Ok, so I got a 3 pack and some various speakers on Saturday. As can be expected, I was ITCHING to get one of the sound decoders installed and going...
I selected a Walthers Caboose as the first car in my fleet to get sound (apart from locos). One would expect the installation to be a breeze, with an empty car to use. And, technically it is true.
But all is not as it seems. The decoder has 4 function outputs. The default configuration is F0 (Fwd) F0 (Rev), FX5 and FX6. however, all 4 can be assigned to whatever you choose as long as the function output does not consume more than 100mA.
The difficulties become evident the moment you bring the caboose and decoder together. the decoder needs to be connected to track... it is not supplied with a means of getting power from the wheels, nor is the caboose so equipped, so you are on your own to come up with a solution. There are a couple of commercial solutions, but I needed to do it NOW... So I ended up using 2 Kadee centering springs. I straightened out the 2 'fingers' of the spring, and bent them outwards at an angle, and the body of the spring had to be shortened by about 3mm. I placed these on top op the bogie bolster, on each side, and positioned it such that that the 2 'fingers' scrape on the back of the wheels on each side. a small hole and screw keeps the part in place. I soldered a wire to each, and fed it through the bottom of the caboose. cool, power was sorted...
Up next, I had to make up my mind on what to do with the function outputs on the decoder. There are various options, depending on the era and type of car you are using.
I am modeling the GN/BN/Santa Fe/BNSF from about 1970 - present, so quite modern, and I am installing in a caboose, so I think my options for the functions are the following:
~ a flashing FRED device (flashing rear end device, a flashing light at the end of a train)
~ caboose marker lights
~ flicker fire in the caboose stove (only one function needed, but the manual suggest using 2, with 1x red and 1x orange led for best effect)
~ Caboose cabin light
~ Conductor's desk light
After quite a bit of deliberation, I decided only to install a FRED. I have some red surface mount LEDs in a package size that is perfect for a light. I soldered 2 very thin feeder wires to the LED, and drilled 2 small holes as close to the roof centre as I could. The LED was mounted at roof level, as some prototype photos suggested (some cabeese have it on the floor just above the coupler) with superglue. Once the glue dried, I fed the 2 wires through the holes, and glued the wires down agains the underside of the roof. some paint to tough up the back and sides of the LED and wires were applied.
Moving to the inside, I connected a 1K resister in line with one of the LEDs feeder wires, and connected that to the BLUE function common, the other wire went to WHITE (F0 fwd). I taped teh decoder to the ROOF of the caboose (more on this later), and connected the 2 speaker wires to the 2 PURPLE wires on the decoder. speaker war a model that was supplied with en enclosure, so I just glued the whole thing to the FLOOR of the caboose, and stuck all the wires inside, and closed it all up...
Programming was OK, not too complex, but a lot of CVs to set to get the desired behaviour correct.. there are various choices in terms of what sounds a re played, which are manual or automatic, direction relative, light effects, etc etc etc.
After some settings, and some tweaking, I gave it a test. The LED was configured to flash as a FRED, the decoder will blow the appropriate horn signals when stopping, starting and at grade crossings. generator sounds were disabled, as well as wheel flat spots. I did leave wheel flange squeel and clikety clacks on, as well as coupler and brake noises. coupler and brake noises are manual only. however, the brake and air let off is used to indicate when a car is added (let off) or removed (manual brake applied) from a consist.
the process to add or remove cars from a consist is done with manual consisting, or smart consisting. manual is the traditional way that required programming. smart consist is simply done with the wave of a magnet. And that is the reason the decoder needed to be fitted to the ROOF of the caboose... in operation, select the loco that will be managing the train. press F8 4x then waive a magnet over the soundcar decoder, and it will indicate that IT has added itself to the LOCO as a consist. The loco is totally unaware that it is in a consist. the SoundCar decoder has simply placed the LOCO address in ITS OWN consist address, and so it will respond along with the loco. when you are finished, and remove the car from the consist, simply wave the magnet over the roof again, and the car will respond by 'applying the hand brake' (only the sound of course) to indicate that it is now no longer part of this consist...
Quality
All in all, I found the sound quality very good, with more than enough volume, even at the default levels. YES I know, the speaker used has as much of a part in sound quality as the decoder, but a great speaker will not make crappy sound any better. the decoder produces nice crisp sound with PLENTY of volume and very little 'noise'. The sounds can be switched off with F8. The decoder also has a 'quiet mode' which can be programmed to switch off all sounds in the car after a configurable amount of time of inactivity. When in use, this will mute the decoder after, lets say, 30 seconds after it has been removed from a consist, or if there has not been any DCC command for it or the consist in which it is... The decoder is very well built, and in a nice small form factor, with sufficiently long leads to make installation easy. It is NOT equipped with a standard plug, only wires that has to be soldered in to connect. This is NOT an issue, since you will not be buying any wagon with a DCC plug fitted, or metal power pickups as standard.
Features
The decoder has plenty of functions and sounds, without becoming overwhelming or too much. the sounds it produce are sensible for the purpose, and the various automation options does add value to the package. the Function outputs are a little weak at only 100mA max load, but it should be fine for most as few will use the functions for smoke or other typically high load applications.
Value for money
this is the difficult one... what IS value for money? for one it might be champagne on a beer budget.. the SoundTraxx Tsunami SoundCar in a 3 unit bulk pack cost R1375, that is R458 each, as opposed to about R560 each when purchased loose. Add to this a speaker which will cost from about R90 up to R165, depending on the size, and if it comes with or without enclosure. many will stop reading here, and I do not blame them. My first sound installations in locos cost about the same! That is for a full function sound decoder and speaker... but this is many years later. A typical install, consisting of loco decoder and a speaker, will not easily cost you less than around R1100 per locomotive, so at 50% of that price it is not bad. It adds a lot to the ambience when there are 2 or 3 cars in a train running with the soundcar decoders. but I will agree that it is likely not for everybody.
At least give it a look... You just might be interested to add it to some cars in your fleet...
after some use, I will post an update on lessons learned, and possible further feedback, if any. I will also post pictures of the install tonight or tomorrow, especially to explain the modifications I did to the bogie using the Kadee springs for power pickup.
regards and all the best!
