I have a friend in Virginia who has been installing tsunami decoders. I have mentioned to him the possiblity of buying a brass Shay locomotive and having him install the decoder. He has not told me that I am nuts, Yet.
Craig North Carolina
Sound in small packages? I have done half dozen or so sound installs in small brass (non-shays) There is never enough room - even with the TSU 750!! It becomes a bit of a chess game getting it all to fit - getting the biggest speaker that will still allow the tender shell to go back on...
There is even less room in most HO scale shays. Fitting sound decoders in them can be done but it does require fussing around quite a bit. I have installed the LC decoder in a Spectrum 3 truck (Same as Cacole) and found it moderately fussy. BTW: LC shay sound can be improved by laying a piece of styrene across the top of the speaker bunker - It sounds strange but it works.
I would suggest finding a Spectrum 3 truck shay or climax with factory installed sound. If you don't have much experience with brass, I would seek out a local expert to guide you through the maze.
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Yeah, the Shayne threw me off for a feew days. Smartphones can get you if you do not look at details.
Below is a link to the Bachmann site with forums for different scales, loco diagrams, on line catalog and some Bachmann reps in the forums.
Bachmann does not sell sound decodersif you ever wondered. They do sell locos with sound from SoundTraxx, not a full Tsunami. Some call them Soundtraxx decoders with some Tsunami technology. Certan CV's and some sounds not included. To my knowledge, the on board SoundTraxx do not have heating issues like the 750 even in the Shay.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php
You might look into TCS WOW decoders. They are a fairly new company with sound decoders. I am seeing good reviews for them.
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.
I too would recommend the Loksound Select Micro. It's a bit smaller than the Soundtraxx Micro and doesn't have the heat issues. Loksound also lists some tiny speakers that would easily fit into the small space in your Shay. Loksound has a relatively new Shay sound file that sounds great.
If you're adventurous, a lot of folks have discovered the great sound from cell phone speakers that are quite small. Google "sugar cube speakers" for results.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
LokSound Micro: http://www.esu.eu/en/products/loksound/loksound-select-micro/
cacoleI have read on these forums that the mini-Tsunami has overheating problems
Let's just say it's not as robust as the full-size Tsunami. I've only had the error flash for overheating a couple of times under obvious abuse. Recovered fine after cooling down. Only problems I've had were wiring related and on me.
People do say that motor control is an issue, but I think it's because that's trickier to set in the Tsunami, with lots more fiddly bits. No doubt the LokSound is more recent vintage/state of the art, but the Tsunami still offers plenty of satisfaction for me.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
My choice would be a LokSound Select Micro instead of a Tsunami -- better sound and much smoother motor control. I have read on these forums that the mini-Tsunami has overheating problems; however, I've never used one and can't confirm that.
cacoleNOTE: It is possible to go back and edit the title of your post and correct the spelling.
Yes, that will make it more useful in the future.
I don't have a Shay yet, but have heard them. In a two-truck Shay, you're really limited on speaker size and that's going to play a role in how loud it will be. I tend to prefer my locos fairly subdued, so will be less of an issue for me, but I'm probably looking for a 3-truck Shay for the first one. They do tend to have tracking problems with the 3rd truck, so something to be cautious about.
You'd have to use the TSU-750. It can be tempermental with heat, but my experience in rod engines is mostly good. They are definitely more fragile than the full size Tsu.
I posted the link in one of the other threads, but this is the one it's probably most relevant to. I hang with a internationla group of narrowgaugers and the Shayfixer is one of them. I haven't had any dealings yet with him myself, but he has a good rep and a pretty darn good guarantee, so worth considering when Shay shopping: http://www.shayfixer.com/
Not a Tsunami, but when Bachmann first came out with their HO scale 3-truck Shay model, SoundTraxx, the makers of the Tsunami, did have a loco-specific decoder available for it. I have two of them with that sound decoder installed; but they are barely audible due to the extremely small size of the speaker that had to be used and the lack of a proper baffle.
NOTE: It is possible to go back and edit the title of your post and correct the spelling.
????
What is a Shayne locomotive? I've heard of Shay (and even Yahs) locos, plus builders from Stephenson to Kawasaki, but Shayne is a new one.
Was it a contemporary of Mason, which gave the name to some narrow-gauge single-Fairlies.
In a Shay, the eccentrics are part of the cylinder valve gear, are on the main crankshaft and shouldn't be in the way of anything.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with rod-driven ungeared steam)