Randy:
I know the sound of a VW slide valve engine very well and it just wouldn't cut it with me. I am not a VW fan, to put it politely.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Look in the ESU European section. I used file number 54880 for my high rail truck. Would probably sound pretty good for your critter as well. There's a sound sample there for you to listen to ....
http://www.esu.eu/en/downloads/sounds/generation-4/loksound-v40/?tx_esudecoderprojects_pi1%5Bpage%5D=3&cHash=2be90b8daa4c528a76aa9e8ee4880172
I also used a 4.0 Micro decoder and swapped out the horn.
(edit) - Just checked my customer files, and I also used file number 72443 (a converted 3.5 file) which is a CAT diesel in a number of client's On30 critters and they are thrilled with them !
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Hi Mark:
Thanks for the suggestion for the sound file. Unfortunately I can't get past the diesel rattle. I guess I could pretend that it was a really worn out gas engine but then I'd have to find space for a smoke unit to mimic the amount of oil the thing would be using.
hon30critter Hi Mark: Thanks for the suggestion for the sound file. Unfortunately I can't get past the diesel rattle. I guess I could pretend that it was a really worn out gas engine but then I'd have to find space for a smoke unit to mimic the amount of oil the thing would be using. Dave
Ah - So you're running gas instead of diesel, huh ? The Galloping Goose might be closer to what you're after ....
Mark:
I had assumed that the Mack was gas powered, and I believe that it had two engines. There are two exhaust stacks.
I thought originally that I could get away with a diesel sound but once I heard the files I decided that I wouldn't be happy with the result. I did notice that there was at least one European engine with twin motors but IIRC they were 12 cylinders each. That would certainly give me a critter with lots of bark, but not much bite. I think there would be a real disconnect between the 15 tonner and the sound it was making!
For now, I am going to work on ways to get it to run reliably (or 'them' if I gang two together). There is no use investing in sound if it doesn't run smoothly.
Thanks again
Here's a video I found of one running, DC. Same Bachmann 44-ton power unit. It's going a bit fast, but it seems to not have pickup issues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn6VrQV5brA
There sure is a lack of information on those little Mack switchers available. Best guess is that that had a pair of 4 cylinder gas engines in them. There's a good bit of information about their plant switchers #4 and #5, but those were not built in-house, they are square boxcabs that were modofied with mack engines into gas-electric units, not steeplecabs like the little 4 wheel model. There's a 12-ton version not to far from me, non-operating and by one report basically been rusting away in storage for 30 years, although another says it is being cosmetically restored. That one looks exactly like the Jordan model. Only place you could get proper motor sounds for somethign like this would be an antique truck show, if there are any operational Mack model AC trucks with the original motor. There's no mention of what sort of horn or bell the little steeplecabs had, the boxcabs it is mentioned that the original air whistle was repalced with a truck air horn (these being modified around 1939), and the missing bell on them never replaced. The 10-20 year older steeplecabs - I don't know what they would have used. I lean towards an air whistle, dunno if they had air horns for trucks in the 1920's.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Hi Randy:
Neat videos. Thanks.
They were running a little fast. My Mack runs fine at those speeds too. However, higher speeds will mask momentary pickup problems, as I'm sure you know. I want to be able to run mine reliably at slow speeds and that is where I am having a few minor problems. Hence the effort to find a 'keep alive' solution, be it twinned engines or a wagon with circuitry inside and all wheel pickup.
By the way, I got the TCS Z2 deoder and it is really tiny! It is intended to go into a Bachmann speeder but I am going to keep it as an option for the 15 tonner if the sound thing doesn't materialize. The Z2 could be squeezed into a couple of different spots by losing a bit of the lead sheet weight, leaving the top of the cab wide open. The top of the cab might then be able to hold a deconstructed (rearranged) TCS Keep Alive circuit.
Here are a couple of comparison shots between the TCS Z2 and a Digitrax DN135:
This is speculation at this point but worth a look. I do think I will buy a TCS Keep Alive module just to play with.
Problem now is I have almost too many options to weigh through! Goes to prove there is more than one way to pet a cat!
Wow, I haven't had much reason to play around with anything smaller than the TCS MC series (in my 44 tonner, coincidently) - everything else I have is bigger and fits a T1 size decoder. That IS amazingly small. My 44 tonner is the newer single motor one, so I don;t have a good reference on the size of that power truck, but a friend of mine scratchbuilds small N scalle steam locos with tender drive AND sloped tenders, for tiny decoders he uses a CT Elektronik one which I think is about the smallest decoder made, but that looks almost as small.
Edit - just looked it up. The CT Elektronik page is in German but dimensions in MM are given, as they are on the TCS web page. The Z2 is listed as 12.95mm x 6.65mm x 2.75mm. The CTE DCX76Z is listed as the smallest decoder in the workld and is HALF the size of the Z2 - 6.9mm x 6.1mm x 1.7mm. 0.8A max current, 1.6A peak: http://www.tran.at/Produkte/DCX76z.shtml
The TCS keep-alive modules can be reworked a little bit, but the overall volume will remain the same - you can;t cut out a capacitor, since they are low voltage and wired in series, remove any and the remaining ones will overvolt and Bad Things will happen. With that small of a decoder - perhaps a surface mount regular electrolytic along with a surface mount resistor and diode could be crammed in. It won't be the duration of the TCS kepp alive, but you likely don't need several seconds of power to keep it moving.
Oh and here's a place in the US that sells the CT Elektronik decoders - with a nice picture for size comparison: http://store.sbs4dcc.com/ctelektronikdcx76z/fsub-microdccdecodernem6516-pinwiredplug.aspx
Yes, smaller than the head on a dime! Want to add DCC to a hand car? This is the decoder to use. This would be good for the Bachmann Speeder too, I think.
Oh and the product page has the specs translated into English, in case you lack even my very basic rusty German. And an English version of the manual, which I've seen before - kind of lacking on the advanced motor control stuff (lacking in explanation - not in capabilities), but other than specifics liek that they are NMRA compliant decoders and are listed in JMRI as well.
Wow Randy, that is amazingly small and the price is pretty close to the Z2.
Darn it, now you have gone and spent more of my money again! Please don't tell my wife!!
I do recognize that I would have to maintain all of the components in the TCS Keep Alive unit but I thought there might be a possibility of making it a little longer and narrower, or of distributing the components throughout the engine a bit
Just so nobody thinks I am ignoring them on this thread, I am going to be gone for a few days after tomorrow (Monday) so I will reply once I get back.
We are going bird watching (my other hobby, which I share with my wife) at Point Pelee National Park on Lake Erie, just southeast of Windsor, Ontario. Now stop laughing - it is a serious hobby! Point Pelee is one of the premiere birding sites in the world at this time of year. We may see 50 or 60 different species in three days.
Each to his own, eh! And besides, I might get a new camera out of the deal! Hehehe!
hon30critter Just so nobody thinks I am ignoring them on this thread, I am going to be gone for a few days after tomorrow (Monday) so I will reply once I get back. We are going bird watching (my other hobby, which I share with my wife) at Point Pelee National Park on Lake Erie, just southeast of Windsor, Ontario. Now stop laughing - it is a serious hobby! Point Pelee is one of the premiere birding sites in the world at this time of year. We may see 50 or 60 different species in three days. Each to his own, eh! And besides, I might get a new camera out of the deal! Hehehe! Dave
Didn't realize you were a local guy .... Point Pelee is only a few miles from me !
Mark
I'm not quite local. We live in Bradford on the Holland Marsh. Point Pelee is about a 4 1/2 hour drive.
I hope you enjoy seeing the multitude of birds that come your way each spring.