Econami replaces Tsunami

[Hergy]

I received a newsletter from Soundtraxx today, Soundbits, issue 31, that officially declared the end of the Tsunami line and its replacement, the Econami. The sound files are being updated and it sounds like all the sound files from the old line will eventually be incorporated into the Econami line. It was rumored that a component used in the Tsunami was being discontinued. Don't know if this was true or not. At any rate the Soundtraxx line will continue with the Econami as their flagship decoder about 25% cheaper than the Tsunami.

[gatrhumpy]

Not really new news.

[markie97]

Just received a brass steam engine with the Econami. I think the whistle is much improved. I like that it has a Vmid to go with Vstart and V max. Makes it much easier to adjust speed without having to use the speed tables. One minor thing that it does not have is the auto whistle when you move forward, reverse or stop. Kind of liked that feature in the Tsunami, but not a show stopper. My understanding is that the Econami will not accept a cam for sound synhronization. The engine runs great.

Any other opinions out there?

Mark

[richg1998]

Rather than an opinion, here is a link to the newsletter email site where you can get facts from SoundTraxx. Past , present and future info.

http://www.soundtraxx.com/newsletter.php

Rich

[DigitalGriffin]

I kind of miss the reverb and equalizer settings.  But it's not a bad switch.

 

[woodone]

Well the 7 band equalizer is still used! Not too sure about the reverb?

[ba&prr]

One minor thing that it does not have is the auto whistle when you move forward, reverse or stop. Look on page 37 or 38 of the manual.I think it does have it, you just need to program it differently.Joe 

[markie97]

Joe;

Good call on the auto-whistle. It does have it. JMRI does not have the simple set-up like for the Tsunami. I have it working somewhat but still need to play with the CV's and CV values to get it working like I do for my Tsunami engines that are very easy to program with JMRI.

Also noticed that when you write pages the engine does not move like when you write changes to a Tsunami decoder. I think this is another plus and difference.

Mark

[DigitalGriffin]

Doesn't move? That's an oddity. That's how the throttle knows the command took or how to read CV values as the command station reads the load pulses as 1 0 feedback

[tstage]

Hope they improve on the diesel horn file and the low-speed response.  You had to tweak the Soundtraxx decoders to improve the latter and it still wasn't as good as the Loksound and TCS decoders, which were/are great right out of the box.

Tom

[hdtvnut]

Another thing left behind is the steam version chuff sync input.  Since I am gradually installing magnetic pickups in my  HO locos, this is bad news.

Slow steam startups look much better with positive sync.

Hal

 

[richg1998]

Hergy

I received a newsletter from Soundtraxx today, Soundbits, issue 31, that officially declared the end of the Tsunami line and its replacement, the Econami. The sound files are being updated and it sounds like all the sound files from the old line will eventually be incorporated into the Econami line. It was rumored that a component used in the Tsunami was being discontinued. Don't know if this was true or not. At any rate the Soundtraxx line will continue with the Econami as their flagship decoder about 25% cheaper than the Tsunami.

 

Yes, been watching also including the Yahoo SoundTraxx DCC Group to see what the new series of sound decoders will be like. We should be hearing soon.

 

Rich

[narrow gauge nuclear]

Sorry to hear of the end of Tsunami.  They were expensive, but super full featured for narrow gauge steam.  100% of the Blackstone locos for the last 8 or 9 years have them in them.

If the rumor of a component being no longer available is correct, it could only be the microcontroller IC. or maybe a specialized sound IC.  OEMs are constantly at the mercy of IC manufacturers and their decision to discontinue a specific IC that they feel has run its course.

I almost bought a "steam sound" Econami at the Timonium show last Saturday.  I had it in my hands and got in a line at Crusader to pay for it.  The line was not moving and I noticed that it was a bit on the big side.  The apparent line slowness coupled with its large size made me return it to its hanger.

Tsunami made a special tiny 750ma sound decoder for the much smaller tenders of there blackstone HOn3 locos.  They did not have this one which goes for $109.00.

[mlehman]

narrow gauge nuclear

Tsunami made a special tiny 750ma sound decoder for the much smaller tenders of there blackstone HOn3 locos. They did not have this one which goes for $109.00.

There are two versions of the Micro-Tsu (perhaps more). The aftermarket decoder is a truly small package in the usual shrinkwrap. The OEM version in the C-19 is on a rather larger board. I run my NCE system at 12.5 volts to help keep the little devils running cool.

There is an equivalent Econami, nicely small but with a full 1 amp rating: http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/econami/eco100.php

[Logger Mike]

hdtvnut

Another thing left behind is the steam version chuff sync input.  Since I am gradually installing magnetic pickups in my  HO locos, this is bad news.

Slow steam startups look much better with positive sync.

Hal

 

 

currently I have 6 Econami's in Shay's, Climaxes, and now a 30-yo Heisler....there are 4 (I believe) CV settings for the style of Steam.....Light, Medium, and Heavy, plus one for geared, and I think 6 sub settings for the types relating to to the 4 Main CV's......I believe CV 123 changes the Main Type, Rod or Geared, & 112 sets the sub settings......I'm going off memory, as it were, but the quick start card that comes with them has the CV's most commonly used....PLUS, the website has great manuals to download......I've been really impressed with them, especially being able to fit them in some of my older DC Loco's because of their size.