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All I run are Tsunami ...  well ok,  and one lonesome TCS DP2X .  I'm happy with them but can not compare with anything else.  One of our kind and gracious sponsors to the rescue.

http://www.tonystrains.com/technews/qsi-revo-tsunami.htm

Marc Fournier

I find the Loksound very

I find the Loksound very good, I have not used a Tsumamis. You have adjustable BEMF like the QSI but with one set of PID controls, plus you can set a speed at which BEMF cuts out. I have mine set so BEMF cuts out at about 20 mph, allowing locos to match better at speed.

They have the normal lighting effects, plus when turning on or off a light even a LED they do it gradually like an incandescent lamp. The sound is good especially if you have a Lokprogrammer, which allows you change sounds and best of all set acceleration sounds which sound great.

My only complaint is that you can't do manual dimming, only automatic, when ever the loco stops.

Mike Ruby

Soundtraxx Bigot Here!

I guess I'd have to call myself a "Soundtraxx bigot".  Until they finally unveiled their Tsunami for Diesel in Anaheim last summer,  I had never heard any other sound decoder where I could close my eyes and think I was actually standing ~600ft from a 1st Generation EMD 567 prime mover - the way I could with the DSD-AT100LC (not sure I got that model number exactly right?).  Unfortunately the "LC" series decoders are hyper-sensitive to nanosecond power interruptions, so I usually left them turned off during yard work where there's a lot of turnouts. 

Now I have a question: Does anybody know if the new Tsunami is equipped with a stay-alive capacitor?  I know the sound is spot-on, from listening to it on the MRH video at the Soundtraxx booth in Anaheim.  But I definitely  don't want to plunk down $85 for a decoder that's going to re-boot itself every few minutes.

Tsunami diesels

Ken,

The Tsunamis have a keep alive.  Unfortunately there are a couple of things Soundtraxx did with these which you might find to be an issue.  One is that the new behavior on a power dropout has changed.  The old way was that the whole decoder reset.  i.e. startup sounds would start and it would accelerate slowly up to the last throttle setting.

The new behavior is that on power interuption it will come back up at whatever throttle you last set it at and no startup sounds.  See this link. 

As a result, some people are installing bigger KACs ( Keep Alive Capacitors ).  For some the bigger caps actually make the problem worse once the capacitor no longer has the oomph to run the motor but still has enough to keep the decoder memory alive.  So you have a non responsive decoder that "remembers" what it was doing when the power comes back and you're off to the races in what seems to be an uncontrolled runaway.  You actually have full control, but you just don't know it as the thing takes off.  The smaller cap in that case would be better as the decoder would have completely used it's capacitor power and would be starting from scratch.  One of the guys over at the store I hang out at has had a fleet of Tsunami EMDs sidelined as he had the original caps.  They've been doubling the cap size and he's happier, but they're still tweaking it.

If you install larger KACs I would definitely suggest you install an inrush current limiter or you may have issues if you have a booster or breaker reset.  The choice would definitely help for the momentary glitches providing you don't use accel in your decoder.  As it tools along and loses power, there should be enough power or momentum to ride over the dirty section and then just pick up where it left off, possibly with the slightest drop in sound.  Your operating style will determine whether or not you get bitten by the behavior.

The other minor gripe I've seen over on the Soundtraxx group is the startup behavior.  Some people like all the locos to make noise on layout startup.  Some want the loco to only make noise when you select it.  Apparently either the CVs to do this have changed, it's not clearly documented, or the default is different.  I haven't really managed to figure out their complaints.

I've also been told that the Loksounds are pretty sensitive to dirty track as well.  Most likely this can be solved with a KAC change but finding the "right" value will probably need experimenting.

I just don't know how their BEMF or lighting effects compare. 

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S

I thought it all seemed too good to be true...

Shog, ya burst my bubble!  (But thanx for the heads-up)

I suspected this business of the KAC's was a double-edged sword, I read somewhere else that one of the mfgr's warned about this [runaway] behavior.  That, plus the fact that I'm somewhat short on cash at the moment, leads me to think I should maybe sit tight and wait until the technology goes thru a 3rd round of improvements.  I don't have the electronic skills or patience to experiment around with this stuff.  I survived 20+ years in the hobby before the first sound decoders hit the market, I believe I can last a little longer

burst bubble

Ken,

Sorry about that.  Like I said, some people seem to run right into a brick wall on this.  Others don't notice at all.  I would think if you have clean track and "live" frogs you may not even see that if you don't use acceleration values.  I know that other guy was unhappy with what he had and I suspect he's got the more "typical" layout in terms of maintenance and whatnot.  I'm guessing that over time people will figure out what values work best and they'll post it, or you can have a local shop do it for you.

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S