decoders for rivarossi steam engines

[mmartian22]

i need help in finding decoders +soundcards for these following units big boys, mallets, challengers, alleghanies i have contacted loys toys and hobby shops but no avail what i have is engines made from 1996-99 just need help in locating them +installing them .

[simon1966]

As far as I know, none of these models were supplied with sound from the factory. So your choices are limited to after market sound decoder installations. I would suggest that you have a couple of choices.

For the Big Boy ESU Loksound makes a loco specific Big Boy decoder with speaker. Other alternatives would be the new Soundtraxx Tsunami heavy steam version.

Both these decoders are available now. I would contact the ususal suspects for pricing and also advice on installation. www.litchfieldstation.com and www.tonystrains.com

[cacole]

If all of these are Rivarossi models, they were not DCC ready, so there's no such thing as a "sound card" for them. What you need are sound decoders, such as those already mentioned, and they will have to be soldered in.

I have installed motor decoders into several Rivarossi models and they all fit wihin the cab area, but sound decoders will have to go in the tenders, and you'll have to add wiring between the locomotive and tender on all of them. Hard-wired decoders are going to be your only choice with older Rivarossi engines.

[mmartian22]

thanks simon i definitly will check these links out .these units are brand new never used .i just found that it"s real tough to find decoders for and or installing them.for rivarossi locos

[scubaterry]

My neighbor and I just put a Tsunami in his Riv Big Boy. He bought the loco in 1984 and it has been in the box since that time. It was a pretty easy job as there is lots of room both in the tender and the loco for sound installation. We put two medium oval speakers and the decoder in the tender. It runs and sounds great.
terry[8D]

[mmartian22]

hi terry first who has or where can this decoder be gotten at or its manufacture .digit rax ;nce etc second my tender s are centipeds upon removing trucks I find that they appear to glued or sealed some way .i tried to pry apart the body but it would open up any ideas ? thanks

[simon1966]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mmartian22

hi terry first who has or where can this decoder be gotten at or its manufacture .digit rax ;nce etc second my tender s are centipeds upon removing trucks I find that they appear to glued or sealed some way .i tried to pry apart the body but it would open up any ideas ? thanks

The Tsunami is a Soundtraxx product. The heavy steam version is the one you need.

See this link http://www.tonystrains.com/products/soundtraxx_tsunami.htm Litchfield station carries it as well.

[scubaterry]

MM- Getting the bottom of the tender off is a real bear. We almost bought a new one that was easier to deal with. If you turn the tender over you will see faint marks where the bottom is attached, it is glued so you have to score it with an exacto knife and slowly work your way around until the bottom piece comes off. we also had to build braces for the inside of the tender as it wanted to close on itself once the bottom section was removed. If I ever had to do it again or if it was my loco I would purchase a differant tender. One that is easier to work with.
As simon mentioned in the above response Soundtraxx makes the Tsunami sound decoder.
Terry[8D]

[simon1966]

Terry, I have an older Riv BB as well and have been contemplating making it my first Tsunami recipient. I appreciate the information on the tender as I had not looked at that yet.

[mmartian22]

thanks guys about the tenders being glued. ithought they were .all i got is unwrap the other five ang get brave about it and start scoring them .

[mmartian22]

also have another question does engine these have offset tires ,drivers and how does it effect the installation ? i heard it could a bear to work with ?

[scubaterry]

MM - Not sure what you are asking? We did not have to remove the drive wheels to install sound. You do have to remove the F/R trks to get to screws holding body on however. (the Big Boy). De-solder wires from f and r power trks. Cut wires to motor. I found the motor was already isolated so nothing was required for that. But no guarentee yours is the same . One trk was L rail the other R rail (don't remember which). Soldered appropriate Tsunami wires. Used the regular deocoder 8 pin /socket (2x4) for joining Tender to Loco. Had room for two med oval (1.5 x 3/4ish). As i said the biggest problem was the tender. My neighbor who owns the loco did the tender work. He had to brace the inside and modify the bottom piece to mount speakes etc. He had to make sure it was a tight fit so no sound leaks would degrade performance. A real pain. If it were mine I would buy a more recent tender w/ power pick up that comes apart easily. still working on front headlight. Do to the pilot pivoting independantly from front of loco and the light box is mounted on pilot I have to figure out how to provide extra wire for the curves. hope that makes sense.
Terry[8D]

[devils]

If you decide to go with tsunamis can I suggest downloading the steam sound and installation pdf format manuals from the Sountraxx website it'll help a lot, they are long but well written.
If you have room put it in the loco as it puts the sound where it should be, an articulateds tender is a long way from the smokebox! but with all these big ballast weights it can mean the tender is the only place.
This isn't a must but maybe useful if you understand PC's. I have installed one in a bachmann loco and am using Decoderpro on the PC to program it thanks to advice on the forum. Joe Fugate helped with links so I could download the appropriate files and once I got my head round the PC downloads it's great for altering the settings. I'll copy the links off and try to remember to post them sometime tomorrow.

[mmartian22]

hi from i know about the offset of the wheels is that the electrical pick up on steam locos may not activate some reversing controllers , plus detecting units which means either a total rewire or replacement of wheel sets ,and or adding pick ups in the tender s which may not be to bad i think.

[mmartian22]

i was thinking installing qsi"s , but they have not got into the aftermarket yet that i know of .i will go with the tsumamis and download their instructions and see what happens

[mmartian22]

i was thinking about installing qsi"s , but they have not got into the aftermarket yet that i know of .i will go with the tsumamis and download their instructions and see what happens

[scubaterry]

There is room in the Riv Big Boy for one med oval speaker facing up in the smokebox and you might be able to get the decoder in the loco but it would be a tight fit. Again if this was my loco I would have put one med oval speaker in the smokebox and put two med ovals in the tender along with the decoder. I would also search high and low for a replacement tender pref w/pwr pickup.
Terry[8D]

[mmartian22]

thank guys i will look for differant tenders ,if otherwise i jump in and see want happens

[devils]

These links are for those using a Tsunami decoder with a PC linked to their DCC system or a programming unit, ( like the SPROG I use ).

Thanks to Joe Fugate for these:-

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jmriusers/files/Decoder%20files/SoundTraxx%20decoders/

To find out how to install decoder profile files, see:
http://jmri.sourceforge.net/apps/DecoderPro/FAQ.html

Thanks to the guys on the JMRI forum for these:-

1-
Sign up to Yahoo groups as there is lots of help available on the JMRI stuff.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jmriusers/

2-
These files are only compatible with JMRI 1.7.2 onwards which you can down load from the sourceforge site above, ( see Joes link )

3-
You need both these files. Download (don't display) them in your browser,
put them in the directories under your jmri installation,

Decoder profiles,put it in the "xml/decoders" directory,
<http://jmri.sf.net/xml/decoders/SoundTraxx_Tsu_Steam.xml>


You also need an updated version of the "Comprehensive" programmer, put it in the xml/programmers directory.
<http://jmri.sf.net/xml/programmers/Comprehensive.xml>

4-
Then select "Recreate Decoder Index" from the DecoderPro debug menu.

Now you will be able to play with all 200 and something CV settings either by individual number or using the easier labelled panes which tell you what you are doing.
I had more trouble figuring out what I needed and how to download it than using it.