DigitalGriffin The GP9/GP7's Proto 2K's however are a nightmare if they don't already have sound installed.
The GP9/GP7's Proto 2K's however are a nightmare if they don't already have sound installed.
Just converted 4 chassis for DCC/Sound setup, no nightmare . Just needs a band saw, bench grinder and a dremel, and about 30 minutes per chassis.
Karl
NCE über alles!
The Genesis OEM chips can have the functions remapped and you can activate F11 braking, I've done it.
I would say the biggest difference is in the speakers, as far as OEM vs doing the installs ourselves. We try to use 2 speakers, larger speakers and higher quality with better and larger enclosures. The difference is significant. I almost always upgrade the speaker installs on all(not just Athearn) OEM sound equipped locos.
You can control individual sound levels with the OEM Tsunamis, such as fans, rads, horn, etc. However, some OEMs are building in a value line of Tsunami's which don't have as much functionality as what Athearn uses.
Richard
The GP9 Gensis speakers sit over the trucks if I remember correctly. There should be plenty of room for modification without grinding. If you want I'll go home and look at the build/parts sheet.
I will say the detailing on the Genesis GP9 is superior then the P2K. The fine details fan grills are particularly good looking.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
I have Genesis BigBoy that came with Tsunami factory installed. The main difference between OEM compared to aftermarket (steam) Tsunamis is that OEM Tsunami does offer not CAM option. For me, reason good enough to sell OEM to friend that doesn’t mind that and buy aftermarket Tsunami. I like to have exact chuff number that changes with grade and/or load. Without CAM, you can accomplish exact chuffing only if BEMF is 100%, and then you loose on another end: there is almost no visible decrease in speed whet going uphill, or increase when going downhill.
Beside that, there is almost no difference, except fewer horns than in aftermarket version.
The biggest difference though between factory installed sound (at least in steam loco like Big Boy) is sound quality. It seems that Athearn really does not care for the acoustics: they closed two small speakers in huge BB tender without any hole where sound could get out, instead of using whole tender shell as baffle, and firing sound out
It is the same as you would buy home cinema system and then put all speakers in a closet and close it, and ask yourself what happened to sound?
In Genesis PRR FP7 that came with factory installed Tsunami, the difference to aftermarket Tsunami is not that important. I noticed only that throttle buttons do not have the same functions as in aftermarket version, but that is easy to change, with appropriate CV’s. Sound is much better than in BB, but of course can be further improved with better speaker and baffle.
In short, I would like if Athearn would always offer DC version (steam) – I like to convert it to sound myself. For diesels, aftermarket is a good start, and can be further upgraded without changing the decoder.
Hrvoje
Chad - that chassis looks great!
What machinery did you use to grind all that mass off the weight? The one time I attempted to do this, I spent several hours and burned out a Dremel motor. I guess you must have your own machine shop, eh?
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Karl,
That is correct, it is up, I'm shooting the sond throught the long hood fans, & I removed the baffle plate from the shell.This one is an experiment & I run my volumes low, so we will wait & see...
If it is unsatisfactory, I can place the weight in the Kurt vise, & punch up some audio ports to shoot the audio though the truck..
Thanks for the tip, most of the time I need to learn via the 'long way around'.....
Thanks,
Chad
Looks good so far. From the pic, it's hard to tell but it looks like your speaker is facing up. Go ahead and mill the area under the speaker, so it will have a clear shot at the rear truck and rails. It will have better volume that way, and a nice tone.
Karl, & the Gang;I think you & I are on a similar plain!I Reworked a GP18 to accept a TSU & Speaker, as well.It is still in the works, but going good, I hope to be making & soldering small LED's for the Ditchlight installations this weeekend so I can move further with the Project!!
My concerns with OEM versions is the Available Function Outputs, I would like to add 1-2 lights & hope they are there.However, I have not looked into it yet..I for one, like the Generator Whine, & that led me to model a GP18 conversion.
Here is the milling I did on my Proto 2K GP18, Later I found there were 2 versions of the weights.Enjoy!
kbkchoochRemind me Saturday when you are here and you can "roadtest" one!
Yeah Karl that would be great!
Ken
My P2K Geep 9's sound great, and the volume is plenty loud, in fact, cow palace loud it you get my drift. I'm using a QSI speaker (part of TTX's dream list) with the Tsunami, but there is some cutting involved here. Both with a band saw and a die grinder.
Remind me Saturday when you are here and you can "roadtest" one!
yeah, it looks ugly, but sounds pretty!
Don,
Do the Genesis Geeps have large metal weights surrounding the motor and drive train, similar to the P2K's? If so, I guess that would require serious amounts of milling to make adequate space for the baffles...
I own the Genesis GP-9. It's sound is acceptable but it really isn't that loud. Others have mentioned the Genesis GP-9's sound being merely adequate.
My own installs sounded consideraby louder & better then the Genesis installs. But I used 4 speakers, planted under the fan vents on my GP's, and custome baffles with a lot of grinding on the RS-2s
So you have to decide how important it is to you.
I think a rebaffling of the GP9 might solve some of the sound volume problems.
Joe,
I didn't notice until later that the Athearn Tsunami manual is actually on the Sountraxx web site, so I navigated backwards and found the 'standard' Tsunami manual. Same number pf pages on sound programming, but there was a note that in some OEM installed decoders, they would be tailored to a specific prototype and not all the options [for example, air horns] would be available.
I definitely need to see a 'live' test on one of these guys before committing any of my scarce disposable income to them.
Ken:
One other thing that you might notice with the OEM Tsunami is a difference in the Function key assignments from those in the Diesel User's Guide. My Genesis GP 15-1 came with a quick start card that listed the function key assignments and a few were different from those in the User's Guide. No big deal for me but some folks may have a problem with it.
Joe
Thanks for the link! I went and read the Sound Effects programming section of the Athearn Tsunami manual, and it seems like they mainly use a 7-band equalizer; I couldn't tell whether the exhaust sound effect was on a separate channel from the other motor sounds. I guess what I really need to do is find a local friend who has a Genesis loco with a pre-installed tsunami and have him try to replicate the sound mix I'm hoping to replicate.
Mike,
That was a weakness I noticed with the QSI-equipped Atlas Dash8-40CW in CSX garb. I wanted the sound of a Nathan K5LA horn, but their 5-chime didn't sound anything like it (to my own ears anyway).
Most noticeable difference noticed by many was the brief list of horn options on the OEM Tsunamis, just 3, IIRC, and not necessarily one that fits the relevant prototype if you're talking about some of the Athearn ones. The standard Tsunamis have 6 or more options.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
The Tsunami OEM decoders found in the Athearn genesis line are reasonably customizable. You can adjust the levels of the various sounds and do some other things. However, they do not have all the features of the aftermarket Tsunamis. Take a look at the Tsunami OEM page: http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/athearn/athearn.php.
What do the do-it-yourself Tsunamis have that the Athearn Genesis ones do not? I read somewhere that the decoders built into Genesis locos are not as easy to customize as the ones installed separately.
I'm thinking about buying some Genesis geeps with sound, but I want to be able to do certain things - like increase the exhaust sound and 'load' effect, and diminish the 'whine'. At the same time though, I dread having to find space to fit my own decoder and speaker. Has anybody here seen the differences first-hand?
Thanks...