Product Review: SoundTraxx Tsunami TSU-1000

This week, I thought I would do something a little bit different.  We have done several product reviews in the past, but they tend to be locomotives and rolling equipment.  Model railroading encompasses more than locomotive and freight cars, so I thought I would do some equipment that makes it operate.  Today I want to talk about a DCC sound decoder, which I rather like.  SoundTraxx offers a wide range of DCC decoders for mobile and stationary applications.  I have known about them for quite some time, but because of the price, I have been hesitant to purchase any of their products.  Recently, I found a distributor offering a kit to upgrade Athearn's recent P42DC locomotive models to DCC and sound.  These kits featured the TSU-1000 decoder, which is part of SoundTraxx's Tsunami line of products.  The decoder in the kit was programmed with modern sounds from General Electric's FDL-16 prime mover.

The Tsunami line of products is SoundTraxx's line of sound decoders.  They offer both sound and non sound decoders for stationary and mobile use, although they are best known for their sound decoders.  The TSU-1000 is a one amp DCC sound decoder, and they offer different options for the sounds programmed onto the decoder, which encompass a variety of steam and diesel sounds.  They generally specify the prime mover programmed onto the decoder, and then several options for horn, bell, and other sounds are also programmed onto the decoder, allowing the user to customize the sounds to match the prototype.

When my kits arrived, I discovered a few things about SoundTraxx decoders.  When one purchases a decoder from SoundTraxx, that is all they purchase.  Even if it is a sound decoder, it typically does not come with a speaker, baffle, or harness for easy installation.  The distributor that sold me my decoder kits had included all of those additional parts, which is a good thing because I would have not known that they are not included.  While a complete package, including all the required parts would be nice, I can see the benefits to not including them also.  It does allow the user to buy speakers and other parts specifically suited for the locomotive in which the system will be installed.  It also gives the buyer the option of finding the parts from another supplier, possibly at a lower price.  I can appreciate these benefits, but I would also think that a first time buyer with limited electronics experience may want something that includes everything.

Assembly of all the parts was not difficult.  It does require some basic soldering skills and some patience, but it was not difficult.  Assembling the baffle is a simple matter of gluing a couple of plastic parts together.  Once assembled, the speaker can simply be pressed into the baffle.  The speaker must be soldered to the leads that come from the decoder.  All the decoder leads must also be soldered to their appropriate location within the locomotive.  The decoder does come with a diagram, which shows where each wire should be connected.  Additionally, NMRA compliant 8-pin plugs are available, and the decoder leads could be soldered to that instead, if the user wanted an installation that could be easily removed in the future.  I tried this method on one decoder, but found it difficult to solder the wires to the tops of the pins.  On the second decoder, I connected it directly to the locomotive.

Once everything is assembled, it must somehow all get inside the locomotive.  With any sound decoders, this can be a little tricky.  It always seems as if there are about a thousand miles of wire, and finding a place for the speaker, where it will not cause other problems can also be challenging.  Fortunately, Amtrak units are car body type engines, and while space is not ample, it is not too cramped inside either.  Before I closed up the locomotive, I set it on the tracks to test everything.

When the locomotive is placed on the tracks, the decoder goes through a start up sequence.  It produces sounds that sound like a locomotive starting up and then idling.  I was actually quite impressed with the sound quality, although I did find the default volume level to be a bit loud.  That is easily adjusted, and can be adjusted on the main track if your DCC system allows main track programming.  After I got the volume turned down a little, I pulled out the cheat sheet, included with the decoder, and tested the various sound functions.  The only one I really did not like was the horn.  There was another cheat sheet with the various horns on the decoder, and instructions on how to change the horn sound, so I changed it, and tested it again.  Then I throttled up slowly, so I could hear when the decoder went to the next notch of power.  Overall, I was impressed with the sounds.

I have a DCC system that allows programming on the main track, provided the DCC decoder in question can be programmed on the main track.  I find this feature very handy, and I am not sure I would ever buy a system without it.  Every decoder I had used previously  had been fully programmable, as far as I was able to tell, on the main track.  I tried to change the address on this newly installed decoder, and found that it would not accept the new address.  Having never run into this problem before, I looked through the documentation included with the decoder, and found nothing.  There were several references to a complete decoder manual online, and so I checked that out, and then found that SoundTraxx decoders cannot have their address reprogrammed on the main track.  Most other things it seems are programmable on the main track, although there are a few things that SoundTraxx decoders will not accept unless it is moved to a programming track.

Overall, I am happy with the pair of decoders I purchased.  Eventually I would like to put sound in all my engines, because I like what it adds to operations.  I do plan to purchase more decoders from SoundTraxx, though I will probably purchase the speakers elsewhere to save a little money.  I do think the decoders are a good purchase, and a good value.  The sound quality is high, yet the price is comparable to most other sound decoders.  I have three SD70MAC's, and I am eager to try the TSU-1000 with the EMD 710 prime mover sounds next.

Electronics Part 4: DCC Wiring

First of all, I apologize for not having this post up on Monday. It has been a crazy week for me, because the textbook for one of my classes came in on Monday and I had a lot of homework to make up for it. Anyways, better late than never, right?

This is my last electronics post, and I will focus on DCC. Many people use DCC on their layouts because it is extremely versatile and user-friendly. However, many people do not use DCC because of the high price and because of fear. Many people believe that DCC is complicated and impossible to wire without an electrical engineering degree. I am writing this post to tell the world that this is all false. Wiring a layout for DCC is as easy as pulling it out of the box and plugging it in.

Before DCC, people would wire layouts using DC block control. To run more than one train at a time, you had to divide the layout into electrical blocks to power the tracks. Power then had to be routed from the appropriate throttle to the appropriate electrical block, and this was done through extremely complex switching circuits with more toggle switches than you can believe. People with small switching layouts would wire the entire layout on one electrical block, or very few, to minimize how complicated the wiring could get. They would simply run feeders to all the tracks and anything that was on the layout would move. DCC changed all that. With each locomotive having its own address, you could now run any train you wanted, wherever you wanted, without the complex switching logic. Many people believe that because DCC is a more complicated power source, it must be more complicated to set up.

DCC is simple. Wire they layout as if you were putting the whole thing on a single DC block, and then connect the bus wires to the DCC power source. Plug in the throttle and you're good to go. It really is that simple. Bigger layouts often need boosters so more power is available for more trains. These simply get wired the same way. More detailed instructions can be found in your DCC owner's manual, but it is not hard at all.

The harder part is the decoders. One drawback to DCC is that every locomotive must have a decoder. The decoder takes the DCC signal and does all the fancy stuff to make the locomotives go and give you control over lights and sound. Many locomotives today come with DCC on board or DCC ready. When DCC comes with the locomotive, simply program and address into the decoder and you're good to go. DCC ready means there is a plug inside the locomotive. Buy a decoder, plug it in, program an address, and you are good to go. It gets tricky when you buy a locomotive that is not DCC ready, but even this isn't that hard when you get used to it.

National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) made a set of standards when DCC was becoming popular. They standardized the color coding for decoders, so no matter what decoder you buy, the color coding is the same, which makes installation easy. The color coding is as follows:

Red wire: right side electrical pickup.

Black wire: left side electrical pickup.

Orange wire: right side motor lead.

Grey wire: left side motor lead.

Blue wire: Common (positive) wire for all functions.

White wire: Front headlight, negative lead.

Yellow wire: Rear headlight, negative lead.

Some decoders also have a green and a purple wire, which are the negative leads for ditch lights. One wire goes to the right side ditch light, the other to the left side ditch light. It does not matter which wire goes to which light.

James wrote an article back in December about installing a decoder and lights in an Athearn locomotive that was not DCC ready. Click here to read that article.

I will not get into programming too much, because that is a beast that is different with each DCC system and decoder that you use. You can usually find the manual for your decoder online, which will tell you how to do both basic and complex programming with your decoder to make your trains do all sorts of cool stuff. I will, however, talk a little about what is available.

First and foremost, your decoder needs an address. This is a 1-4 digit number unique to that decoder. Most decoders come factory programmed as address 03, but you can program it to anything between 0 and 9999. Most people program their decoders to correspond with their locomotive numbers so they are easy to remember. Next you need to program your lights. Front and rear headlights are usually factory programmed, but ditch lights often need to be programmed by the user. Your decoder's manual will walk you through that process, as it is different for each decoder. You can also set acceleration and deceleration variables, which allow the locomotive to slowly build up speed or coast to a stop. This can take some getting used to, but really enhances the realism of your models. You can set a starting voltage, peak voltage, and sometimes a mid voltage, which are the voltages that end up going to the motor. For example, if you find that your model locomotive reaches its prototype's maximum speed at 10.7 volts, you can program your decoder never to send more than 10.7 volts to the motos so the model cannot go faster than the real thing. Many sound decoders come with several sound options, which you can choose from during programming. Again, your decoder's manual will walk you through all this.

Well, that's it for my electronics series. I hope it has helped you understand electricity and how to use it for model railroading. Next week we will start getting back to the product reviews and tutorials we normally write about!

Decoder Basics

A while ago, James wrote a post about installing a decoder in an Athearn locomotive. I thought I would expand on that topic a bit, and talk about the different decoder types, what they are used for, and basic programming for them.

Decoder Types

Different types of decoders are made for different uses. Sound decoders attach to a speaker to play realistic sounds, motor decoders power a locomotive, and function decoders toggle different auxiliary functions such as lighting. Sound decoders usually have motor leads and function leads, so a single decoder can be used to power the sounds, motor, and lights. Sound decoders are by far the most expensive, usually in the $100 price range. However, sound only decoders are available as well, so you don't have to remove an existing decoder from a locomotive if you want to add sound to it. This is a more complicated project, one that I have never done, but Model Railroader Magazine recently had a short article about it in their June 2011 issue.

Motor decoders are used to connect between the track power and the motor of a locomotive. This allows the locomotive to operate. These usually have 4 functions, but decoders with more functions are available as well. These can be used to control headlights, lighted number boards, marker lights, ditch lights, or any other cool features on the locomotive you can think of. These decoders are more affordable than sound decoders, generally in the $20-$30 price range.

Function only decoders do not have hookups for motors or speakers, they are strictly used for functions. Functions are strictly on or off, so they are no good for connecting to a motor. These can be used in a locomotive with a motor decoder if more functions are needed, or in passenger cars for lighting, or even in structures for interior or exterior lighting. I generally hook up structure lighting to a separate power source, so the DCC power only goes to trains, but if you only run one or two locomotives then there's no reason why you can't hook up lighting to the DCC system. A project I've wanted to try for a while is adding DCC lighting to a passenger car with a function decoder, where function 1 controls interior lighting, function 2 controls the marker lights on the A end, function 3 controls the marker lights on the B end, and on observation cars, function 4 controls the lighted drumhead. If I ever do this project, I will write a blog post about it. Function decoders are the cheapest and are generally under $20.

Installation and Programming

National Model Railroad Association, or NMRA, standardized the colors for decoder wiring. No matter what decoder you get, the colors all go to the same place. Red and black always go to the track power, orange and grey always go to the motor, blue is always the positive lead for functions, and all other colors are the functions. DCC ready locomotives come with either an 8 pin plug, a 9 pin plug, but decoders can be installed in locomotives that aren't DCC ready. Click here for a tutorial on that process. I always get 9 pin decoders. They plug right into a 9 pin socket, and they come with an adapter so they can also plug into an 8 pin socket. With a locomotive that is not DCC ready, if you cut the 8 pin end off of the adapter and solder the wires to their appropriate locations, you have successfully installed a 9 pin plug. That way if your decoder ever burns out, replacing it is as simple as plugging a new one in.

For step-by-step instructions on programming, please look at the instruction manual for your DCC system. Every system is different and I cannot possibly explain the programming procedure for each system, but I can talk about the different features you can program into your decoder. Every decoder works on a system of configuration variables, or CVs. Each CV is assigned a number, which you bring up so it knows which one to program. Then, each CV has a value, which depending on the CV, tells the decoder what to do. Different CVs do different things depending on the decoder, so consult the instruction sheet for your decoder to find out what the common ones are. More complete CV charts can be found online for more complex programming. However, the more common CVs are standardized, so your DCC programming can be more user friendly. For instance, the CV for the decoder's address is always the same CV on every decoder, so a DCC system can automatically call up that CV and tell you that your are changing the address.

The address is basically the decoder's name, but it is actually a number. It is generally a good idea to program the address to be the same as the locomotive number, so you can look at the locomotive and know what its address is. This is important for operating the locomotive. The address can be a value between 0 and 9999, so your choices are not at all limited.

Another common CV is the acceleration/deceleration controls. They are always the same CVs, so most DCC systems can program them easily. When you turn the throttle up or down, these CVs delay how quickly the locomotive responds to the action. That way they slowly go faster or slower, like the prototype. A real locomotive will not go zero to 60 in 3 seconds, nor do they stop on a dime! Operationally, this takes some getting used to, but it enhances the realism in your locomotives.

Finally, there is the starting voltage/top voltage CVs. These are also the same in every decoder. Some decoders also have a middle voltage. This is used for setting a top speed. Most model locomotives can go a lot faster than their full scale counterparts. This is a more complicated procedure, and I will only go into the basics. By using a scale speedometer or by calculating scale speed yourself, you can figure out how fast a locomotive is going at a certain voltage. You can then look up the top speed of the real locomotive you are programming, and program the top voltage so the model cannot go any faster than the real thing. Starting voltage is generally zero, but some locomotives won't start until they have a higher voltage. When the starting voltage is set to zero, the locomotive may go through several speed steps before moving. By figuring out the voltage where the locomotive starts moving, you can then set the starting voltage to just below that point. That way, the locomotive responds to low speed steps.

Other CVs include operation of headlights, marker lights, ditch lights, and other functions. These are less common CVs, and so they may not be standardized. You will have to look up what they are in your decoder instructions to program them. Most CVs exist for the basic operations of the decoder and should not be changed. If you mess up and don't remember what the value of certain CVs used to be, you have not ruined your decoder. Most decoders have a CV where you can set the whole thing back to factory settings and start over. Again, this is not a standardized CV, so consult the instructions.

Decoder programming is not as complex as it may sound. With a little practice, you will quickly become a pro at programming decoders. I find it is a good idea to keep a spreadsheet for your decoders, with each CV value, its factory standard, what you have reprogrammed it to, and what that CV does. This will keep everything organized and will simplify future programming. And that way, if you buy a new locomotive and want to speed match it with another one you already have, you can look at the spreadsheet and know what to set as your top voltage!

DCC and Lighting Upgrades

(James)

I recently completed an upgrade project with one of my locomotives.  When I say recently, I mean this morning.

Several weeks ago I acquired an Athearn F59PHI, in the Amtrak Cascades paint scheme.  This is a 2001 model, and so it did not come with Digital Command Control (DCC), or even as a "DCC Ready" model.  Seeing as I just got a DCC system up and running for my trains, I wanted to upgrade the model so it could be operated on DCC.  With "DCC Ready" models, there is usually a printed circuit board inside the model, with some sort of plug where a DCC decoder can easily be added.  The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) has standardized DCC to some extent, and so most "DCC Ready" locomotives either come with an eight pin plug or a nine pin harness for the decoders.  It is quite simple to install them, as they only need to be plugged in and programmed and then everything is ready to go.

When a locomotive is not "DCC Ready," it can be a bit more involved to get a decoder inside it.  That is what this project was.  This was a very basic Athearn locomotive, with no wiring.  The electricity traveled from the trucks via metal tabs to the motor and the headlight.  The light and the motor were both grounded to the frame, which in turn was grounded through the trucks.  The headlight was simply a light bulb cradled in a metal post, bolted to the frame.  There really was not much to it, but it made the locomotive very simple and easy to work on.  Adding DCC required a few things though.  Since DCC requires all the electricity to be routed through a decoder, the motor and headlight would need to be electrically isolated from the frame of the locomotive.    Those metal tabs were removed, and electrical tape was placed along the frame, beneath the motor, so there would be something between it and the frame.  Leads were soldered from the decoder socket to the motor commutators and to the frame and trucks.  I chose to use a nine pin socket so I could remove the decoder if needed.  All the wires are color coded, and the color code is something else that is standardized by the NMRA.  That color code is the same regardless of who makes the decoder or the locomotive.

Once the motor was isolated from the frame and connected to the decoder harness, it was time to think about lighting.  This locomotive had one light bulb in it originally, which was on regardless of the direction the locomotive was going.  It lit the headlight and the cab windows.  I decided I wanted directional lighting, if nothing else.  Basically, when the locomotive would be moving forward, I wanted the headlights on, and in reverse I wanted the rear headlight on.  Since I had several headlights lying around from a different, simpler DCC upgrade, I decided to just use those.  As I was trying to figure out how to mount the headlights, I discovered that they fit perfectly into the holes that the light was supposed to shine through!  I figured putting a light bulb in each of those holes would be the easiest way to do it.  That's how they really do it anyway!  Since I was doing that, I figured adding marker lights, and programming them to operate in reverse, would not be that much more difficult.  I glued the headlights in place and then began wiring for that.  In all, seven light bulbs were added.  Two main headlights were placed in the center of the nose, and two ditch lights in the lower corners.  I also installed two red marker lights on the front of the locomotive, and a single headlight in the rear.

Once everything was in place, I tested it before I soldered anything.  The first good thing was that the locomotive moved in the right direction when I told it to do that.  Next was the lights.  I tested all the headlights and marker lights, and those seemed to work fine.  Since I had not actually programmed the decoder up to this point, the ditch lights acted a little funny, but they did operate.  Once all that check out, I programmed the decoder.  Since it was locomotive #468, that is the address it got.  I looked through the instructions on how to program the ditch lights to work with the headlights.  Once I got through that programming, they operated the way they should.  Once everything was programmed and operating as expected, I took the locomotive back to the workbench and soldered all the electrical connections.  I placed a bit of electrical tape over each connection to prevent short circuits inside the locomotive.

The next step was to put the locomotive back together.  This is a locomotive which once had no wiring in it at all.  After all that, there was quite a bit of wiring, and a decoder to cram in there.  It was getting pretty crowded!  That proved to be a bit more challenging than I had anticipated, but taping some of the excess wire in place did help.  Once everything had been reassembled, it was time for one more test, just to make sure I had not damaged anything as I was trying to cram it into the locomotive.  Everything worked.  To prevent light leaks, I added some putty for hanging posters around the back of the light bulbs, on the inside of the locomotive.  It was easy to install, and easy to form around the light bulb and seal the light out.

For anyone trying to upgrade a locomotive, here are a few reference items for you.
Red wire: Right (Engineer) side electrical pickup
Black wire: Left (Conductor/Fireman) side electrical pickup
Orange wire: This goes to the motor, where the right side pickup went.
Grey wire: This goes to the motor, where the left side pickup went.
Blue wire: Common wire for all lights.  If you use LED's, this goes to the positive side.  Make sure you install LED's correctly or they will not work.
White wire: This goes to the headlight.  If you use LED's, this goes to the negative side.
Yellow wire: This goes to the rear headlight.  If you use LED's, this goes to the negative side.  I also used it for wiring the marker lights, since I wanted them to come on in reverse.
Purple wire: This is a function wire.  Not all decoders have it.  If you are wiring ditch lights, wire this to the left side.  For LED ditch lights, this goes to the negative side of the LED.
Green wire: This is a function wire.  Not all decoders have it.  If you are wiring ditch lights, wire this to the right side.  For LED ditch lights, this goes to the negative side of the LED.

When you wire light bulbs, make sure you check the rated voltage and amperage.  You can operate 12 volt bulbs with no resistors, but there are also 1.5 volt bulbs out there and various LED's.  Light bulbs will explode if you let too much voltage through them, so make sure you use resistors if needed!  The amperage is also important, although the results are a little less drastic!  I used 30 milliamp, or 0.03 amp bulbs.  You want to watch these numbers so you do not fry a decoder.  They fry if there are too many amps.  Typically, on one function, you do not want more than 100 milliamps, or 0.1 amps.  In wiring my headlights, I had multiple light bulbs on each function, but I stayed under 100 milliamps.  On the white wire, I had two light bulbs, or 60 milliamps.  The green and purple wires both had one bulb, for 30 milliamps each.  The yellow wire had three lights on it.  The rear headlight and two marker lights were all on that one, for a total of 90 milliamps.  Make sure you are conscious of this so you do not overload your decoder.  The results could be fatal for it!

Now that the project is complete, I am a lot more aware of how DCC is wired.  I am by no means a professional, but it was a leap I had to take.  I was quite nervous about pulling apart a locomotive and rewiring everything.  It is not nearly as hard as I imagined it would be.  If you are nervous about taking the plunge and upgrading to DCC the hard way, I would recommend you start with an Athearn locomotive.  Since they are so basic and simple to start with, it makes life a lot easier when you go to upgrade.   They are very simple, and easy to understand, and they generally have a bit of space to work with inside them.  If it is the soldering that worries you, get some wire and practice a bit first.  It also helps if you have a 30 watt or less soldering iron and the thinnest solder you can find.  Another useful tool for troubleshooting is a multimeter.  It will tell you easily if you have isolated everything properly, and what is connected and what is not.  Once you do it once, you will not be nervous about it in the future.  Even on different locomotives, the principles are all the same, and you'll be able to do it again.

Programming can be a whole different beast, and we will cover that in a future installment.

For pictures of the project, check out our Facebook photo album.