After two relatively easy decoder installations, it was time to tackle a more challenging loco: the Life-Like SW9/1200. This would be my third decoder installation ever. Before I performed the conversion, I made sure the loco ran well as a DC loco. There is little point in converting a poorly running DC loco to DCC. This loco doesn't have much room for a decoder. I selected the TCS M1. Some minor frame modification is required for the decoder to fit. The smaller TCS Z2 decoder will fit this loco without frame modification, but since I already had the M1, I forged ahead. I recommend Ron Bearden's instructions and photos on the TCS web site. After completely disassembling the loco, the frame mod was easy with a Dremel cutting wheel and took all of 15 minutes. In his instructions, Ron was careful to point out that you want to retain the little metal post that supports the front of the motor mount. This is a very important bit of information, since it assures that the motor will be in the correct location when re-installed. The photo below shows the modified frame with the metal post highlighted. After modifying the frame, I reassembled the motor and frame. I held the decoder in place with a rubber band while I temporarily routed the wires and cut them to length. I filed a groove in the side of the plastic motor mount for the gray wire to follow as it wrapped around the motor mount on its way down to the bottom brush cap. It is important to allow enough slack so that the wires can run along the side of the motor as shown below. If you run the wires on top of the motor, they will interfere with the fit when you replace the shell. With the wires cut to length, everything was disassembled again for soldering. The trickiest part for me was soldering the orange and gray wires to the brush caps without melting the plastic motor housing. You can avoid the problem by first removing the caps, but if you do that, be very careful not to lose the tiny springs and brushes. I am pretty quick with a soldering iron, so I was able to solder the wires without removing the caps. One of the caps did get hot enough to become loose, however, so I quickly pushed it back into place while the plastic re-hardened. It was a very close call! Next time, I'll remove the caps. With the orange and gray wires attached to the motor, I reassembled the motor into the frame. I re-purposed the phosphor bronze brush cap clips by using them to connect the red and black wires to the frame. First I straightened out the clips. I then cut off one "ear" of each clip and connected the red wire to the remaining ear of one clip and the black wire to the remaining ear of the other clip. The clips were then pushed in between the plastic motor mount and the frame on either side of the motor to make contact with the frame. It's a tight fit, and that is what holds them in place. See the photos below. I also re-used the LED and its resistor after first removing them from the original light board. The LED connects to the white and blue wires. Per Ron Bearden's instructions, I filed the LED flat on the top and bottom to provide sufficient clearance inside the shell. I used Ron's photos to determine which wire goes to which leg of the LED because it DOES make a difference. The resistor can go on either leg. I did not use the yellow wire because I did not install a rear headlight; I taped the wire safely out of the way. Speaking of tape, I used Kapton tape wherever there was the slightest chance that bare wiring might come in contact with the frame or with other components. I also used the tape to hold the motor and power wires in place along the sides of the motor. It's important to dress the wires neatly in order for the shell to fit properly. After everything was reassembled, B&M 1231 is ready for service. - Jeff
jeff.... there's just one thing i'd strongly suggest to do as well. the lifelike sw9/1200 had a really strange design of how electricity is beeing transfered from the wheels to the frame. i'm speaking of these tiny brass tabs mounted to the shell. i got rid of them and instead soldered some very thin wire directly from the trucks to the decoder. this enhances contact and makes maintenance easier.
Sandro, If you have a picture of that I'd like to see it. I have had a couple of those tabs fall off and I have not been terribly successful in putting them back on. Adam
Sandro - You are so right about the electrical pickups for this engine. They are fragile and easily damaged. I thought about wiring the truck pickups directly to the decoder. I even asked about it in this forum a few months ago. When no one responded to my query, I assumed there was a good reason not to do it. The trucks do not pivot very much, so it seems that it ought to work -- if one can solder a wire to the truck tabs without melting the truck. Can the trucks withstand the heat of soldering to the tabs? - Jeff
Alternate pickup strips Here are two photos I kept from someone else (I can't remember who) who posted a solution to the pickup problem.
Any how-to info on dis-assembling the trucks? I have never done it, and don't want to end up with a pile of little gears on my workbench! Thanks - Jeff
Peter Vanvliet's page has an excellent article on this engine http://pmrr.org/Articles/Equipment/SW9.htm
Thanks! That is an outstanding page with excellent photos. Peter has covered just about any improvement you would want to make to this neat little loco. - Jeff
SW9/1200 Z2 decoder install alternative This was nicely done with good pictures to boot. I just converted a number of these units using the TCS Z2 decoders. This made it a snap to make the conversion. On my first attempt, I tried to re-purpose the motor tabs for power pick up and like others, found that to be an intermittent proposition at best. I abandoned that thought and actually drilled and tapped 0-80 holes in the top of the frame halves over the rear end screw hole where the clamp screw is located. I soldered the red and black leads to #0 x .188 brass washers then tightened these into the threaded holes with 0-80 x 1/8" brass screws. While this worked perfectly, I realized after this, that simply soldering the red and black leads to the tabs on the original light board worked just as well and eliminated the drilling and tapping. In order to do this, the foil must be separated from the L.E.D. leg by scratching a void into it. The Z2 board is so small that it will fit right on top of the original light board with a dot of CA adhesive. It will also fit neatly between the frame halves with no modification to the frame at all. One must however, file a flat on the top of the L.E.D. to allow the Z2 board to nestle down and not interfere with the shell. The blue wire can be soldered directly to the leg of the L.E.D. opposite the resistor and the white lead can be soldered to the leg of the resistor as described in these threads. If anyone needs pictures, I can upload those as soon as I have time. All in all, installation of the Z2 decoder will take about 20 minutes, including the removal of the motor brush caps for soldering. Mike
Hi Mike - I appreciate the tips. I have another of these locos to convert and will be using a Z2 decoder this time. It should be much easier. - Jeff
Hi folks, bumping an old thread! I just joined the site today, I was doing a Google about working on my SW9/1200 trucks. I want to see if I can swap the MTL SW1500 flexcoil truck frames onto the LifeLike trucks. I model the New Haven and they had the SW1200s with the flexcoil trucks. The link for Peter Vanvliet's page isn't working and was wondering if someone here could help me out with it. Any help would be appreciated. Joe
They should fit as MTL uses the LifeLike trucks and mechanism. I'm almost positive I've done this myself but will look this weekend to confirm.
Can the trucks withstand the heat of soldering to the tabs? The simple answer is, it depends on how you do it. let me explain how I solder wires directly to brush caps and truck contaacts without problems: If you are soldering in either situation in the standard way as taught by your Jr. High shop teacher, by holding the ti[ f the iron to the contact and hating the metal to a point where you can touch solder to the metal, you're screwed. I place a small dot of paste flux on the truck contacat or brush cap, tin the end of the wire, and then pick up a tiny dot of solder on the iron's tip. I hold the iire in place and touch the the tiny blob of solder to the metal, andthe flux boils off and the solder flows. Takes less time to do than to describe. You're welcome.
