That Guy wrote: I've been out of model railroading for about 8 years and I am planning a new layout. I have the Railcommand system from CVP and would like to incorporate the newer locomotives on the market that have sound built in. Since the system isn't digital, will it be able to support sound and control features such as the horn and bell.
Anyway to the real topic ------------------>>>
To work with Railcommand the new sound unit has to be dual mode. That is the sound must work in "DC" mode. It cannot be a DCC only unit like the old Soundtraxx were.
The simplest way to do this is to put the Railcommand reciever between the locomotive power pick up and the sound unit input. If possible set the sound unit to DC only mode. When configured like this the sound will respond to a Railcommand throttle the same way it would to a DC throttle. It means the locomotive won't move until almost 1/2 throttle. It takes some practice to get used to not shutting off the power. Be certain to read the units specific manual on how to control the sound via DC before you try it. Otherwise there is a good chance the bell or horn will get stuck onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
How well this works will depend on how the Railcommand system is configured. If it is configured for 1024 or 512 channels (another hint that it is a digital unit), there will probably be too much delay in the throttle response to work well. Set it down to 256 or lower. The fewer channels, the better it will respond and work. I have also noticed that the wireless throttles work better than the wired. I don't know why that is.
Another way to do this would be to get a sound unit that has radio control for controlling its sounds like the MRC unit used in the Genesis 4-6-6-4. Unfortunately, in my opinion this is a really poor sounding unit.
To get fancier, one could use the hardware interupts on the sound processors and hook them up to the Railcommand headlamp control circuit. As I recall this would mean every reciever on the layout (not just the sound ones) would need trace M1 & M2 cut (check the manual to make certain I am remembering correctly), and the command unit configured accordingly. Doing this would make the headlamp control of a throttle direct access to the horn or whatever you hook it to. If you want to pursue this option consider the "Phoenix" sound units as they have more interface options than some of the other brands.
Another option is to use two recievers and two channels for each locomotive. One for loco control and the other for sound control.
I have a BLI E7 that uses a "mini" reciver, and a BLI M1 steamer with the "power" reciever. I think the "Power" is a much better choice. I keep expecting the "mini" to fry but it's been years now with no problems.
I've always wanted to add a "life saver circuit" to the reciver to reduce or even eliminate sound cut outs on dirty track but have never gotten around to it. This circuit was talked about in one of CVPs newsletters (the second to last as I recall).
Also were you aware that the PMP112 people actually made a Railcommand / CTC-80 compatable steam sound unit? It was a kit and fairly large. I purchased one but never completed the construction. It WAS an analog unit that had a pot to "zero" the locomotive response.
I don't have more Railcommand equipted locomotives and haven't followed up on many of these designs because I switched to DCC about five years ago. All my Railcommand equipment is on other people's layouts where I operate.
I've been out of model railroading for about 8 years and I am planning a new layout. I have the Railcommand system from CVP and would like to incorporate the newer locomotives on the market that have sound built in. Since the system isn't digital, will it be able to support sound and control features such as the horn and bell. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!