Enjoyed it

Thanks for sharing this James.  I enjoyed your demonstration, and agree completely with you about the coasting feature.  I've been on a bit of a crusade lately telling people about the fun of using this combined with high momentum settings (CVs 3 and 4) and Tsunami's independent brake function.  Combined, they've literally changed the hobby for me.  I'm operating far more than I ever have thanks to the realism and fun that these functions have introduced.  

For some time, I've been growing bored with yard switching on my layout, as it had become somewhat tedious.  A week or so ago I broke up the consist I was using in the yard, removing the Loksound-equipped unit so I could try the Tsunami coast and independent brake functions out in yard service.  What a difference!  I now realize it was the repetitious nature of the sound that was growing tedious, back when all I could do was throttle up and down, hearing the same sound sequence over and over.  

In the past, if a train was moving, most of the time it was really throttled up.  Yard switching was a constant chorus of movements at about notch 5 or 6, dropping briefly during a stop before throttling right back up again.  It was better than no sound at all, but over time I found the constant, repetitive nature of the sound unrealistic and a bit irritating.  My favorite part about the coast function is that it introduces prototypical moments of relative quiet into our operations where most of what we hear is just the locomotive rolling over rail joints as it idles in relative silence.  Those more peaceful times are not only enjoyable by themselves, but they make the moments when the locomotive thunders to life and really starts working hard that much more special.

If interested, I've outlined the CV settings for these functions at  https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/iaiss-west-end-fun-tsunami-revelations-now-with-video-12196707 .

Great job!

That's fantastic, James! Can you tell us a little about the installation? Where did you mount the speaker and how? It really looks and sounds great! Thanks for taking the time to shoot the video and post it!

I Phone speaker

James,

Unit sounds great, may I ask where did you get the speaker and do you know the part number for it?  I was told there are a dozen different I phone speakers available.

Thanks for the posting

Andy Hauser

Joe, I think you nailed it

Joe, I think you nailed it there with your description, that's exactly how I see it as well.  I did a lot of searching online prior to finding about this, to see if I was missing something with respect to the decoder sound.  How to get this thing to idle down and still move / coast?  I find it amazing that Soundtraxx doesn't hype this up, as too me it's one of the best features on the tsunami.  (perhaps unintended?)  The other thing is the enhancement of the actual operation of the locomotive, you have  the throttle, the F4 (return to neutral),  the brake on, brake release, so it keeps you busy running it as well.  And no manual notching!  Lot's of fun...

Pete, The install is a pretty simple affair really, the decoder is mounted with double sided tape to the motor, and the I-phone speaker, taped to the decoder.  The large capacitor that comes with the decoder is fed up into the cab.  Mine is a pretty crude looking affair, I really didn't have much room!  Others may have more helpful suggestions on this or perhaps using a smaller decoder.  I think that mounting the speaker directly to the underside of the shell may also be beneficial.  This setup works, but if the shell contacts the speaker you can get vibration noise.  That wouldn't be a problem in a larger unit.  I'll see about getting a pic.

Andy, I'm not sure that there are dozens of different I-phone speakers, there are many people selling them for sure.  I'll try to find a part number for you.  A quick search on e-bay will bring them up.  The I-phone 4 speaker is a little longer than the 5 version and to my ear sounds even better, but it was a little longer and wouldn't fit in this unit.  They can be purchased for a dollar or two.  I just ordered 6 from Hong Kong for 5 dollars.

I figure that the engineers at apple toiled over these things to make them as small as possible while producing the best sound they could get, and why re-invent the wheel?  The I-phone speaker and baffle unit produce really great sound.  No comparison to the original Soundtraxx speaker I had planned for this unit. There are threads out there that discuss I-phone speakers (not my idea)  Tip: You don't want to open the I-phone speaker, or cut into the baffle or enclosure as it will compromise the sound.  

Thanks guys!

Nice job. Thanks for

Nice job. Thanks for sharing.

Rob in Texas

Andy

I can't find a part # right now, but just do a search on e-bay for an I -phone 4 (or 5) replacement speaker.  Some people call them buzzers or loud speakers, etc.  As long as they look like this you your good to go.

I phone 4 speaker

I-phone 5 speaker (I cut the long piece off and sealed opening)

Soundtraxx hasn't a clue about this....

James,

Just to drive home the point, this was a workaround, discovered by Brian Bennett. Soundtraxx hasn't a clue about this capability..I guaranty it. Unless they've been reading this thread, and others.

Fact of the matter is, they, and LokSound, should have this feature as an option that can be function-key assigned, independent from dynamic brake. Like Joe says, it is a MAJOR game changer.

I wouldn't be surprised if Matt Herman at LokSound makes this into an available feature in the future. He knows about it, saw it in action here at an Allagash op. session last weekend, and always listens to customer feedback. His finger is on the pulse of things for sure.

In my view, he's blazing new trails on the sound front. This would take it over the top!

Mike Confalone

Thank-you Brian!

Soundtraxx should thank Brian Bennett and bring him on as a consultant!  At the very least a few complimentary decoders....

They ought to be hyping this as one of their best features, although done properly as Mike stated on another post without having to sacrifice the dynamics.  Thanks again to Brian for his discovery, and all the others about getting the word out...

Looking forward to Matt Herman of Loksound's efforts.  Some of the new recordings I've heard from them are the best yet.  Very encouraging to hear that Matt saw this effect in action.  No doubt you guys impressed upon him how important this feature is to us, not to mention how seeing it in person speaks for itself.

James

Thanks!

Nice!!

The sound is great and I also really like the looks of that loco too.

Bob Bochenek

Speakers

James

Thanks for the info, just found 5 speakers for the Iphone 5.  I'll try them out and let you know how they sound.

Thanks again

Andy 

Andy, No problem, I'm

Andy,

No problem, I'm pretty sure you will be very impressed with them.  I look forward to seeing what you think of them.

James

sw9 sounds

So realistic! when I ran on SP i was taught to start out with notch 2, then drop back to 1. this was to not waste so much fuel up the stack. Most of the old heads used to go to notch 3 or 4 to get kick in the pants acceleration, but doing so made a lot of smoke! This was late '50's early '60's! Ah, the West Oakland memories! John Colley, Sonoma, CA

Hot stuff.

James,

You were correct, I am very impressed with the sound quality of the I phone speaker. I hooked up two using an EMD E unit decoder and they sounded awesome.  Next step is to experiment with placement for the best sound, More on that later.  

Not bad for 10 bucks (including shipping) for 5 speakers vs 13.00 for one speaker that is 3 or 4 x the size.

Thanks again for you help with this.

Andy Hauser

Minooka, IL

Love this!!!

This may push me to DCC

This video was the first demonstration that I have seen that actually got me excited about DCC. My modeling and layout is all about shortline rural railroading with one  locomotive so all the benefits of DCC just didn't get my interest up in the past. Also, the sound I have heard has been very disappointing to me. Then I ran into this thread and ...there it was....sound and motion that seemed believable and synchronized.

 I have one question. I'm more of a scenery/layout modeler so chopping up a switcher to fit all this together (on top of setting up the layout for DCC) doesn't appeal to me. Is there a switcher with built in Tsunami that can be programmed to sound as good and operate as well (coasting and all) as the customized loco in the thread. On the sound, I'm especially looking for a throaty sound from the speaker at low volumes....is this only attainable with a replacement speaker like the IPhone unit?

 I'm an experienced modeler returning to the hobby but a total newbie when trying to find what kind of DCC/sound system to put into my layout under construction. Maybe there is a thread that sums up the different systems or an E book  for guys like me. I have a somewhat technical background so basic electronic info is helpful but what I'm really looking for is the final aesthetic result and this video definitely has accomplished that for me.

My layout is in a small room and will have about 45 feet of mainline and close to the same for passing tracks and sidings. I may eventually run two locomotives but that will be it.

 Thanks for any input.

...

Andy: That's great, glad you like the speakers!  Let us know what you discover with respect to mounting.

John: Good to hear, I guess there is a prototype for just about anything...Maybe someday we will get the realistic smoke too!

Rick:  Glad you liked it, believe me it can be done much better than this, I was holding the phone / camera and trying to run the loco at the same time, so in my opinion the video is a little unrealistic and more of just a demo of the sound and what's possible.  It truly can and does get better!

 I can't speak to the availability of switchers with Tsunamis ready to run, (others will know this for sure though),

What I can tell you is that once you know what to adjust, any Tsunami decoder can have it's CV's adjusted within a few minutes to run like this. 

On the first page of this topic, Joe Atkinson posted a link to his CV settings.

I'd have a listen to what's out there in ready to run in person and then go from there.  I have a couple of Athearn Genesis units that I'm happy with as they came.  The video switcher had no sound or decoder so the I-phone speaker was the way to go for me, when I compared it to others I had on hand.  

 I would very much recommend you take a look at NCE's Powercab system.  It's a relatively low cost way to get into DCC with a very capable system.  

It is easily upgraded should you decide to run more equipment than say four sound equipped locomotives.  Programming of CV's is straightforward and it is program track capable right out of the box.  Basically after you get it home you can be running an engine on factory settings with this system in as little as 10 minutes in terms of the actual hook-up.  If you do a little searching, there are all kinds of good informative posts, etc on DCC.  The added realism it brings is worth it even for running a single locomotive,   I added a circuit breaker to protect the NCE system as well as a small panel, but really there are only two wires to run to the track in it's most basic form.  (Not including bus and feeder wiring, etc)  I happen to enjoy wiring and there's no end to the things you can do to complicate this, much like anything else in life, lol.  

Thanks,

James

thanks!

Thanks for the info and the photos. You have been a great help and inspiration to make the move into DCC and sound.

Testing a Switcher

James,

Thank you for sharing! I watched this video on my TV and good home cinemasystem with good speakers.

Wow. I was very impressed of the sound quality.

Were did you buy those iPhone speakers, Andy and James?

I had to go down to the basement and test my Bachmann S4 with a Soundtraxx Sound Value decoder.

The sound is ok, but it seems it is not possible to set up the loco to run like you did.

This decoder does not have the breaking nor the Dynamic Brake so it is not possible to get the coasting.

I have tried to set up for manual notching, but not succeeded.

So I guess you should keep away from that engine, Rick.

Mike C has written that ESU has something nice coming up, and Atlas has annonced new Alco swithcers with ESU decoders. Maybe they could do the trick?

Dear KnuT, As is sometimes

Dear KnuT,

As is sometimes the case. MRH Search is your friend...

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17778

That the B'mann S-series "cut-down TSU" could not 100% achieve the result has been discussed and documented...
(that Also S-series switchers didn't generally have Dynamics on the prototype may be a compounding factor...)

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Factory Tsunami sound

Rick, I've done all my own Tsunami installs so far, but have an order for four Athearn Genesis GP38-2s with factory Tsunami sound due later this year, and unlike the Bachmann Tsunamis, the Genesis version - at least the one in their MP15ACs, GP38-2s and GP9s - will support the CVs you need in order to take advantage of these features.  I didn't check all their other models, but if there's one you're interested in, you can review its features at  http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory .  Just click on the manufacturer, then choose the model under "Sound Equipped Models" and look to be sure it supports the CVs mentioned in my thread at  https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/iaiss-west-end-fun-tsunami-revelations-now-with-video-12196707 :  CVs 3, 4, 21, 25, 29, 41, 61, 139, 196, 198 for the independent braking effect, and CVs 116 and 133 for the coasting function.

One important thing to note is that the early Athearn MP15ACs used factory MRC sound decoders, and in my opinion, those should be avoided like the plague.  They don't support these functions being discussed, but worse yet, they have motor control that's so bad that the model's not even functional in my opinion.  So if you're interested in the MP15AC, be sure you get a later Tsunami-equipped version.  It's really a beautiful model, so I'm glad Athearn moved to Tsunamis for them.

Soundtraxx catching on?

I wonder if Soundtraxx perhaps IS reading these threads.  I just noticed that they now highlight the independent brake feature under their "WOW - I didn't know Tsunami could do that" page at  http://www.soundtraxx.com/features/features.php?l=brake .  I'm writing to them to suggest that they add the coasting feature to the same section and consider it as a future stand-alone function.