I received a set of three Soundcar decoders and will add them to three freight cars soon. I'm assuming most people do not bother to add Current Keeper or Keep Alives to these setups. I don't want to add that expense but rather add a (much) smaller (1000 microfarad) capacitor like I did that did the trick with my Genesis GP9, which had suffered some very short sound hiccups on my trackage, when I added a LokSound. At about $2 for the capacitor, resistor and diode I like that approach.
I peeled back the Soundcar circuit board plastic wrapping a bit around the plug for a Current Keeper and find it looks rather difficult to solder for connecting my setup. A pleasant surprise is that Soundtraxx has the needed male plugs available that I can use to add my capacitor setup. The plugs are just $1.50 apiece, include two male plugs (one at each end of a short wire), so may provide a two-fer. Shipping is $4. These are not listed yet on their site so I thought I'd share the option. Seems pretty handy.
My plan is to try this with the 1000 microfarad capacitor and, if insufficient, try a 2200 that I have handy. Lots of room is a boxcar but I'm curious if the cheapest approach will suffice. A lot will depend on how the Athearn 70 ton pickup trucks work.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I did use the KurrentKeeper with my SounDcar installs. I seem to recall I got them for something like $15. each so was no big deal. They work very nicely!
One I installed in my Kato C&NW bi-level Cab Car so now I have a horn and bell along with the lighting options. There was only three horn choices, though. None appropriate for the C&NW.
The "caboose" trucks with pickups are great! I only wish Athearn would make them available in a non-roller bearing type for my older equipment.
I put some SoundCars in a few mechanical refrigerator cars, too. Pretty neat effect. If I do any more I'll look into those plugs. I may even have some since I collect all kinds of electronics "stuff".
Thanks for the heads-up!
Ed
The smaller cap should be find for a SoundCar - the killer on a regualr decoder is the loco motor, which draws far more current than the sound chip and amplifier (unless you have a really low power motor). So what wouldn't get a powered loco past a speck of ballast is plenty to keep the sound on.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Please keep us posted on your experiment. I have 2 BLI 2-10-4s with QSI sound chips that need a little "current keeping" to prevent inadverdent sound restarts. I'm particularly interested in where you soldered the capacitor leads to the chip. thanks.
Redvdub1 I have 2 BLI 2-10-4s with QSI sound chips
Hi, Revdub
This link shows how to locate the proper + and — connections for a capacitor. There are two models of QSI boards shown:
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/mainnorth/alive.htm
Good Luck, Ed
I'll follow up here with some results regarding the capacitors.
I first equipped a bay window caboose. I added Soundcar decoder with a 3mm LED light inside and decided to try a Current Keeper on hand for the initial tryout to see if things worked and learn how to set up the Soundcar decoder. It ran a long time when power was removed, say, 15-20 plus seconds.
I then removed the Current Keeper and tried things again. On clean track I could not hear any sound interruptions. Looking closely I noted the LEDs flickered just slightly, sometimes, when the caboose traversed my worst track spot, a triple crossing arrangement with modified crossing track lengths, not 100 percent level.
My overall conclusion is that adding capacitors to the Soundcar when using the Athearn trucks is not needed when track is pretty good and pretty clean, especially regarding sounds (vs. lights). So I made up the 2nd car with an Accurail box car and no capacitors. I can't hear any sound interruptions.
Back to the caboose, I decided to add a 2nd light and to try the generic capacitor setup. I followed the Select diagrams that show a 1N4007 diode, 100 ohm resistor and capacitor, except I installed a 1000 microfarad (per my GP9 experience) instead of the 2200 shown in the Select manual basic setup. When the power is cut the sound continues only for a teeny fraction of a second so if it helps it's not much. I think it's helping eliminate LED flicker. I'm presuming the capacitor setup connections to the harness plug are all are soldered soundly. (I wanted to avoid the larger 2200 microfarad in the caboose as the size would make it more likely visible.)
So I conclude that I don't need capacitors regarding the sounds, especially since the clickety-clack and flange squeal are intermittent and multiple cars add a variety of sounds. For lighting, I'd consider more carefully. It's so easy to plug in a Current Keeper that it's a preferred option (for a few more bucks than the generic capacitor). If using the generic capacitors, I'd suggest at least the 2200 microfarad if there is room.
I started another thread about some consisting issues I encountered so I'm just trying here to close the loop on the capacitor experience.
My 3rd car will be a mechanical reefer as I want to be able to include the generator feature in a freight consist. The only problem is all my reefers are the ice hatch older ones.