E3 Akita Shinkansen `Komachi`Decoder Install

[Bernard]

I just got the Tomix E3 Akita Shinkansen `Komachi`and have always been leery about installing decoders in Tomix trains.
Well, this is no different. 
Getting the E3 apart is not an easy chore, you have to be careful on the nose because of the hidden coupler. Next the lights are really packed in there and easily fly apart. I have to admit it took sometime before I figured it out for the reversing lights, but I got it!   

Okay, all said and done I got the head motor car apart and I was surprised to find that there is no full chassis, it's in two parts, the plastic seating frame is what holds it together. 

I looked at what I had on my work bench and said, "Alright, lets take some photos and post it on the forum and see if anyone has a solution.

The first photo is the inside apart. The next photos are of the light board and contact connections from the trucks to the motor, showing both side. I see that if I use Kapton tape on the underside where the motor connects to the stripes that would block the flow of electricity to the motor.
You will notice that there are 2 resistors on the light board, do I bypass those?
The decoder I'm planning on installing is either the DZ 123 or DZ125.

Any help will be appreciated.

[CaptOblivious]

First, remove the capacitor. That will only cause you problems! But leave the resistor in place. You'll need that. There will be serious trace-cutting involved, but it shouldn't be too hard to sort out. Lemme see…

[Bernard]

Okay Don, you know me, I'm not embarrassed to ask a simple question.....which one is the capacitor?
One other note, this is a hard train to get back together, because it doesn't have a full chassis.

[CaptOblivious]

The cap is the orangy-yellow round thing. I'll point it out in the photo-guide I'm making up for you.

But, I need higher-res photos to see where to cut the traces…I'm trying to follow them in the photos that you posted, but I can't tell where some of them go, because they are smaller than the pixels :D

Anyway, this one looks like a straightfoward job! The only real problem is figuring out where to hide the decoder.


Also, what is that brass contact thingy in the nose, attached to the frame?

[Bernard]

I'll re-shoot the photos and yes that is a brass clip that connects the the contacts to the lights.
 

[CaptOblivious]

I'll re-shoot the photos and yes that is a brass clip that connects the the contacts to the lights.
 

What does the other end connect to? It's hard to tell from the photos…

[inobu]

Bernard,

Don needs profile shots too it is hard to see.

Inobu

[Martijn Meerts]

You'd almost say Tomix didn't quite get the term "split chassis" =) Definitely a strange construction...

[Bernard]

You'd almost say Tomix didn't quite get the term "split chassis" =) Definitely a strange construction...

Not at all happy about the chassis design, you break one of those little plastic tabs and forget about a chassis that's is in alignment. I'm extremely careful taking this train apart.

Have more photo will post later. My thoughts are this.....Use Kapton tape on the connection to where the motor terminals touch the circuit board, that will isolate the motor. I guess I will have to drill 2 small holes in the circuit board to pass the decoder wires through to the motor strip terminals. (red & black wires)
Next, solder on the top of the circuit board the grey & orange wires to where the spot where the interior lights connect.

Now this is where I'm confused.....the lights are also connected to the circuit board, there is a resistor and a capacitor...Don has said to remove the capacitor but not the resistor, but I also have to isolate the head and tail lights from the circuit board where they are soldered to.....How do I isolate the lights? And do I still need the resistor?

[CaptOblivious]

Bernard,

Your thoughts mirror mine exactly, so far. But the question you ask about isolating the lights can't be answered until we get a better view of the circuit board, so we can see where the traces go, and which ones will need to be cut :(

[inobu]

It appears that the LEDs gets its power from the brass terminal in the nose. If that is true, the Kapton tape can be placed on the bottom side pads in front of the LED.

Don,

It looks like the best solution is to split the one trace all the way to the back of the board.

Inobu

[Bernard]

Alright I've taken more photos of the circuit board from different angles and under better light. (I hope)

[inobu]

That lighting board is something else. It is hard to see which trace goes to where. We need to identify which trace supplies the LED's with the step down resistor. Then we need to figure how to create to separate LED circutry.

I need to find a drawing for you to reference first.....


Inbou.


 

[alpineaustralia]

what the.....?
I have never seen anything like it.
Mate you are so brave attempting this.
Good luck!

[Bernard]

what the.....?
I have never seen anything like it.
Mate you are so brave attempting this.
Good luck!

Magnus - I know, and what did I swear I would NEVER do again? I like the look of the E3 and had the Tomix version offered at a good price (I can resist anything but temptation!) Why Tomix didn't make a full chassis of the train is beyond me. It would have made it so much easier to take apart and put back together.... which I might add, I've now become an expert at. I'm sure I can do the motor install, it's the lights that got me baffled.

[CaptOblivious]

I'll. Have a look later today, but I wont have time for recommendations until tomoorow at the earliest. Well crack this nut yet!

[Bernard]

I'll. Have a look later today, but I wont have time for recommendations until tomoorow at the earliest. Well crack this nut yet!

No hurry, I won't be able to work on it till after Thanksgiving.

[CaptOblivious]

Ah, I think I get it: The brass contact on the nose, is that connected to the coupler? It looks like a switch to turn the headlights off when it's coupled up. Which is why the board looks so odd. I think I've about got it traced out, but I will need you to probe a couple of places with a continuity checker.

[CaptOblivious]

Bernard, sorry that I haven't responded yet. It's going to be a few days yet until I can have a proper look at this :(

[Bernard]

I did it! I'm attaching 4 photos of how I did it. The first thing I did after taking the E3 apart. (photo #1)
Next on the circuit board I marked with a fine point sharpie all the points that I needed to cover with Kapton tape to isolate the contacts to the motor and the lights. I also needed to drill 2 small holes in the circuit board to pass the decoder wires to the motor. Also at the head of the board I had to isolate the slide switch that makes contact to the head and tail lights. In drilling the holes I had to be careful not to drill through the middle contact that is the common contact for the lights. (photo #2)
After doing all this I removed the resistor from the board (photo #3)
The next steps I forgot to photograph because it was difficult soldering the motor connections (the red and black wires) through the board and got wound up in what I was doing. Next I used the top area on the board to where there is an open connection for the lights. I soldered the grey and orange wires here.
With little space, I used connection on the board where the resistor was and soldered the blue wire for the common for the bulbs. After that I solder the yellow to the other side of the head light and the white to the other side of the rear light.
The last photo shows the complete install. I use a white foam dot that you can get at any Craft store to hold the decoder in place.
I have to admit putting this train back together is a real  since there isn't a solid chassis and maneuvering the drive shafts into the motor coupler takes time. To my shock....the decoder programmed without any problems. Whew!!

[inobu]

After doing that one you should be able to handle anything now. That one looked like a dooooozy, 

Inobu

[Bernard]

After doing that one you should be able to handle anything now. That one looked like a dooooozy, 

Inobu

It certainly was....but I have to admit seeing some of other member's installs (C11, cargo train, etc...) it wasn't that bad. The pain is putting it back together after the install. It is something I really don't want to take apart again.
With a Tomix train, you never know what configuration you're going to get, unlike a Kato where it is fairly consistent.

[alpineaustralia]

The $64,000 question......how does it work???

[Bernard]

It runs really very smoothly!
It is a nice looking Shinkansen but I wouldn't recommend it if you plan to run it on a DCC layout. Like I said before, opening this model is no "walk in the park" even the light lens are confusing to put back in place. The day I open it up again is something I don't look forward to!

[Martijn Meerts]

I recently installed a decoder into 2 Tomix 400 series, both had the weird frame set up of this E3.. I didn't have to hook up the lights to the decoder, so it ended up being easy enough, but the frame design is definitely a weird one...

I have a Tomix 400 myself as well, so I'll end up doing the directional lighting sooner or later..



I expect it'll be later ;)

[The_Ghan]

I have an E3 and a 400!!!  I'll make sure I've got a few custom installs done before attempting it though.  It looks like a real brain teaser.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[Martijn Meerts]

If nothing else, you can always send it to someone who's willing to do it for you. I know at least the Captain does some decoder installs, and I wouldn't mind either. Problem is shipping the thing to and from down under is probably going to end up being more expensive than the train itself ;)

I've probably done about 30-35 installs so far (most weren't my own trains ....) and it's getting easier every time. You really start to get an idea of where to place the decoder and how to run the wires without thinking too much. There are of course still some mystery trains.. I have an older MicroAce 9600 series and I have no clue how to open it up, let alone install a decoder =)

[Bernard]

Yeah Marti - It seems like Tomix cut back on some of the materials they use to keep their prices competitive but this new chassis has gone too far. There are too many parts that can easily break that hold the two halves of the chassis in place....I just can't figure out why they did this...not making one sold piece. Installing the decoder wasn't that hard but putting the train back together.....that's another story.

I recently installed a decoder into 2 Tomix 400 series, both had the weird frame set up of this E3.. I didn't have to hook up the lights to the decoder, so it ended up being easy enough, but the frame design is definitely a weird one...

I have a Tomix 400 myself as well, so I'll end up doing the directional lighting sooner or later..



I expect it'll be later ;)

[Martijn Meerts]

I think they did it to make sure the motor wasn't visible inside the train. My 400 series is an old model, and the motor is fairly big. Making the frame 1 piece probably wouldn't have worked for the size of the motor used.

That makes me wonder though, are there more Tomix trains from around the same time that have a similar frame design. So far, it seems to be only the E3 and 400.

I do think, for the 400 series at least, that it's very sturdy, the plastic bits used to keep everything in place is fairly thick, and there's a lot of tabs so even if one breaks, it'll still be sturdy.


In the end though, it's still a weird design :)

[mrpig]

Bernard, nicely done. Petty I didn't see thish before starting on my 400.

Martijn, I have just finished the later design 400. Very similar cct board but a one piece chassis. Still a major PITA.

[Bernard]

Bernard, nicely done. Petty I didn't see thish before starting on my 400.

Martijn, I have just finished the later design 400. Very similar cct board but a one piece chassis. Still a major PITA.

Hey MrPig - How are you? Did you mill out the chassis on your 400? Before I undertook the E3 install I asked a lot of questions of the members here for advice. I took it apart a few times just to make sure of which circuits I had to bypass.....I was tempted to get the 400 but after Marti's description of it......I'll pass.

[Martijn Meerts]

Bernard, just buy one, send it over to me, and I'll install a decoder for you. It'll only cost you lunch at that barbecue place we went too when I was in New York ;)

[mrpig]

Bernard - I'm good. Didn't do any chassis milling on the 400, just the underside of the seats.
The shed is mostly finished, so the lounge room loop has moved and is off the floor. Had a big distraction for quite some time (UAV), so no layout yet. Details in the coming days