GreenMax Ballast Regulator KSP2002E DCC Conversion

 After many (good) changes in my personal live I managed to have a little bit of time to spend in my hobby again. I'm working in the two Greenmax models: Ballast Regulator and Tie Tamper.

In this article I'll show you how I converted the Ballast Regulator KSP2002E (Greenmax catalog number 4784) in a simple way, using a D&H DH05 decoder. For the Tie Tamper model, I want to install also sound, and I'm making a customized ESU sound project.

This is the disassembled model. There are 3 light boards (front, rear and interior lighting), each one having two springs to pick up the current. The strategy I followed is to get rid of the spring of one side for both front and rear light boards, and the opposite one for the interior lighting board.

So each board remains with only one spring, and the other is removed and at this point I will solder the decoder wires for lighting (white and yellow). Red and black wires (current) will be soldered in the remaining springs, this is why I left the springs in different sides of the boards.

But may be with an image it's easier to understand:

You can see the yellow wire is soldered at the point where I removed the sprint of the front and rear light boards. White wire is soldered to the point where I removed the spring of the interior light board. Note that the spring removed from the interior light board correspond to the opposite rail than those removed from the front and rear light boards. Add Kapton tape to the bottom of the decoder!

Then black and red wires are soldered to the base points of the remaining springs. Orange and gray are soldered to the motor. Note that you will have to bend the tab of the cooper strips so they are not in contact with the motor. And better add some Kapton tape at this point for better isolation:

And this is pretty much the work needed. Note that wiring it in this way you do NOT have directional lights. So with one function key you turn on all the "exterior" lights and with another you can turn the interior lighting. But I don't see any logic for this machine to have directional lights (there are no "red" lights). I tried to add a micro led for the emergency light on the roof, but I saw it impossible for me as it is too close to the edge of the roof.

Let's see if I'm able to create a good sound project (my first one) for the next Greenmax model. I hope to write again soon!!