Decided to throw caution to the wind and get my feet wet with a first time attempt DCC conversion with my Atlas RS3 that I initially posted questions for here.
I cut and modified the light pipes to attach Yellow Glo 3mm LED's (thank you Randy), wired them and the motor to the decoder followed by a (yea!) successful (without body shell) test run. In my original post Mark A. posted a pic of a 16mm x 32 mm speaker he attached to a cut down weight which after some back and forth on my part have decided is the better option than mounting a smaller round speaker in the cab roof.
My dilemma is the closest size speaker I've found is a 16mm x 35mm. I'm thinking it was maybe a typo now, but wanted to ask here if anyone can point me to a link for a 16mm x 32mm speaker with enclosure. Thanks guys...
16 x 32 seems to be a typo, since most speakers are 16 x 35, or if that would be too big you could go with a smaller size, such as a 16 x 25 from Litchfield Station.
http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=999007633&cat=193&page=1
Soundtraxx sell a 14 X 25.5 mm. speaker (810112) for wich they have either a double adhesive gasket (810138) or a baffle kit (810102) to ease installation.I have a few of their speakers installed (all 8 OHMs) and they do sound nice.
over50:
If you really do need a 16mm x 32mm speaker, there is the option of trimming a 35mm speaker frame and enclosure to take 2 or 3mm off of the ends. The speaker has a frame which holds the moving parts and that frame can be trimmed down quite close to the actual 'speaker' (the moving bits). Obviously you don't want to cut into the moving parts but if you are careful you can come pretty close. Trimming the enclosure to match is easy. I use 'Gloozit' to cover the open ends of the enclosure, being careful that none of the adhesive makes contact with the moving parts.
If you need a smaller speaker with great performance (for a small speaker that is) consider Tony's Train Exchange Mini Oval. I have installed three of these: two in switcher cab roofs and 1 in a P2K E6. The E6 is a little light on the base sounds but not bad, and I didn't have to remove any weight. It simply points out the back door of the loco. The switchers sound good and the speaker enclosure is barely visible:
I have used both the mini oval and the small oval speakers from Tony's and I think they both sound pretty good. I successfully cut down a small oval to fit a Bachmann FM H16-44 using the above method and it works fine.
http://tonystrains.com/products/pop-speakers.htm
One caveat: I turn the sound volumes down to about half on all my locomotives.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Many thanks guys for your input. Really helpful.
Based on a back and forth with Randy in my linked thread I had intended to go with a Loksound decoder and compatible speaker and baffle. But as I found out my LHS doesn't carry the line and this being a first time go at installing a decoder I opted for a Tsunami decoder (TSU-AT-1000 with the Alco 244 prime mover) because they do carry this line and as such readily available to help if I had problems.
As for the speaker, I had read about the mini oval and baffle from Tony's to mount in the roof of the cab, but the more I weighed the two options I figured I'd have better sound with the larger speaker even though it means cutting down one weight to mount the speaker and baffle. With this said I think the slightly smaller Soundtraxx speaker suggested here is what I'll buy - again because it's readily available locally.
And to Dave's comment about reducing the sound volume on all his loco's, after the initial "wow" period hearing my first DCC with sound engine rev up with the bell ringing while pushing the horn button I, too, have adjusted the master volume level to about half....and probably for the same reason....(smile)...
over50
'Sounds' like you have a solution (pardon the pun).
I have just one Tsunami sound decoder. I found it was a challenge to get it to run at very low speeds. Other people have experienced this with Tsunami diesel decoders too. There is a solution. It involves playing with a few CV's but it works. If you don't get the low speed performance that you want, you may want to study this thread:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/216137.aspx
hon30critter over50 'Sounds' like you have a solution (pardon the pun). I have just one Tsunami sound decoder. I found it was a challenge to get it to run at very low speeds. Other people have experienced this with Tsunami diesel decoders too. There is a solution. It involves playing with a few CV's but it works. If you don't get the low speed performance that you want, you may want to study this thread: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/216137.aspx Dave
Really appreciate you posting the info and link. And, yes, where this engine was butter smooth with great slow speed control with DC from day one, there was/is movement immediately with just one turn of the DT402 controller with the Soundtraxx decoder installed. I've saved the link in my favorites for reference to try to fix this if possible once I get the speaker installed and put the body and couplers back on.
Yes, it was a typo .... should have said 16X35mm. I get mine from either Bowser or ESU (neither of who have them listed (?), but they are exactly the same as the ones listed on Tony's site ....
http://www.tonystrains.com/products/pop-speakers.htm
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Mark R. Yes, it was a typo .... should have said 16X35mm. I get mine from either Bowser or ESU (neither of who have them listed (?), but they are exactly the same as the ones listed on Tony's site .... http://www.tonystrains.com/products/pop-speakers.htm Mark.
Thanks for posting back, Mark. As I've now found out I misunderstood your wording/comment accompanying your RS3 photo showing the Soundtraxx decoder and speaker mounted to the modified weight.
I read your comment to mean you installed a Soundtraxx decoder AND Soundtraxx 16mm x 35mm speaker. As I've now learned Soundtraxx only offers a gasket set for their 16mm x 35mm speaker, not a baffle, meaning I would have to build an enclosure from what I read on their website for the 16mm x 35mm speaker.
Knowing this now I'll check Tony's for a 16mm x 35mm speaker kit with baffle......and preferably a speaker with a wide frequency response for the better sound...something else I've learned when selecting a speaker...which surprisingly a number of mfr.'s (Miniatronics for one) don't include in their speaker info.
I installed two 35x16mm speakers with enclosures in my Atlas ALCO RS-1. Remove a portion of the front and rear weights and round the edges of the enclosure by lightly sanding.
The following video is a comparison of the ALCO 244 Titan and Tsunami: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHI_4wfbUKA
Erik Fiske
I couldn't fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder
Wait until you hear the new Loksound Alco 244 that will be going in the Atlas RS-3 !
I heard the production sample yesterday and it blows the others away !
Is it a different sound set than the 244 they already have? Because I really liek the one I have to put in, hmm, an Atlas RS-3. So, Atlas is going to go Loksound, and release new RS-3's with sound already in them? Figures...
Oh, do you mean the ones announced last September? Hmm, I'll have to pick up an undec one.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Much better ! The "chug" is awesome, as are the transitions !
I can't wait to get my hands on it myself. Look for the sound file to be available within the next few weeks on the ESU site.
Also got a look at the new Bowser Baldwins with Loksound .... really wish I needed some Baldwin switchers - they are incredible as well. Loksound is REALLY stepping up their game.
Yes, I have one of the Bowser Baldwins with Loksound Select. Love that little guy. I have to get my shell transferred over to it - I got just the chassis with decoder since I already have 4 of them without sound. TStage has one too, he managed to cram in a stay alive capacitor which I'm retty sure I'll need to do to mine as well. It runs great on my home layout but my track seems to stay amazingly clean, as in, I never clean it., but to use it on the club layout it will need some help.
I hope the 244 sounds aren't Atlas proprietary and Loksound makes them available so I can update the Select I have. I habe a whole fleet of RS-3s (every one of which needs a paint job) and I'd rather not have to buy a whole bunch of new ones and play shell games to get them rolling with sound. 5 or 6 all together pulling an ore train would be quite a sight, at least on the club layout - uphill on the Bethlehem Branch with the Philly ore trains is slightly past my modeled era, but they did indeed run with big lashups of RS-3s chugging away. Club layout is big enough to get away with a bunch of units and a long train.
Ummm - Randy, the Bowser Baldwins with factory Loksound haven't even been released yet - not until Fall 2013. What I saw were the first units off the line with completely new sound files ....
http://www.bowser-trains.com/New_Products/New%2001%2026%2012%20DS%204-4-1000%20Switcher%20Loco/New%2001%2026%2012%20DS%20441000%20Switcher.htm
As for the RS-3 - I said in my previous post, the file should be available for download in the next few weeks.
I don't see what I have listed on their web site, either as current or past production, but it's a powered chassis for the DS4-4-1000 with a Loksound Select in it. Klein had them on closeout, for about the price of the decoder alone, it's the full powered mechanism with decoder and speaker, and the same Canon motor that's in my older DC versions.
They had another one that has a Tsunami, that was either the S-12 or the DS4-4-750.
Same sort of deal as the FT-B powered chassis I have with a Tsunami (first and last). At least in both cases the decoder is a full version, not an OEM one ala Bachmann or Athearn.