Purchased an Atlas RS-3 with a TSU AT1000 installed. The loco moves fine, light works OK. I can hear the prime mover, bell and whistle, if I am very close to it and nothing else is going on in the room. Using an NCE PowerCab I tried to reset the volume CVs to no avail. I reset both the overall volume and individual (bell, whistle, etc) volumes to 255, the maximum listed in the paperwork, no change in sound.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated to help this loco get over its laryngitis.
Thank you,
Richard
Richard,
If this was an after market decoder install you might want to check what was used for a speaker and where it was placed. You might also try adjusting the equalizer settings. That can sometimes help increase the sound level.
Marty C
If you followed my recent thread, I had problems with the volume on my newly installed speaker on an Intermountain F3. It turned out to be a bad speaker. I replaced the speaker, and all is well.
Like you, I could hear the primer mover, bell, and horn, but there simply was no volume. Adjusting the CV values made no difference. I did use the CV adjustments to bring the volume down to zero, and that resulted in no sound. That was the tipoff that there was something wrong with the speaker.
The one thing you can do is to remove the shell and wrap your thumb and index finger around the edges of the speaker to seal it as best you can. See if that will increase the voulume.
Rich
Alton Junction
The anemic horn is one of my major disappointments with Tsunami and Econammi decoders. There has been several threads here about weak Tsunami sound.
I had preordered the B&O E-9s with Tsunamis as part of the Walthers Capitol Limited series and I regret not getting the DC version since the Tsunami sound is pretty anemic and I could have installed my own ESU decoder. The horn sounds like a tuning pitch pipe that musicians use!
I've tried every combination of volume and reverb, using DecoderPro, to increase the volume of the pathetic horn sound and have had no luck.
I'm in the process of replacing my Soundtraxx decoders with Loksounds and a few WOWsound decoders.
Regards, Ed
IIRC the Tsunami likes to see an 8 ohm impedance speaker. If it's someting else, that could account for the issue.
The speaker could have a cone that is compromised. It could be broken or torn, but another common issue is that speakers are sometimes installed directly on the surface over the vent holes that will let the sound out. Many speakers actually move enough in FRONT of the surface of the speaker that if mounted directly, it will hit the floor or whatever, limiting or distorting the sound. What's commonly done is install a gasket to raised the speaker off the mounting surface, allowing the cone to move freely to its limits.
A link to lots of info about speakers: http://www.soundtraxx.com/primer/index.php?l=SpS
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Richard:
Do you have an extra speaker that you could test the decoder with?
Remember that you won't get much volume and the sound will be poor if the speaker does not have a properly sealed enclosure. Maybe check the enclosure on the original speaker first.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
DO not the key item in Rich's (richhotrain) reply - set the volume CVs to 0 and see if the sound actually stops - if nothing changes, then the CV settings aren't taking and you may need to try an alternate form of programming, like using Ops Mode. Just a good sanity check before you start tearing into things, only to find all along that your changes weren;t actually taking effect. You should be able to get a loud prime mover and bell, horns will be weak no matter what, one of the reasons I no longer have any Tsunami decoders. If that volume control is actually working, then it's likely a bad speaker or a poorly designed enclosure.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker DO not the key item in Rich's (richhotrain) reply - set the volume CVs to 0 and see if the sound actually stops - if nothing changes, then the CV settings aren't taking and you may need to try an alternate form of programming,
DO not the key item in Rich's (richhotrain) reply - set the volume CVs to 0 and see if the sound actually stops - if nothing changes, then the CV settings aren't taking and you may need to try an alternate form of programming,
Note. No one ever accused me of being an expert typist.
Thank you for all the responses. Now my lack of electronics knowledge and my over cautious mind are showing.
After reading your posts I tried to find "equalizer settings" listed in the instructional material to no avail. Also, "Ops mode" didn't show up. My thought on that one was "program track" or "on the main", did both, no effect. The loco does lurch when i put in a different value, so it seems to be accepting them.
Have sent a message to the seller to see what the speaker might be or if he can tell me how he ran it to get "good sound".
My over cautious self hesitates to yank the loco apart. I could not see any screws to remove the shell and looking at the parts diagram didn't help much. Tried the Atlas site, but cound not find either a parts diagram or discription of how to remove the shell. I try not to destroy things I am working on and am used to working on much larger things, so small things can be intimidating.
Thanks for the suggestions, so far, and for the new ones.
In case you want to give it a try - the instructions for removal of the RS3 shell can be found here: http://www.atlasrr.com/Support/locoshell.htm#hors3
Joe
Joe,
Thank you, just didn't go to the right tab.
The gentleman I purchased the loco from has offered a refund. I accepted his offer. Yes, I could have tackled it, but this way if it is someting requiriing change of parts, etc, he can handle the problem and cost.
Thank you all for your responses. Now I know where to find the information I need, should I choose to open up one of my other Atlas locos. Also some of the other information I should check into prior to purchase.
Thanks again,