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Bachamnn Sound

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Posted by cowman on Friday, May 17, 2013 7:57 AM

Thanks all for the thoughts.

Tom,  reset manually as instructed by the tech folks at BLI.  Seems to be reset and ready for new settings.

Paul, thanks for the idea of a loose plug.  Did a little pushing with an uncoupling skewer and significantly helped the skipping chuff.  Also, completely (for the moment) stopped the light flickering.  The sound still does skip a little, will see if I can tighten the plug a little better.

Now to admit a DUAH  moment!  As is often said, "if all else fails, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.  In the BLI pamphlet there is a place that tells you how to mute and return the sound.  KEEP READING, it says double click to turn the volume up and down. Oh well. 

Guess I'd better sit down and re-read the manuals, when I'm not so eager to get things running.

Thanks again for all the help.

Richard

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Posted by peahrens on Thursday, May 16, 2013 5:43 PM
My BLI mikado soon developed chuffing issues. It would go on and off randomly. Do try a reset and if the problem persists it's not likely related to settings. At that point, talk with BLI tech guys. Mine went back, they could not make it act up, but they changed the chuff sensor for good measure. It has since worked fine, so I gurss it was the
sensor working intermittently or perhaps a sloppy seating of the loco to tender plug pins (just a theory).

Paul

Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent

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Posted by tstage on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 8:30 AM

Richard,

In regards to your BLI 4-6-2, the water hatch on the tender should - most likely - lift up.  (The lid will tilt toward the cab).  A blue master volume knob should be visible through the hatch and accessible via a small flat-head screwdriver.

The chuff issue I'm not sure about.  And you used the three CV method for resetting your QSI decoder - i.e. CV49=128, CV50=255, and CV56=113?

Tom

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Posted by cowman on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 8:05 AM

Tom,

Whoops.  You'll notice that in my entry on the 11th, I said the 2-6-0 was a successful modification and that I was asking if the CV listings for different decoders were different.  I was looking to quiet my BLI 4-6-2 a little.  That is the loco that the chuff is skipping on. 

Sorry for the confusion.  The list I got for the BLI was "2.4 List of NMRA CV's Supported by Quantum."

Thanks so much for the help.

Richard

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Posted by tstage on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 6:49 AM

Richard,

As per the sheet that Reinhard provided the link to, master volume is CV128; not CV51.  What CV did you use to reset your 2-6-0?  I looked for a reset CV on the sheet but I didn't see one listed.

Given that it's a sound decoder from Bachmann, I'm going to guess that it's a stripped-down Tsunami.  The reset for those is CV8=8 and/or CV30=2.  If that doesn't work then a call or e-mail into Bachmann would be your best bet.

Tom

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Posted by cowman on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 9:59 PM

Tom,

Hummmmm!  Went to CV 51, System Sound Control, to turn everything down a little.  Not sure if it is a little quieter or not, but the chuff is now not consistant, it skips.  Will be going along chuffing just fine, then skip some, not always the same length of time, then starts again.  Even went back and manually reset the decoder, didn't restore regular chuffing.

Any thoughts?  May have to email service.

Thank you,

Richard

 

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Posted by tstage on Monday, May 13, 2013 1:30 PM

Keep us posted, Richard...

Tom

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Posted by cowman on Sunday, May 12, 2013 2:17 PM

Tom,

Thanks for the link.  Had been to the site several times, looked around, but think I kept trying to find things through the locomotive.  Once I saw the headings on the page you linked, I backed to HOME and found where you had linked me to.

List printed and ready to go to the layout room. 

Thanks again,

Richard

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Posted by tstage on Sunday, May 12, 2013 12:00 AM

Richard,

If you know the decoder of your locomotive and it didn't come with a manual, you can often download the manuals from the manufacturer's web site.  For BLI, they usually include a very general manual with their locomotives but it's not very extensive.

With that being the case, what you can do is read or download the BLI's comprehensive Operator's manuals.  (They have separate manuals for steam and diesel.)  Everything you want or need to know is in that manual.  It may look intimidating at first but the list of CVs will be in there.  Here's the link to their manual page.

Tom

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Posted by cowman on Saturday, May 11, 2013 10:15 PM

Thank you gentlemen,

Mission accomplished!  Increased the overall volume to 200 and bell to 80.  Still not loud but I think it is about right.

This does bring up another question.  It appears that each manufacturer may have their own functions for the CV#'s.  If this is so, where does one find what they are?  I have a BLI Paragon 2, 4-6-2 and the bell is a little loud.  Went to their site, but found no reference that I thought would take me to such a listing.  Didn't want to try the Sound Value numbers if they may be for different functions.

Like I said, I'm new to DCC operation and will readily admit to being rather weak in computer skills, so sometimes looking things up can be quite a challenge.

Thanks again,

Richard

 

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Posted by tstage on Saturday, May 11, 2013 6:06 PM

Thanks for the link, Reinhard. Big Smile

According to the sheet, Richard, CV128 is for the master volume and it's default value is "192".  If that is indeed the case then you should be able to increase it up to "255".  Keep in mind though that HO speakers (~1") can start to distort after a certain level.  So, be careful not to overdrive them.

Tom

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Posted by LIRRs on Saturday, May 11, 2013 2:59 PM

Hi Richard,

Follow Toms advise on how to adjust the CV's.  The following is the link that will give you all the CV's for the Bachmann Alco 2-6-0:

http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/bachmann/ho_2-6-0_sv.pdf

I have one as well and love it.

All the best,

Reinhard 

 

All the best.

Joe F

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Posted by tstage on Saturday, May 11, 2013 2:24 PM

Richard,

There should be a CV for controlling the master volume.  That's the CV you want to change.  Once you find out which CV that is, you can either adjust it on the programming track or on the main (POM).  Adjusting it on the programming track will allow you to read back the value.

For the adjusting CVs on the programming track, press the PROG/ESC key 4X then press "2" for CV.  Enter the master volume CV and you will see the default.  Enter a higher number, if possible.  If it won't take a higher number or it sounds the same when you do then that's what you are stuck with.  For programming on the main (POM), press the PROG/ESC key once and repeat the above.

Chances are that since it's one of the Sound on board decoders, that may be the loudest it gets.

Tom

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Bachamnn Sound
Posted by cowman on Saturday, May 11, 2013 1:33 PM

I am taking hope from the post on the Athearn GP-9 that I may be able to turn up the sound on my Bachmann 2-6-0 with Sound Value on board.

The sound in general seems a little low, but I am specifically hoping that I can turn up the sound on the bell.  I know part of the problem is that the sound is in the range of my hearing difficulty, but my grandson said it was not very loud to him either. 

I have just purchased an NCE Power Cab, so I am quite new to the DCC world.  Have not found in either the materials that came with the loco or DCC controls a way to adjust volume.  I may have missed something or may have to look somewhere else.

If it is possible, would appreciate a step-by-step walk through, as I am still near the start of the learning curve.  The other post said the sound with that decoder could be turned up in general, as well as specific sounds.  I would like to do both if I can.

Thank you,

Richard

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