# Live bell in my live steam K-28



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

I got a nifty little 1.5 to 5 volt motor from Phil Dippel (Phil's Narrow Gauge) and mounted it in the cab of my K-28. I installed a pully and wire on it so that it swings the bell. A sound card in the tender provides the music. I control it all with a double Pico switch off the gear toggle on my R/C transmitter that turns the motor and sound card on and off simultaneously. Email me if you want a parts list and sources.


----------



## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

That, Sir, is BRILLIANT!!! 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org 
Supporter of the Cape Meares Lighthouse Restoration Fund


----------



## shaysteam05 (Jul 19, 2008)

Hi Carl-
Don't have your e-mail address. Here is mine. Would appreciate the info.
[email protected]
Alex Azary


----------



## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

Very nice job, the timing seems perfect.


----------



## Slipped Eccentric (Jan 2, 2008)

I've been waiting to do something like this, beaten to the punch. Nice job!


----------



## scubaroo (Mar 19, 2009)

Hi Carl,
Brilliiant!! 

I,too, would like the list.
My email is : [email protected].
Thanks
Craig


----------



## Reed (Jan 7, 2008)

Pretty darn neat; nice job. 
Reed


----------



## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Carl, 
That is just wonderful. 
However, if I may be a "super critical rivet counting personage", I think that you need a slightly larger diameter wheel as I don't think that the 'clanger' would actually make the bell ring! 
In movies they seem to be going nearly 90 degrees front and back if not more. 
See the first couple of minutes of this one: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJbvLdDONjs 
Anyway, what you've done looks great. 
All the best, 
David


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

David,
I was already aware of the actual movement of the bell. I started with a bigger wheel, but the bell hung up when the wire to it was in line with the arm on the bell. This was the size that gave the bell the greatest movement without hanging up.


----------



## TomsORandLC (Jan 11, 2008)

Great job. Please email me the instructions at [email protected]
Thanks

Tom


----------



## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Very clever.

I like this a lot


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

Some questions have come up about the Double Switch. You can either use 2 Pico switches with a Y harness on a single R/C channel or you can use a Double Switch that has two sets of on/off terminals on a single R/C channel. 

http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DoubleSwitch.htm


----------



## Alan in Adirondacks (Jan 2, 2008)

Carl, 

Fantastic! 

Alan


----------



## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Posted By weaverc on 10 Jun 2010 06:05 PM 
David,
I was already aware of the actual movement of the bell. I started with a bigger wheel, but the bell hung up when the wire to it was in line with the arm on the bell. This was the size that gave the bell the greatest movement without hanging up.



Carl, Is this due to the pivots not being free enough, or just not enough weight at the lower part of the bell?
I guess you add weight around the base of the bell, but then it's going to look strange.
Oh. well, I think that everyone will be 'wow'd' by it when it is in use.
All the best,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


----------



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Perhaps it would be easier to post the parts and sources here? That's sweet. IF Accucraft ever does my EBT #12, you can bet I'm adding that functionality to it! Now, how can I do that on the electric mice??? 

Later, 

K


----------



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Carl,

Really great, as long as you don't have a _chuff sound_[/b] on the sound card.


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

I've been swamped with requests so here is the information on parts and sources:

*Parts Needed for the Dippel Motor and Bell Project 

*· One Dippel Motor (Phil’s Narrow Gauge) 


· One CR 3032 3-volt battery (Wal-Mart) 3-volts gives the motor the speed needed to swing the bell in a correct time 


· One Steam Bell sound card and 2-1/2” speaker (Innovative Train Technology Co) 


· One 9-volt battery to run sound card (Wal-Mart) 


· One 9-volt battery terminal clip (Radio Shack) 


· Basswood to mount the speaker and sound card (Hobby shop) 


· Fine double strand wire (Hobby shop) 


· Brass wire to link bell with pulley on the motor (K&S from Hobby shop) 


· Piece of brass to make a motor bracket (K&S from Hobby Shop) 


· Small pulley for the motor shaft (Hobby store) (I used a brass disc from my parts box)


· 2-56 nut and bolt sets to bolt the motor mount to the cab and the sound card and speaker to their mounts 


· Two 2.5 mm short bolts to attach the motor to the brass mount (I used a couple of Accucraft bolts) 

· 1 Double Switch – which is a double Pico Switch (Dimension Engineering) – to turn on the sound card and Dippel motor simultaneously - use the gear or flap control on the R/C transmitter to activate the Double Switch. If you are not using R/C, then use a double pole, double throw toggle switch


----------



## livesteam53 (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks for answering the email. I thought you did this right thing by posting part list. I am sure you got lots of mail on his one.... Great idea.


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

Some people wanted a photo of the motor mount. The stiff wire from the pully to the bell goes through the window, which allows for the wire's up and down movement. One bolt holding the mount to the cab wall is the bolt that holds the box on the front of the cab, reducing the number of holes to be drilled in your K-28.


----------



## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Bob Pope has a real bell in his diesel. The sound was great. The sound echo'd in the shell and added to the effect. Could put a bell in a trailing freight or coach. 

Not trying to rain on the parade. Call me a purest or an obsessive "rivet".







Whatever.


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

The size of the threaded mounting holes for the 2.5 mm long bolts that mount the motor are 1.6 mm and they are spaced 9 mm apart. There is a spec sheet for the motor on the Phil's Narrow Gauge site. Gear reduction is 250:1.


----------



## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Very cool, Carl!


----------



## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Remarkable Carl! Very clever, I hadn't even thought of something like that.


----------



## nadnerbster (Nov 19, 2009)

I was thinking of doing this to my mogul - still haven't decided on it yet (one reason is that I tend to find that the American rules around the use of the whistle and bell get rather grating - I stayed in Salt Lake City for one night, the constant shrieking of horns at level crossings was maddening! That said, nothing's forcing me to use the whistle or bell that way . . .). 

Regarding the "throw" of the bell - perhaps lubricating the pivots around the bell might help? The Accu bell isn't designed for this sort of use, it's just meant to sit there and look pretty. Mine was all seized up with paint and still isn't the most freely moving thing I've ever seen. One reason I haven't done this yet is that I wasn't sure the bell mount could handle this sort of use. It seems it can handle it for now, long term use will be the next challenge though . . . so suggestion number 2, would be possibly modifying/replacing the bell mount? 

Please don't read any of the above as criticism - that's nice work! Animation is something that often gets left behind in the model world, most of the truly great layouts and trains have some sort of animation on them!


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

Several recurring questions about the parts list have come up via email. Here are the answers:

The size of the circuit board with the bell sound is 1-3/8 wide X 2-5/16 long X 7/16 high.
I made an error. The 3v coin battery is a 2032.
Radio Shack has a battery holder for the coin battery.
Radio Shack has a battery holder for the 9v battery.
Any 8 ohm speaker will do. The bigger the speaker, the better the sound, that's why I chose 2-1/2 inches.
The shaft size of the little motor is 4 mm with 2 flat sides.

Don't hesitate to email me if you have more questions about the project.


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Carl, et al

Maybe this will be of use.

Live Steam K-28 Bell Animation PDF (2.16MB)[/b]


----------



## weaverc (Jan 2, 2008)

*MOD #1*
The 9-volt battery was not a good choice to power the sound card. The voltage range for the sound card is 9 to 18 volts AC or DC. Since a 9v battery is at the bottom of the range, it does not last long. When the voltage starts to drop off, all you get is a faint squeak

I have changed to an A23 size 12-volt battery used in garage door openers among other things. I am getting good life out of an Alkaline Energizer E23A and would probably get even more life out of an A23 Lithium battery.

The N size battery holder is close enough in size and holds an A23 size battery just fine and takes up less space.


----------

