, due to its' tiny size, so we don't want to force anything too hard.

The solution is therefore to lose the 6pin socket board PCB from the board, and convert or swap the MS500N to a wired version instead. Some very careful soldering required to transfer the wires, but this all fits much more comfortably, and the result is a DJM 14XX that finally doesn't stall every quarter rotation!

So, in conclusion, the MS500 (wired version) does make it possible to include a worthwhile stay-alive in this model, but it is not an install for the faint-hearted - the soldering is delicate and fiddly, but at least we know we can make the 14XX work well now!

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.