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Tsunami steam decoder.

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  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: malahide dublin ireland
  • 129 posts
Tsunami steam decoder.
Posted by fingalrailroad on Monday, June 22, 2009 12:36 PM

 Hi everybody,

                   I am considering buying a Tsunami decoder for my new proto 2000 2-8-4 loco.I have read that you need a powerpax to programe this.Question canit be programed using decoderpro on the computer,with the nce power pro driving the loco when in use.also what steam type should i use.

                                                  regards

                                                               PATRICK

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: malahide dublin ireland
  • 129 posts
Posted by fingalrailroad on Monday, June 22, 2009 2:26 PM

 Hi David.

              I run the trains with an nce power pro. I recently bought a SPROG2  to get into decoder pro.My computer is a long way from the layout.I found  the sprog a very neat way to get decoder pro going and have had great success with it.

I have just got the 2-8-4 and thought a Tsunami wouldbe  a  steam decoder would give me a good result,however some suppliers said i would need a power pax to programe the decoder .

i do not want to buy a power pax unless it is necessary. Your entusisiam for decoder pro was why i went down that road,you wereso right.

                                          PATRICK

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Monday, June 22, 2009 4:05 PM

Except for my first run BLI Hudson from 2003-04, I've never had to use any kind of booster to program a sound decoder. The Tsunamis I have were no problem to program using my Digitrax Zephyr. I'm not aware of any reason you couldn't use computer software to program a Tsunami if you choose to, but AFAIK you could just use your system's normal programming options.

Stix
  • Member since
    October 2005
  • 1,047 posts
Posted by betamax on Monday, June 22, 2009 4:21 PM

Yes, and no.

On some systems you may need a powerpax or the PTB 100 from Soundtraxx. The booster just doesn't supply enough power to -reliably- program the decoder.

But ask you dealer and tell them what DCC system you have, as you may not need a programming track booster.

With an NCE system, you may not need one. DecoderPro (assuming you can interface that to an NCE setup) is your friend when it comes to programming a decoder with a million options.

That wheel arrangement will probably be appropriate for the medium steam decoder.

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Western, MA
  • 8,571 posts
Posted by richg1998 on Monday, June 22, 2009 6:03 PM

 I run the Micro-Tsunami decoders at home with the NCE Power Cab. No booster. At a local club, the NCE Power Pro. No issues eather way.

 

Rich

If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: malahide dublin ireland
  • 129 posts
Posted by fingalrailroad on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 3:46 PM

 A big thank you to everybody,i have ordered theTsunami decoder.

                                 PATRICK

                                                      

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