SoundBytes

SoundBytes XLV

2012-01-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Make your new year’s resolution to get on those Tsunami sound conversions you have been putting off. You’ll be happy you did!

Now, on to our first post of 2012. First up, SoundTraxx was presented a model railroad product award from a popular regional magazine! Also, we have gotten some initial feedback on the new SurroundTraxx to share. Next, we will quickly recap upcoming 2012 Blackstone Models releases, and for our Tech Tip: An introduction to Bachmann’s new Tsunami Sound decoder arrangement!

Football Anyone?We have a small rivalry going on in the office here at SoundTraxx. Allison, one of our sales people, is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan, while Jaime, our Administrative Assistant, is a huge New England Patriots fan. Now that these two teams are meeting in the AFC Championship game, there is some fun bantering going on from these two. (It also helps that Nancy, co-owner of SoundTraxx, is a Pats fan as well!) No matter what this weekend's game holds, I'm sure the fireworks will fly from the winner on Monday!

SoundTraxx News:
We are proud to have received the 2011 Gold Rail Award for Best New Model Railroading Product voted on by a panel of readers of the Cowcatcher magazine for our DCC mobile decoder product line!

These decoders offer all motor and Hyperlight light control to allow any non-sound decoder-equipped locomotive to more easily speed match with a Tsunami sound-equipped locomotive.

This includes the F11 brake feature turning an ordinary sound effect into an actual working brake! If you have not yet used these decoders, be sure to give them a try!

We are confident you’ll enjoy operations with these decoders!

Now that the SurroundTraxx has been shipping for a few months now, we have gotten some great feedback. Many of the comments refer to the great quality sound now able to be achieved, even in small scales!

We have updated the information pages to give a more-in depth look at the product. Be sure to check this exciting new product for sound here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/surround/.

Blackstone Models News:

This will be a busy year for Blackstone Models. We start off with the impending arrival of the new K-27 expected to arrive mid-February.

Following that will be the new passenger coaches expected to arrive in early spring,

Boxcars in late spring, stock cars in early summer, and the tank cars in mid fall. Included is the much-anticipated EBT Hoppers scheduled to arrive in early summer as well! The guaranteed reservation order deadlines on these models have passed, so if you have not yet ordered your new releases, be sure to do so before these popular models are all snapped up!
We have not passed the deadline for the second run of C-19s yet, so be sure to contact your dealer today!

Tech Tip:
This Month we will introduce you to the Bachmann’s new optional sound module design. The first locomotive to be released with this arrangement is the Spectrum HO B&O EM-1.

Inside the model, is a SoundTraxx dual-mode DC/DCC decoder. This allows the model to be run out of the box in either DC or DCC without sound. To add in SoundTraxx Tsunami sound, you will need to order the sound module through your dealer from Bachmann. (http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3924) This is a 21-pin plug-in module that simply plugs into the 21-pins on the mobile decoder already installed to create a DC/DCC Tsunami sound decoder. The speaker is already installed in the model allowing a simple conversion to a sound model.

Some of the confusion stems from the 21-pin plug on the decoder. There are many European models that use this connector for the DCC decoder installation as well. This Tsunami sound module does not follow the NMRA Standard 21-pin protocol. Instead it is unique to the SoundTraxx interface for use with the Bachmann motor decoder only, even though connector is the same. Using any other brand decoder other than the Tsunami sound module available from Bachmann will result in damage to either the SoundTraxx motor decoder or the other brand of decoder attempted. Be sure to use only the SoundTraxx Tsunami sound module available from Bachmann.
Once the Tsunami sound module is installed, you will have a Tsunami sound decoder for their great HO Steam Locomotive.
This design will be coming up on future Spectrum products as well, so be sure to note these for your customer.

SoundBytes XLIV

2011-12-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Season is here. We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

In this post, we’ll share our Holiday Schedule; discuss recent announcements for future products in Blackstone Models, including new Tank Cars and C-19s, and for our Tech Tip, well look closely at the new lighting decoders for Blackstone Models Coach and Caboose.
Also, for those of you wanting a wish list to give your loved ones, we have our “Honey Please” lists for both SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models found on the home page of each.

Holiday Schedule:
For the Christmas and New Year Holidays, we will close so our staff can spend time with their families for the week of December 26th through the 30th. We will re-open January 2nd, 2012.

Narrow Frame Tank Car 3rd Release
Back by popular demand, Blackstone Models will be doing a 3rd run of the UTLX Narrow Frame Tank Car. These are available in both weathered (W) versions and non-weathered versions. The new part numbers are:
B340607(W) - UTLX No. 12812, Yellow Lettering
B340608(W) - UTLX No. 12822, Yellow Lettering
B340609(W) - UTLX No. 13119, Yellow Lettering

We are also proud to announce CYCX Narrow Frame Tank Cars!

HOn3 modelers will immediately take note of the unique livery of the Penn-Conley Owned CYCX cars leased to the Texaco company. In stark contrast to the yellow lettering of the typical UTLX car, these second-hand UTLX narrow frame tank cars are adorned with white "Gothic" style reporting marks and utilize a more spartan approach to the data painted on the tank ends. None of the CYCX cars are equipped with tank side ladders that were applied to certain remaining UTLX cars during the war years. Because they were few in number, the CYCX cars are a special addition to any modeler's HOn3 collection and will find a special place in the consists of those diminutive tank and manifest trains! The new part number are:
B340610(W) - CYCX No. 63, White Lettering
B340611(W) - CYCX No. 64, White Lettering

Non-weathered cars will retail for $67.95. Weathered versions will retail for $75.95. The guaranteed pre-order deadline is January 13, 2012. We expect these to be in stock and shipping to dealers in the Summer of 2012.

New C-19s!
Blackstone Models is proud to announce the release of 7 new versions of the popular C-19 along with a re-run of a popular road number. Newly-tooled tender styles allows us to model new versions, including the popular RGS #41.

Otto Perry photo from James L. Ehernberger Collection

These will all be available with sound and optionally weathered. Versions are:
B310201-S: #345 Flying Grande Herald, Switcher Pilot
B310209-S: #342 Royal Gorge Route Herald with Straight Sided Tender
B310210-S: #346 Post Wreck, Flying Grande Herald, Flared Top Tender
B310211-S: #401, Class 70, Late 1910s 401 on Straight Sided Tender
B310212-S: #40 RGS “Rising Sun” Herald
B310213-S: #41 RGS, 30s 40 on Straight Sided Tender
B310214-S: Painted/Unlettered, Diamond Stack, Flared Top Tender, Russia Iron Boiler
B310215-S: Ptd/Unl, Later Style, Straight Sided Tender

MSRP will be $499.95 for non-weathered versions; weathered versions will list for $554.95.

Tech Tip:
We have recently begun shipping the lighting decoders for the Blackstone Models coach and caboose. These are designed for these models, but can be adapted for use in other models as well! Designed for use in both DCC and analog DC, this produces flicker-free operation for up to 2 minutes after track power has been removed.

Each decoder is equipped with 3 surface mount LEDs to illuminate the interior of your car. There are also 3 additional lighting outputs for other lighting options, such as marker lamps, rear flashing lamp, Stove flicker, and more. All of the SoundTraxx Hyperlight effects are built in. This means that you could use a MARS light effect for the interior lamps if you want to.
The decoder is just like any other decoder; it will use a short address (1-127) or a long address (0001-9999) and can be consisted with decoders installed in other cars on the same train! One popular feature of this decoder is the ability to adjust the brilliance of the outputs with a CV. This allows the marker lamps or interior lights to be adjusted to your desired brilliance. To dim the interior lamps, for example, CV 55 adjusts brightness for FX5 (Interior lamps) and FX6. This CV can be adjusted from 0-100 (Numbers above 100 will default to 100). To set the interior lights to 50% bright, set CV 55 to 50. It is just that easy!

This decoder can be used in many ways. Feel free to explore the potential uses. The User’s Guide for the lighting decoders can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/light_userguide.pdf.

SoundBytes XLIII

2011-11-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

We’re heading into the Holiday season with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. Sometimes it seems as though we just started 2011! Time flies when you’re having fun and keeping busy! We want to wish a safe and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! Just a note, we will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving. We will re-open Monday, November 28th.

This time, we will talk briefly about new releases from SoundTraxx. We also have some pre-order items coming up for Blackstone Models. We’ll discuss upcoming shows and appearances and our Tech tip will set up the echo feature of SurroundTraxx.

SoundTraxx

After finishing the revisions to the SurroundTraxx manual, we are proud to say that this item has started officially shipping out to stores this week.

More information about SurroundTraxx can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/surround/. The manual can be viewed online in the Manuals section of our website, found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals.php. This revolutionary sound system allows full sound with any scale, but especially enables those who model in N and Z scale, typically too small to have a great sound due to the small speakers required, to have great sound that travels around the layout with the train.
We have also been shipping out the TSU-1000 for Dual GE FDL for the GE U50 (p/n 827124) locomotive. You can listen to this new sound here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/tsunami/1000.php#124. This is the decoder to use for the new Athearn HO U50 locomotive available now in stores!
The lighting decoder for the Blackstone Models Long Caboose (p/n 810137 http://www.soundtraxx.com/accessorydecoders/accessorydecoders.php) is now shipping as well. This is patterned to easily fit inside the Blackstone caboose, but can be used in many different styles of cabooses.
Be sure to see your local hobby shop or favorite dealer for more information and to order.

Blackstone Models:

Blackstone Models has made several product announcements that are currently open for reservations. For starters, we announced 6 new road numbers for both the D&RGW 3000 series boxcars http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/box/index.php and the D&RGW 5500 http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/stock/index.php series stock cars, available in both weathered and non-weathered. Also is a second run of passenger coaches http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/passengercoach/index.php, 2 new Pullman Green cars, a 3-pack of the Denver and Rio Grande Red cars along with painted, unlettered versions of each, Pullman Green and Red car.
We have some K-27s http://www.blackstonemodels.com/loco/k27/ still available for pre-order as well. These are expected to arrive in February. The East Broad Top Hopper http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/hopper/index.php is still available if you have not yet placed your orders. We have received the pre-production samples and these are great looking, excellent running and reliable cars, synonymous with the name Blackstone Models!

Trade Shows

As we approach the end of the year, we have only one more show before the Christmas break. We will be in Oklahoma City at the OKC Train Show http://www.okctrainshow.com/ December 3rd and 4th, 2011. In January, we will be in West Springfield for the Railroad Hobby Show http://www.railroadhobbyshow.com/ at the Eastern States Exposition Center. Be sure to come by and visit our booth and see all the new products and any new sounds we have to offer!

Tech Tip:

With the shipping of SurroundTraxx, we’ll share a few tech tips with you to help get the best from your new Surround Sound System for your layout!
The SurroundTraxx has the ability to model environmental sound effects to the sound in each zone, like reverb and echo. (Not the same thing) An example of this would be if part of the layout is set in the flatlands, while another portion is up in the mountains. In the mountain zone, a light echo can be reproduced to give the feeling of being in the mountains.

Likewise, if the layout has a switching area with lots of buildings up against the track (An Urban Canyon), reverb would be more appropriate. For the example on how to do this, we’ll set up heavy echo on zone 4 for the whistle, bell and exhaust.
To set up the amount of echo desired in the zone, press in the knob to get to the menu. Rotate the knob until AUDIO appears in the window, and then press the knob to select. In the window, SND ZONE:1 will appear. Rotate the knob until the desired sound zone is displayed, SND ZONE:4, then press the knob. Rotate the knob until ECHO: 0 is displayed in the window, then press the knob. Following the list in the SurroundTraxx manual on page 2:27, rotate the knob until ECHO:6 is displayed, then press the knob to save the setting. Repeat this for any other sound zones that this effect is desired in. When finishes, rotate the knob until EXIT is displayed, then press the knob to return to normal operation mode.

Now, it is necessary to apply the echo to the individual sound effects as desired. Starting from the normal operation of SurroundTraxx, press the knob to display ROUNDHOUSE, Press the knob to select, then rotate until EDIT LOCO and then press the knob to select. Rotate the knob until the road number or address of the desired loco to edit appears in the display, and then press the knob. Rotate the knob until WH FX appears. Press the knob to edit the whistle echo effect. This is where the percentage (0-255 = 0-100%) of the heavy echo selected in the audio menu will be applied to the selected sound effect. For heavy echo in the whistle, dial in 200, which is done by changing the individual digits. Press the knob to select each digit, make and save the change. When finished with the whistle, move on to the bell. Rotate the knob to BL FX, press and enter 100, since the bell is not as prominent as the whistle and follow the same procedure for the bell as was done for the whistle. Then rotate the knob to select EX FX and enter 125. Rotate the knob to EXIT and press the knob. Now run your loco through sound zone 4 and blow the whistle and listen to the echo effect in zone 4 and hear it gently fade out. Ring your bell and listen to the exhaust. Repeat this procedure for each of the locos in your roundhouse so they all respond to the echo effect. Without setting up the FX in the loco profile, that loco will not give the echo effect in any zones.

This is just one of the many ways SurroundTraxx delivers great sound to your layout. Being able to reproduce the ambient sounds of an area as modeled in the individual sound zones creates the sounds of a train running in the real world. You get to be there to enjoy it!

SoundBytes XLII

2011-10-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

Model train season is upon us now! Time to start migrating back to our layouts and get back to railroading. Here at SoundTraxx, we are gearing up for show season. We’ll let you know where we will be in the upcoming months. Also, we will share the new announcements from Blackstone. Last, for the Tech Tip, what to do about a loco making sound, but no control.

Upcoming Show and Appearance Schedule:
Show season is on us. We will be venturing out to a few shows in the next couple of months. George will be at Arnie’s Trains, http://www.arniestrains.com/, in Westminster, CA on October 21st giving clinics about using and programming Tsunami as well as answering questions. Next up is Trainfest in Milwaukee, November 12th and 13th, http://www.trainfest.com/. Following that is The Oklahoma City Train Show in Oklahoma City December 3rd and 4th, http://www.okctrainshow.com/. If you are able to attend these shows, be sure to come by, meet our personnel and ask any questions. We always enjoy meeting our fellow modelers. Come by to see what’s new!

SoundTraxx News
With the release of the new Athearn U-50 model, we have been asked many times if we will have a

correct decoder for this locomotive. The answer is: YES! We are producing a dual GE FDL-16 decoder for use with the Athearn U50, part number 827124. This decoder will have dual recordings of the FDL prime movers to more realistically reproduce the sound of the prototype locomotive’s twin U25 locos on one frame. These are shipping now and will be available at dealers soon!

Blackstone Models News
With the recent National Narrow Gauge Convention in Hickory, NC, we of course, took the opportunity to make some announcements for upcoming new products!
To start, we will be doing 6 new road numbers for each of the 3000 series Boxcars and 5500 series Single-Deck Stockcars. Also, we have announced a second run of passenger cars, included are 2 new green coach numbers, green painted/unlettered, a painted/unlettered red and a 3-pack of red fully decorated passenger coaches for the early 1900s Denver and Rio Grande scheme.

Other additions to the line are the much requested tank car trucks (Both Arch Bar and Bettendorf) that will be available separately now. A new accessory lighting decoder for the Blackstone Models Long Caboose will be available soon as well.
Last, we will be doing a new run of C-19 locomotives with a few of the D&RGW and RGS road numbers that were not done last run mostly due to the different tenders. Details are still being ironed out, so as soon as we have these completed, we will make the formal announcement, including road numbers and part numbers.
Dealers are taking reservations on these new announcements now! For more information including part numbers and road numbers, go to http://www.blackstonemodels.com/
We also received the first pre-production samples of the upcoming East Broad Top Hopper car for inspection and testing.

Visit our website (http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/hopper/index.php ) to check these out. Demand is high on these cars. Be sure to get your desired quantities on order with your dealers.

Tech Tip:
We get calls from time to time about a locomotive idling on the track, but will not respond to the assigned address. This could happen if you are attempting to program the locomotive on the programming track without the PTB-100. If this happens, the decoder is not malfunctioning or defective, it simply has the wrong address in it. All commands to run to motor or blow the horn/whistle are being sent to an address that is not active. How can this happen?
The programming track is set to about ½ power of the normal DCC system. The idea for this was to protect the decoder against short circuits or faulty wiring. What happens is the Tsunami, a powerful and capable decoder, has a processor that, unfortunately, needs more power than most programming tracks provide. Therefore, when programming, the decoder may get enough power to ‘wake up’ the processor, but this is after some of the programming commands have been sent, resulting in an erroneous address being programmed into the decoder. When placed on the main track, the address that is active is not the one you are expecting, so it does not respond to the address you assign to the cab.
There are two ways to remedy this situation. One is to select each address, starting with 1, then 2, until the decoder responds to any commands sent to that address. With 9,999 possible addresses, this may take some time to do. The second, and more reliable way (Not to mention quicker) is to get a PTB-100 from a SoundTraxx dealer. This will amplify the power on the programming track to levels that the Tsunami will reliably read and write CVs. Because DCC programming commands sent on the programming track are NOT address dependent, the decoder will accept programming the address on the programming track and activate this address. The decoder will respond with no problems then. The PTB-100 will also use LEDs to give visual indication of the programming process to ensure proper programming as well as short circuit protection. Retail price is $59.95. These are found at any of our reputable dealers!

SoundBytes XLI

2011-09-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is the 41st edition of SoundBytes! We hope this is informative for all who read. If you would like to see something noted here or a Tech Tip about a specific subject, please e-mail George at georgeb@soundtraxx.com
This is a quick turn for the next edition of SoundBytes to gear everyone up for the National Narrow Gauge Convention this week in Hickory, NC. In this edition, we will meet the newest face at SoundTraxx, Jaime Ferry. We will also have the last installment from Jeff at Blackstone Models about model selection and production. Our Dealer Spotlight will fall on Spring Creek Model Trains in Deshler, Nebraska.

Intro to Jaime Ferry

Jaime joined our team in July as an administrative assistant. She grew up in Massachusetts and relocated to Durango to work with SoundTraxx.

She grew up admiring layouts of her close family friends, Bob and Cheri Payson now of Santa Fe New Mexico. Bob modeled the Boston area centered on his scratch built Boston Harbor scene. While Jaime has not (yet) modeled herself she always admired the hard work and detail put into his layout.
Since moving to Durango, Jaime and her fiancé have started the preparations for building their own layout. They plan to model their home, the Boston Area, and may throw in a tourist narrow gauge railroad so they can model the Blackstone Models. Outside of work and planning their layout, Jaime is an avid horseback rider and owns a Quarter Horse named Awesome.
Jaime has worked for the Ritz Carlton as a concierge and several other customer service oriented companies. If there is anything she can help you with, “It would be her pleasure.”

Blackstone Models

Product Development Primer

Part 3

By Jeff Johnson

In our second installment of the Blackstone Models development process, we discussed the research phase up to the 3D model preparation of the prototype.

MAKING THE MODEL IN CAD

Now the drawings are off to our manufacturer! Depending on the project and development schedule, we may see a first offering of 3D model designs within 6 to 8 weeks for us to review and begin the model design and review phase.

We will often make certain specific requests concerning the construction and ask our manufacturer to work within certain guidelines. That said, it is important for us to give some leeway with our design partners in order that they may create a model that they can effectively deliver to the production floor with few worries. Some of the salient points that are considered in this important step include:
· Ensuring the accuracy of the prototype specific detailing.
· Accepting certain limitations that the molding and assembly process may require.
· Reviewing the proposed assembly process/hardware and identifying any constraints that may arise in the assembly phase.
· Assuring that the proposed parts and assembly are compatible with previous designs to ensure product consistency.
· Reviewing the cost effectiveness of the assembly process to avoid needless “design creep” that may challenge our ability to keep the model affordably priced for the future.
· Signing off on the various Bill of Materials for each version to ensure the detailing differences are understood.

Locomotive creation adds considerable time to the above process as we determine the sound system constraints and motor/gearing assembly, as well as the electrical pick up design. Before we can sign off for the next step, the SoundTraxx engineering team is hard at work determining the Tsunami decoder layout and wiring that the locomotive will utilize. As an example, the C-19 required a reduction in physical wires running between the loco and tender as well as the sound system PCB (Printed Circuit Board) size when compared to our K-27 design.

TIME TO CUT THE MOLDS

After many weeks of detailed study and revisions, we make that decision to head to the tooling department. The 3D model goes through a final sign off from the tooling department to determine the feasibility of each part and any limitations that may need final study, than it’s off to cut hard tooling.
For locomotives, it may easily take three or more months before we see the first test shots and/or running samples. This break in the model design phase means it is time to gather final information and create the decoration liveries, box artwork, insert documentation, and labeling. During this time we will also receive box and protective blister proposals from the manufacturer for approval.
All the while, the engineering team in Durango has created prototype sound systems for the locomotives. These decoder samples will need to be in the hands of the manufacturer when the first loco parts are coming out of the molds.

ENGINEERING AND DECORATION SAMPLES

The first engineering samples arrive! Now it’s off to test….and test. We spend considerable time sending our samples through the paces to see how they will work in the real world. Locomotives add considerable time to this process. A small team of beta-testers will join us in this phase as we try to find any weakness in the first sample that could spell difficulty ahead.

Using our own “risk management” type of processes gleaned from experience, we endeavor to identify roadblocks or missed opportunities that may play out in the final production phase. Once we review these samples, we will usually make a few tooling updates and await the second samples. These second samples will take many weeks to prepare, and we will usually couple the paint and decoration approval phase to coincide with their arrival. For livery and decoration, we keep a critical eye out for adherence to our artwork that we created to match each prototype.

Our product testing will continue through this phase as we attempt to ensure that no stone has been left unturned. All the while, the manufacturer has spent weeks designing and preparing the final assembly tools and jigs that will assist in consistent assembly of the products.

OFF TO THE PRODUCTION FLOOR

The samples have been approved and our final purchase order was prepared weeks in advance of production so our manufacturer has had time to order consigned parts from their vendors. For locomotive production, the sound systems are completed and sent off so their arrival will coincide with the first models headed for assembly. Scheduled months prior, our manufacturer goes to work shooting the zinc and plastic molds and sending them off to the assembly floor. Within a few weeks, we will receive at least two samples of each production piece/version to check for the success of the quality control process. If we identify any issue, this is our last chance to make adjustments prior to shipment. Our manufacturer is eager to please and they studiously review any feedback and make any revisions to assembly if the need arises.

OFF TO DURANGO

The excitement has been building for us, and finally we receive the shipping documents that verify our latest release is on the way. We can now start to contact dealers and confirm the ship dates. It will be 3 to 5 weeks before the cartons arrive at our door. Once received, the models are subjected to final testing and inspection before we send them your way.

After all is said and done, one final critical eye is the most important, yours! We will always value our customer feedback and sincerely hope you will take a moment to tell us of your experience with your latest Blackstone Models purchase. If you haven’t already done so, please log onto the Blackstone Models website and partake in our surveys so we may continue to work in filling your product desires.

Thanks for following this development primer. We hope that you have gleaned a little understanding into the process, one that we enjoy each step of the way!

Dealer Spotlight: Spring Creek Model Trains

David Zucker along with his wife Debby, started their hobby store business in 2000. It has been a lifelong dream to own a model railroad hobby store.

Through dedication and catering to their customers, they have grown from a 5’ x 10’ x 6’ trailer to a store and a website. David actually began a manufacturing venture in the hobby several years ago. His weights were specialized for several different cars that did not come with a weight from the manufacturers. Current stock is designed to accommodate the contemporary HO and N scale modeler, including a full range of SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models Products. They still love doing the weekend "train shows" and travel throughout the Midwest.

You can find out more about Spring Creek Model Trains by calling 402-365-7628, visiting them at 304 East Bryson Avenue in Deshler, NE, or visit their website: www.springcreekmodeltrains.com. You may also find them at a train show near you. Be sure to tell them you heard about them here!

SoundBytes XL

2011-08-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

We have many things to discuss, so we are posting another edition. This time, we will talk about an annual event at the Durango and Silverton, known as Railfest, The second installment from Jeff Johnson about gathering research and collecting prototype data for Blackstone Models, and a primer about the features and uses for our new SurroundTraxx. Also, don’t forget about the National Narrow Gauge Convention coming up soon, September 7th through the 10th in Hickory, NC

RailFest 2011

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Held its annual Railfest this past weekend. This annual event invites narrow gauge fans from all over to partake in special events, photo trains and excursion runs featuring visiting narrow gauge equipment. This year, the Eureka and Palisades #4

and the Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose #5 were running, along with Denver and Rio Grande Western Painted passenger coaches and the #478, a K-28 Mikado.

On Saturday, Jarrette was front Brakeman on the #478 Photo Special while George rode and enjoyed the many run bys by taking video and still photos.

It left Durango at 6:30am and returned as the last entrant to the Parade of Trains at the Durango Depot.

Jeff played music on the Presidential Dinner Special on Sunday. Overall, it is a fun weekend and if given the chance, plan a trip out here in August to attend. We offer Factory Tours at SoundTraxx as well to complement the events in town for the week. For more information on Railfest, please visit http://www.durangotrain.com/

Blackstone Models:

In our first installment of the Blackstone Models development process, Jeff Johnson, The Project Manager for Blackstone Models, discussed the decisions that go into determining the viability of a project and product selection. In this week’s entry, Jeff will focus on the research and development that goes into each new product to ensure the quality and accuracy for the new designs.

MEASURING UP

Through the years, there has been a maze of information and drawings compiled for many of the prototypes that we choose to re-create in HOn3. Most of the more popular drawings are quite fine in detail and dimensional integrity, while a few have appeared that are less than stellar in these respects and have occasionally resulted in questionable results when used for product development in the past. It became apparent early in our design process that we needed to get back to the original sources so we could use reasonably sound judgment as to the integrity of our model designs.
Does this mean that every fine rivet detail, nut, bolt, washer, etc. is always a flawless match for every single road number and era of a prototype? A qualified no on this one! Obviously a manufacturer has to determine a sensible way to bring a realistic model to fruition and also keep the development cost bearable for all. The qualifier for this one is that we find it very important to research the prototype early in our design phase so we may make decisions based on knowledge and not on ignorance due to hasty or incomplete data collection. Unavoidably, molding tolerances and model assembly processes will drive small compromises that are simply part of the manufacturing world, and we endeavor to know what we are starting from so that any such compromise is built on practical principals.
The following bullet points reflect the core of our resource material for model development and include the aspects we consider when observing information:
· Existing Prototypes
     We spend time in the field after locating the best surviving prototypes and measure them in great detail. At this stage, some very important considerations must be taken into account;
     1. Does the prototype generally match its appearance from the intended model era?
     2. Have subsequent/modern era rebuilds altered dimensions or detail placement?
     3. Does the prototype chosen best represent the entire class respective to subtle differences in individual pieces of rolling stock?

· Railroad Standard Drawings and Specifications
In conjunction with studying the field dimensions, we pour through all original source
material we can obtain in order to confirm or challenge findings in the field. Occasionally,
certain aspects of official standard drawings have even been found to be incorrect when
compared to the “as built” prototype. We also pay close attention to specification revision
dates in order to confirm that this data is concurrent with the era we are re-creating.
· Study of Historical Photographs
This exercise cannot be underestimated as many subtle variances among cars and
locomotives may be observed depending on the photo vantage points and the era represented.
We may also note road number specific paint and lettering details that can be applied to the
models in the decoration phase.

· Consultation with Historians
Blackstone Models has been greatly enriched through our association with respected
researchers. We don’t assume that the results of our own discovery phase are always ground
breaking. In fact many individuals have spent years collecting and analyzing unpublished
photos and documentation that may support or challenge previous conclusions. We are
extremely grateful for the remarkable outpouring of data that we have gleaned through the
assistance of others.

· Existing Products Comparison
After detailed study through the steps listed above, one may ask why it is necessary to
compare this information with other products. This is not to attempt the critique of other
manufacturers’ work, but rather to earn a respect for model standards that have gone before us
and to understand the perceptions and expectations that may exist for our customers.
We have developed a great deal of respect for many manufacturers that have paved the way
through the years with wonderful kits and thoughtful research. In fact, a few of us here at
Blackstone Models were building these kits and collecting early brass locomotives in our
formative HOn3 years. For this inspiration, we are quite grateful!

BRINGING IT TOGETHER

After collecting the needed data, a fairly arduous task commences with the creation of 3D prototype solid model drawings, road number versions matrices, and model livery specifications. And it never fails….as we confirm the final requirements of our prototype design, a few additional details have emerged that we can’t resist incorporating into the final product.

In our next installment, we will pass on some “fun facts” in the prototype-to-model phase, culminating with final production and the delivery of our latest HOn3 offering to our doors in Durango.

SurroundTraxx Overview

SurroundTraxx is a surround sound system for your layout. Utilizing the Digitrax Transponding block-detection system, the locomotive is detected in a particular block and this information is relayed back to the command station. SurroundTraxx listens for transponding communication and accordingly sends the sound profile of the detected locomotive to the speaker assigned to that region of the layout. As the locomotive traverses the layout, The Transponding detects the loco is in another block, and the SurroundTraxx transfers the sound to the speaker assigned to the new block. This allows the sound of the locomotive to follow from speaker to speaker, simulating on-board sound.
The SurroundTraxx is capable for support of up to 6 sound zones

or up to 5 zones while utilizing a subwoofer.

The SurroundTraxx will simultaneously produce sound for up to 6 locos at a time, but will store up to 99 locomotive profiles. The sounds for each loco will follow that loco from speaker to speaker around the layout. Even if all 6 locos are in one zone, all the sounds will emanate from one speaker. Setting up the locomotive profiles in the SurroundTraxx allows the user to fully customize the sounds for each loco, with multiple exhausts, whistles or horns, bells, air pumps or air compressors, coupler-clanks and more to faithfully match the intended prototypes.

Included in the box is the SurroundTraxx unit, a 6’ speaker harness, power supply, LocoNet cable and the User’s Guide on CD. We do not include speakers to allow the user to select the type of speakers they desire. For example, if Joe wants simple speakers on the layout fascia, he can use any bookshelf speaker, but if John wants to use the subwoofer, he would prefer less expensive, potentially smaller speakers, since the bass is coming from the subwoofer. Each layout is different as is the listener; so different speakers can be used with the SurroundTraxx to accommodate all preferences.
One example of the features built in the SurroundTraxx is the ability to add echo to a specific sound zone, giving the effect of running through a canyon. As the loco leaves this zone, the echo no longer applies to the sounds for that locomotive.
This is a new product that is shipping to dealers now. We are currently working on updating the SoundTraxx website to provide more information about SurroundTraxx and the concept behind the technology. Finally, big sound can come for the N- and Z- scalers with a full range of sound without having to fit tiny speakers onboard their locomotives. If you have any questions about the implementation of SurroundTraxx, feel free to call us and we will be glad to assist in any way we can!

SoundBytes XXXIX

2011-08-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

It’s been a really busy summer here. We have been getting the new sounds out to the dealers, getting SurroundTraxx packaged and shipped, attending the National Train Show in Sacramento, CA and last, hosting our annual Dealer Training here in Durango last week. It seems as though it was just the first of the year here! Time flies when you’re having fun, right!
In this edition, we will hear from Jeff Johnson from Blackstone Models in the first of 3 installments about the model selection processes we employ to select projects for Blackstone Models. Also, we will take a sneak peek at the Dealer Training seminar we held here last week. Last, for our Tech Tip, we will give some wiring advice to help with your decoder installations.

Dealer Training.

This is an annual Seminar we conduct in which we invite our dealers from around the globe. We spend 4 days helping them become more familiar with our products, SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models. This year, it was held at Ft. Lewis College in Durango, CO. During the week, we share the many features of our products, share the details of our product line, give them an overview of decoder installation, do a decoder installation, and program and set up the decoders for their in-store demo units! We also take a day to have a good time and ride the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Everybody has a good time, learns a lot and leaves with confidence in our products seeing the factory and seeing our commitment to producing a great product.

This year was especially fun. There was a rockslide on the railroad up in the mountains that caused our trip to be postponed a day. The biggest problem was we could not go all the way to Silverton, but we had a good time anyway! Some photos of the rockslide and its cleanup can be seen here:
http://www.durangotrain.com/about-us/scrapbook/rock-slide-august-02-2011
This year was our biggest class ever with over 40 attendees from all across the continent. To see if your dealer has attended, look up their listing on our dealer page from our website. They will be designated with a large gold star!
We want to issue a big Thank You to all who attended this year, Ft. Lewis College, The Bar D Wranglers, The Durango and Silverton Railroad and all who made this past week a success for us and for all attendees.

Blackstone Models:

Product Development Primer
Written by Jeff Johnson

Blackstone Models has existed as a division of SoundTraxx since the announcement of our K-27 locomotive development in 2004. To date, Blackstone Models has released two distinct classes of HOn3 locomotives and eleven types of HOn3 rolling stock pieces.

Many of our customers have inquired about our development process (i.e. ‘how do you select a project, develop it, and decide how to release it to the market’). While certainly not exhaustive, this three-part presentation of our development process may help answer some basic questions you may have concerning Blackstone Models product releases.

GETTING STARTED

With the release of the very first K-27s, boxcars, and stock cars, we felt assured that these staples of narrow gauge railroading would be well received by our core audience/potential customers. The unanswered question was how we needed to continue building a successful business while creating the quality of product that would continue to appeal to existing HOn3 modelers. The added goal was to introduce this wonderful corner of the hobby to budding modelers. First, let’s take a look back at the principals that we used to guide us in the quest to get rolling. Some salient points were agreed upon at the inception of our new division:
· Locomotives must be designed with reliable and consistent electrical pick-up
· Locomotives would be offered with state-of-the art sound systems that accurately capture various prototype sounds
· Each offering would be created “Ready-to Run”
· All models would be extensively tested during the development stage
· All of our models should be consistent with details that mirror the unique variations found on the prototype
· Thoughtful historical research would be key to satisfying the requirement of producing a model that accurately represents the era intended
· Customer service and support must be key to ensuring that our products are well received and that they will stand the test of time in realistic operating scenarios
While following these guidelines during the release of our first few products, lessons have been learned and new innovations have been created to ensure consistent quality.
As we find ourselves seven years down the road and a dozen or so releases behind us, the question is often begged: ”What’s next?”

PRODUCT SELECTION

Obviously, choosing a successful product release results from exploratory research that will ensure a reasonable return on the investment that will keep us afloat and able to expand for the future. This means that many departments of our organization must come together and review the viability of product proposals in order to ensure success. Key components to this process include:
· Customer Surveys (trade shows, online data collection, customer comment cards)
· Competitive Products Survey (we ask “what are we offering that is unique?”)
· Online Modeler Forum Feedback
· Manufacturing Limitations and Costs (How do we satisfy our customer requirements and work within our means for long term success?)
· Available Prototype Data (Do we have access to the prototypes and/or reliable historical data that ensures we may produce an accurate model?
Manufacturing requirements reach far beyond the obvious of how we can make a part or assembly. Minimum order quantities (MOQs), additional costs for producing unique version details, and potential delivery schedules are all figured into the decision of product viability. Today’s manufacturing costs are steadily rising, therefore the balance between additional investment for unique model versions must be very carefully weighed with the ability to produce and move a quantity that will constitute a successful release.
Considerable preliminary research of the model prototype and design must be conducted prior to our selection of the next release. Occasionally, it may take weeks or even months to find and gather enough information to simply determine the viability of a project as viewed from the design phase. This process is especially laborious when creating a model such as the C-19 considering the many detail and varying assembly requirements.

LETS GO!

After satisfying the above-mentioned considerations, the excitement begins! We are ready to make our announcement to our customers and dealer network. During this time we are able to gather pre-orders that will help us determine the quantity we will want to produce. Immediately following this, the Blackstone Models design team is off to work finalizing the necessary research and pre-production drawings to submit to our manufacturer.
In our next installment of the development process we will give you a window to view the steps involved in bringing together the research prior to releasing our next model to the manufacturer. Stay tuned!

Tech Tip:

For our Tech Tip, We will share with you a few secrets regarding wiring in decoders and the wiring inside the models to help lead to a better install.
When cracking open a model to install a decoder, you may notice that the wires are not always the colors that you expect them to be. Sometimes, the two track pick-up wires from each side of the lead truck of a diesel, for example, may both be black. This can lead to potential issues when wiring up a drop-in style decoder. The color of the wire is irrelevant to its ultimate purpose, sending power from point A to point B. The colors are usually there to help in troubleshooting or following wiring diagrams. The inside of many models are assembled with the thought that the model will not be re-wired, so they may use whatever wire colors they have, or use black wires where they may be visible from outside the model.

Ultimately, do not always assume the wires are color coded correctly. We have seen instances where the red wire off an LED was attached to the negative lead while the black wire was attached to the positive lead!
The secret is not to panic. Take your time and use a multi-meter to test the model to be sure the wires go where you expect them to. For example, lets look at the track pick-up wires on the diesel. To start, set your multi-meter to Ohms, or if available, set it for use as a continuity tester. Take the exposed end of the wire and touch one lead of the meter to it. Take the other lead to the meter and touch wheels on one side of the truck assembly. If the meter reads 0 Ohms or in use as a continuity tester, it beeps, then this wire goes to that side of the truck, and label it as such. If you do not see any conductivity, then conduct the same test, but touch the wheels on the other side of the truck.
When conducting this test for lighting, be sure your meter does not send out too much voltage that could potentially burn out any small voltage lamps. Most wires to lights could be more easily traced.

Another tip to share is many of the factory-installed circuit boards have the wires held in place using small black plastic clips. (We call them snoods to reduce confusion with other board mounting clips). Our drop-in decoders are designed so that you can re-use these if you desire. Other boards have small plugs and do not come with these snoods.

In both cases, we suggest soldering the wires to the decoder for a more reliable and trouble-free connection.
When working on a model, be sure to take your time to ensure the decoder is installed properly and without any problems. Using these tips, you should be able to confidently peer into a model knowing that you will be able to figure out the wiring and wire in the decoder properly the first time. Also for more information and techniques, be sure to look at our decoder selector for installation documents showing step-by-step installs into specific locomotives.

SoundBytes XXXIX

2011-07-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome back from a great Fourth of July holiday. In this post, we will share with you the big announcements we had at the NMRA National Train Show in Sacramento. Also, see some of the locomotives on display at the Sacramento Railroad Museum. Last, a tech tip for many who may have just started in DCC and sound, and a refresher for some.

X2011 NMRA Show

This year, the NMRA National Convention and train show was held in Sacramento, CA. We had worked hard to have a great presentation, along with some much-anticipated announcements. We enjoyed our time at the show, and especially enjoyed talking with our many customers.

Among the announcements we made were new sounds added to the diesel Tsunami decoders. Added in are an EMD Turbocharged 567,

a dual EMD 567 for use in EMD E-Units,

an ALCO 251 Super-charged for RS32 locomotives

and last, a Modern GE FDL-16, complete with the famous ‘whooping’ air compressor.

These will be available in a range of decoder formats. Also, we announced that we are now shipping SurroundTraxx to our dealers, our new surround sound system for your layout. For more information on all the NMRA announcements and to hear sound samples, be sure to check the website, http://www.soundtraxx.com/ .

On the Blackstone Models side, we will be doing another run of the popular tank cars, with 3 road numbers each in the narrow frame UTLX cars and the frameless Gramps cars. These will be shipping to dealers in mid to late fall. Last, we will be doing another run of K-27 locomotives. This will not only help newcomers to the scale with the availability of a locomotive, but we will be re-running some of the popular models that were not done last time, like the famous RGS 455 post-wreck.

These models will also be the first run of K-27s available factory weathered. These locomotives are expected to be arriving spring of 2012. Please visit our website for more details, http://www.blackstonemodels.com/ .

While at the show, we had an opportunity to visit the Sacramento Railroad Museum located only a few blocks away from the convention. They had a great collection of locomotives

and it is definitely worth the trip to see and experience the life as it was in real railroading.

You can visit their website and plan your trip at http://www.csrmf.org/

Tech Tip:

There is lots of jargon out there that can seem intimidating and cause some to be apprehensive toward DCC. Once you can see how a CV is constructed, it is easier to follow, and less intimidating. So lets explain how a CV value is determined.

Configuration variables or CVs as they are called are designed to allow a modeler to customize decoder properties such as the address, volume settings, momentum, throttle response, and lighting effects. Each CV has 8 bits in it and a range of 0 to 255 (Which is the total of all 8 bits turned on). When a bit is turned “off” or not selected its value is 0. When a bit is turned “on” or selected its value is 1. As shown in the chart below

the total values are exponential meaning that as you go from right to left the value of each bit doubles. Again think of each CV as an on/off switch where a value of 0= off and a value of 1 = on. In the CV example shown below, lets say we were looking at CV 29 which is known as the configuration register CV, we have turned off bits 0,2,3,5,6, and 7 and turned on bits 1 and 4. Turning on bit 1 enables 128-speed step mode and bit 4 enables customizable speed curves. Therefore to achieve this we would set this CV to a value of 18. For more information on adjusting your SoundTraxx decoders CVs to enhance your enjoyment check out the manuals and technical references found on our web site, http://www.soundtraxx.com/ .

SoundBytes XXXIIX

2011-06-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July!! Please have a safe and fun weekend. This weekend, take time to remember why we celebrate this day. The United States of America is a beacon of freedom around the world, and without freedom, we would not be enjoying the world’s greatest hobby!

On a short post this time, we start off with a talk of the big upcoming show, NMRA Convention and National Train Show in Sacramento, CA. Also, George just returned from the N-Scale convention and we’ll talk about news related to that. Next, we will take a sneak peek at the upcoming Blackstone Models EBT Hoppers. Last up will be our next dealer spotlight, Hobby Smith Hobby Shop in Portland, OR.

NMRA National Train Show

NMRA and the National Train Show are just around the corner. This year, it is in Sacramento, CA at the Sacramento Convention Center July 8-10th in conjunction with the NMRA National Convention the preceding week. We have been working hard to get ready for this show. We will have a few announcements in both SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models, so be sure to come by and see what we have new for you and your layout.

National N-Scale Convention

George just returned from the National N-Scale Convention in Hershey, PA this past weekend put together by the N-Scale Enthusiast. He went there to promote and officially kick off shipping of the much-anticipated SurroundTraxx system.

This is a revolutionary sound system to give full surround sound to your layout, be it a small home layout, or a large club. George gave a clinic about the SurroundTraxx and its features to about 35 attendees. Overall, it was a fun weekend. We would like to thank the N-Scale Enthusiast and all who worked hard to put this convention together.

East Broad Top Hoppers

We have been working on this model to ensure the most accurate representation of this model as we have built a reputation on. We have been given the newest CAD drawings that we can share with you. These models will be produced to arrive just after the first of the year, so be sure to get your orders in for these cars before the deadline passes to prevent being left out after they sell out, as has many of the most recent Blackstone releases.

On another note C-19s are selling out, so be sure to get yours before they are all sold out. We have only the 347 with the black boiler and the 345 in the Bumble Bee scheme left. These are selling out quickly.

Dealer Spotlight

Our Dealer Spotlight this time is The Hobby Smith, located in Portland Oregon.

The Hobby Smith is a full line model train store that carries HOn3, HO, N, Z and Lionel. In their store you will find a great selection of SoundTraxx DCC products along with brass, books, DVDs, consignments and used equipment along with HOn3 products including Blackstone, Micro Engineering and more. The Hobby Smith does DCC decoder and sound decoder installation in all scales plus repairs. They do offer reservation discounts, terms and ship products anywhere. Located 17 minutes from the Portland airport and right off I-84 this is truly a friendly model train store that is open everyday except Monday.

You can find Ron and his crew at 1809 NE Cesar Chavez Blvd. Portland, OR 97212 on the web at www.hobbysmith.com or call them at 503-284-1912. Toll Free 1-877-284-1912.

SoundBytes XXXVIII

2011-06-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, does the time fly! We are now entering June and it seems like we just came back to work from the Christmas break! In this edition of SoundBytes, we will share some good news regarding C-19s. We will also take you along on a recording trip to Arizona. Last, in lieu of our Tech Tip, we will introduce a new regular addition to SoundBytes, a Dealer Spotlight!

C-19s are here!

We have received the much-anticipated C-19 Consolidations here in our facility in Durango. These models are packed with incredible detail. Because of this, they are going fast. We are now starting to sell out of the non-weathered, sound equipped locos, so be sure you have yours reserved at your favorite hobby shop. They have been inspected and being organized for faster packing and shipping. They will begin shipping out to dealers first thing next week!

Recording Trip!

Jarrette and Dan took a couple of days to go to Globe, Arizona to record some locos for potential upcoming projects. Some of the locos we were given access to were a GP-20, a B39-7 and an E-8. The GP-20 is equipped with a 567 Turbo prime mover, a popular sound we have not yet been released to a decoder. The B39-7 is equipped with a FDL-16 prime mover, but with more modern exhaust and the famous electric “Whoop” air compressor! Lastly, the E-8 has the original dual 567 prime movers.

This was a fun trip as they ran the locos up a grade pulling cars, while Jarrette and Dan rode in the cab along with the train crew.

We want to express our many thanks to the Arizona Eastern Railroad in Globe Arizona for their accommodations they made for us.

The staff was fantastic and a special thanks to Gary Hernandez and Earl Knoob. For those located in the southwest, come ride behind the E-8 on their Copper Spike Train from December to April. You can find out more by going to http://www.copperspike.com/. Be sure to watch for new announcements with these new sounds!

Dealer Spotlight

This is a new segment to SoundBytes. We have many great dealers out there and we want to promote these fine dealers. For this column, we will start with Arnie’s Trains in Westminster, CA.

Arnie's Trains was started by Jerry Arnold and Greg Arnold (Son, aka "Arnie") in 1975 on Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CA. Jerry worked the store full time and Greg worked part time. The original store was 800 sq. ft, which quickly grew to 2400 sq. ft. In 1985 Arnie’s Trains moved to the corner of Edwards St. and Westminster Ave into a brand new larger space. In 1997 it was time to expand and move to the current 3600 sq. ft show room on Industry Way. Unfortunately Jerry passed away just as Arnie’s Trains was opening the new location. Greg continued doing business in the manner Jerry had always believed. Arnie’s has always and will always give the customers the old fashion honest and courteous good service. The business took off immediately being again blessed with the help of employee Dave Rickhoff and his wizardly knowledge of model trains. Greg’s good fortune continued when a young man by the name of Matt Haynes joined the Arnie’s team with youthful enthusiasm as part owner.

George and Nancy visited Arnie’s in October 2009 to recruit this great establishment as a direct SoundTraxx dealer. The SoundTraxx DCC has taken off at the store since. As a result, Arnie’s recently hired Kevin to help with SoundTraxx Tsunami installs and general DCC questions.

Greg gives thanks everyday for the opportunity to make a prosperous living selling model trains to a wonderful customer base.

Arnie’s Trains is located at 6452 Industry Way in Westminster, CA. The web address is http://www.arniestrains.com/ and phone number is 714.893.1015.

Thank you for supporting our dealers.

SoundBytes XXXVII

2011-05-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

We have been really busy here lately at SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models. In this edition, we will discuss Blackstone Models Shipments, Allison’s trip to Calgary, and for our Tech Tip using more then one type of lighting device on a single AT1000 decoder.

Blackstone Models News

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity here. We have been shipping out the passenger cars and the second release of the drop-bottom gondolas to the dealers located throughout the world. Now this has settled down, our much anticipated C-19 locomotives have arrived and are going through the tedious task of inventory and inspection.

We are sold out here on all weathered and non-sound versions, so check with your favorite dealers for availability of these units. The Blackstone Models design team has done a great job with these locomotives ensuring each is as accurate as possible to the prototype. These will start shipping out to dealers in the first part of June, so be sure your dealers have yours reserved!

Allison Goes International (written by Allison)

Jarrette and I are going to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the SuperTrain show. I am finally going International! I’ve got my passport all ready to go and my bags packed. Our flights from Albuquerque to Calgary were flawless. I was so excited to fill out my “immigration” papers on the flight from Denver to Calgary.

After set-up on Friday, we headed west to Banff, Alberta. Even though I live in the Rockies, the Canadian Rockies near Banff were one of the most spectacular sights that I have ever witnessed. While we were in Banff, we were lucky enough to get to see a special Canadian Pacific passenger train, pulled by a pair of F7s and a GP-38. It was pretty cool to get really close to diesel locomotives, especially ones that are as old as the F7s. I even took some video on my camera of them.

It was the first time I got excited about a train, other than the Durango and Silverton, of course.

The SuperTrain show was a great experience. We were thrilled to be so well received and it seemed that everyone was very appreciative that we had made the trip. Jarrette and I were impressed to see all of the layouts and other exhibitors, as well as the volume of consumers who passed in and out of our booth over the weekend. We hope to make SuperTrain a regular stop on our annual tradeshow tour.

All in all, it was a great trip and experience. It was very spiritual for me to get to see the Canadian Rockies, as I love the mountains so much. I really hope to go back someday to either do some snowboarding or mountain biking!

Tech Tip:

Last Tech Tip, we was discussed that any type of lighting (LEDs, 12-14v bulbs and 1.5v bulbs) can be used with the Tsunami decoders. Some of the Tsunami drop-in decoders have outputs designed for a model’s specific type of lighting. For example, the TSU-GN1000 has 1.5v-regulated outputs designed for the Athearn Genesis models, which use 1.5v bulbs. The TSU-BW1000 and the TSU-KT1000 have 3.3v-regulated outputs for use Bowser/Stewart and Kato models with factory-installed LEDs without needing any additional resistors. The TSU-AT1000 is designed with all the above in mind. The AT1000 decoder is patterned after the light boards that came in Atlas models for years. But over time, the lighting device of choice has changed from 12v bulbs to LEDs. The TSU-AT1000 gives the ability to use either option. As an added bonus, there is a provision to use 1.5v bulbs without the need for additional resistors. Therefore, the AT1000 is considered by many to be the most versatile diesel decoder available. The diagram shown here

demonstrates how the many types of lighting can be used at the same time, or independently to meet the needs of your model. This diagram illustrates the use of two 1.5v bulbs for the headlamp, a 14v bulb for the backup lamp, an LED for the roof strobe light and a single 1.5v bulb for a cab interior, or any other light that may be desired.

The TSU-GN-1000 is not built for easy use with LEDs, but the TSU-BW-1000 and TSU-KT1000 can be used with 1.5v bulbs. To use 1.5v bulbs with these decoders, a small dropping resistor is needed to drop from the 3.3v for the LEDs to the 1.5v needed by the bulbs. Following Ohm’s law (V=IxR) for a single 1.5v 15ma bulb, 3.3-1.5=V (Voltage), which is 1.8volts. Then solve for R. 1.8=. 015 x R so R=120 or a 120 ohm resistor.

Mixing and matching of lighting types with the Tsunami decoders allows the use of any lighting device to create any lighting effect the modeler wants on their prized locomotive.

2011-04-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes, XXXVI

It’s time for another edition of SoundBytes. This time, we will talk about upcoming Blackstone Models Releases. We have some Trade Show news to share telling you which shows we will attend over the next few months. Last for our Tech Tip, we will look at lighting and how to wire up the various types of lights available for our models.

Blackstone Models:

We have received the much-anticipated passenger cars along with the new run of drop-bottom gondolas. The passenger coaches are based on the Jackson and Sharp narrow gauge coaches that the Denver and Rio Grande ran from the turn of the century to today’s Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

There are 6 road numbers in these done in Pullman Green with varying details such as roof vents or roof conduits. They are complete in virtually every way, with a full detailed interior. Only thing missing would be a lighting kit. (Stay Tuned)
Also shipping is the second run of our popular drop-bottom gondolas. This is a run of 6 all-new road numbers available both weathered and non-weathered. The first run of these cars sold out before they arrived; so don’t miss your chance to have some of these before they are all sold out.
These cars have started shipping out to our dealers around the world.

Trade Show News

Jarrette and Allison will be on the road in Calgary, AB Canada at the Super Train Show on April 16th and 17th 2011. We will be showing our SoundTraxx products as well as pre-production samples of the upcoming Blackstone C-19s. This will be the first venture out of the USA in a while, so we are excited to get to visit a new area and meet with new modelers. Allison is excited to write our next post as she “Goes International!” No telling what adventures she will have!

For more information, please visit their website, http://www.supertrain.ca/ If you are in the Calgary area, be sure to come by and visit. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, we will be happy to help you answer these for you.

Coming up in May, Jarrette will be at the Sherman Hill Club Train Show in Cheyenne, WY on May 21st and 22nd 2011. Then, George will be at the National N-scale Convention in Hershey, PA in June to show off some exciting products for N-scalers! If you are able to come by any of these shows, be sure to stop by and say hi and see what we have to show.

Tech Tip:

We get asked many times about how to wire in locomotive lighting with the Tsunami decoders. The Tsunami decoders are designed to operate virtually any model lighting you can think of. While the specific design of the decoders may favor one specific type of lighting, in this post, we will first address the TSU-1000 and the TSU-750 decoders.
The Tsunami decoder will support the many variants of model locomotive lighting. The biggest question we get is whether the types of lighting can be mixed and matched. In a word, Yes! If you have LEDs for headlamps, there is no reason you cannot have 1.5v bulbs for auxiliary lighting, like ditch lights on modern diesel locomotives. When wiring up the lights, be sure to note that the blue wire is not only the common, but also it is the positive lead to the functions. The function output wires on the TSU-1000 and TSU-750 are the negative leads. Wiring in an LED, it is important to wire in the blue wire to the anode (+) leg of the LED. LEDs and low-voltage light bulbs, like 1.5v bulbs, will need a resistor to prevent premature burnouts. For LEDs, a 1000-ohm (1k) resistor will be fine for most applications, but for small light bulbs, the resistor will need to be calculated and figured out.

Another common question we get is what the output voltage is to the lights. For the TSU-1000 and TSU-750, this is answered by knowing the track voltage supplied by your DCC system. If your DCC system supplies 14.5v to the rails, then the output will typically be rectified track voltage.
So to calculate light bulb resistors, use Ohm’s law; V=IR, of (V)oltage equals Current (I) times (R)esistance. So to calculate for a dropping resistor, using 14.5v on the track, for a 1.5v 15ma bulb the equation looks like this: 14.5-1.5=13v so 13v=.015 x R. Solve for R so 13/.015 = 866 ohms. So go to your favorite electronics store and get a few resistors at the nearest standard value to 866 ohms.
Next time we will look at some of the drop-in decoders and how their light outputs are configured.

2011-03-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XXXV

Its time for another edition of SoundBytes. In this edition, we will discuss the arrival of some Blackstone Models products. We will talk about the NMRA divisional meet in Phoenix this weekend. Last, for our tech tip, we will discuss the function mapping for steam decoders.

Blackstone Shipment
They are on their way!! We have received word that the passenger cars and the second run of drop-bottom gondolas are in Long Beach, CA. Barring any delays at Homeland Security, we should be seeing these arrive here in a few short weeks! With all shipments, we will ship to our dealers as quickly as we can. Passenger cars have sold well, with many of the cars at low available quantities. This includes the popular “Silverton 3-Pack”, so be sure to order now to ensure you get the cars that you want. We are also receiving the second run of the drop-bottom gondolas at this time. Last time, the run sold out before they arrived, so be sure to get yours while you still can, quantities are limited! Check here for news of their arrival. C-19s are in production now, so we will be seeing them soon as well!

Jarrette’s Going To Arizona
On March 12th, this Saturday, The Arizona Division of the NMRA will hold their meet in the Greater Phoenix Area.

Jarrette will be giving clinics on using the Tsunami decoders there. If you are interested in attending, please visit their website: http://azdiv-nmra.org/

Tech Tip:
Last time we discussed function mapping and used a diesel as an example. This time we will discuss function mapping using a steam decoder. Here is the mapping chart as shown in the Tsunami Steam User’s Guide that can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals.php.
Function mapping works the same way with the steam decoder as it does with the diesel decoder. The CVs on the left show correspond with the function numbers and the chart defines which functions are available to use.

By adding up the value assigned to each sound effect or lighting effect, you will determine the final value for a given function CV. One big thing you will find is that F0f, CV 33, has both the value of 1 and 64 in bold as the default setting. That is because when F0 is active and the locomotive is in the forward direction, the headlamp and the dynamo will be active. The dynamo is the steam-driven electric generator that powers the lights on the steam locomotive. One of the Hyperlight features we have is the Dyno-light that spools up the light while the dynamo spools up. If the dynamo sound is not active when the headlamp is on, the light will not illuminate since it needs the electricity generated by the dynamo. If desired, the dynamo sound can be mapped to a different function button. To help explain how these CVs are set up, we will add the FX5 to the F0f button. FX5, in this example will be wired to the class lights on the front of the locomotive. Looking at the chart, F0f is set by CV33. The headlamp has a value of 1, FX5 has a value of 16 and the dynamo has a value of 64. To activate all three of these at the same time, add up the values. CV 33 would then be set to 81. Without changing CV39 also, F5 will turn on the lamps as well, so lets change F5 to control the Water Stop. By setting CV 39 to 64, we can see that now the F5 will activate the water stop sounds. Last, F9 also controls the water stop, so since we don’t use F9 much, lets set CV 43 to 0, so it now will not control any sound or lighting effect.
Playing with these settings can help you set up a function-mapping scheme for your railroad that works the way you want. Next time, we can really have fun and play around with function swapping!

2011-02-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XXXIV

In this edition of SoundBytes, we will re-cap George’s trip to Maryland for the Great Scale Model train Show in Timonium, Maryland. We also have a lot to show including the painted samples of the passenger cars and C-19s. Also, we are releasing a Durango and Silverton caboose to be available for purchasing at your local hobby shop. For our Tech Tip, we will discuss function mapping.

Maryland Trip.
George went for a few days to Maryland to visit some of our dealers in the area, as well as to be at the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium, MD. While there, he took some time to visit the B&O Railroad Museum.

This was a fun side trip to see some of the steam locos from the 1800s

and some more modern steam

and diesel locos as well.
This was definitely worth the time on this trip. For more information, visit http://www.borail.org/

On this trip, George visited Trains, Etc. in Lorton, VA
The Moose Caboose in Sykesville, MD,
Model Rail Craft in Havre de Grace, MD,
and trains, Toys and Hobbies in Wilmington, DE.

While there, he was also able to visit a truely great model railroad. Howard Zane, http://www.zanestrains.com/, MMR and author, has his 2850 sq ft. HO Piermont Division layout in his basement.

This was impressive to say the least. Best of all, he uses mostly SoundTraxx sound decoders, except for a few factory-installed by other manufacturers. This layout has been featured on Allen Keller’s series of videos two separate times. Here are a few shots of this layout.

We would like to extend our thanks to Howard Zane and his family for their hospitality in allowing George to come visit this superb layout.

Blackstone Models News!
We have received here in Durango the decorated samples of some of our upcoming projects for Blackstone Models. We have received samples of our passenger cars. One of the exciting features about these cars is they will have full painted and detailed interiors! We are expecting these to arrive here in early spring.

Last to show are the painted samples of the C-19s. We have received all of them here and we are carefully reviewing these to ensure they are as accurate as possible. Here are a few shots for you to whet your appetite with! These are expected to arrive at our facility in early summer.

Last, the second run of Drop-Bottom Gondolas is expected to arrive here in early spring.

New announcement!
Now shipping to the dealers: The Durango and Silverton special run caboose models the 0540 as she appears today for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. These limited run cabooses are available to all through their local hobby shops. Part number is B340961 and retail price is only $79.95! Don’t miss out on your opportunity to have one of these limited edition cars.

Tech Tip:
The Tsunami decoders have the ability to shift around the function controls to your liking. For example, the short horn can be re-mapped to F5, rather than F3 if you so choose, or the F11 Brake to F8 to more easily access this function by pressing one button instead of two or more. This allows you to arrange any arrangement you desire to best utilize your cab’s controls or match your prototype, and it’s easy to do!
Looking at the Function Mapping chart, Table F in the Steam and Diesel User’s Guide, we see that CV 33 controls what comes on when F0 is active and the loco is in the forward direction.
In the case of the diesel, only the headlamp, a value of 1, is active. If the ditch lights (Which are set to alternate using FX5 and FX6) are desired to turn on and off with the headlamp, then add in 16 and 32 to the 1 that was there, for a total of 49, which will then be programmed into CV 33. So by doing this, the Headlamp and ditch lights will be on when F0 is active going in the forward direction. This also frees up F5 and F6 for other sound effects. Looking at CV 39, which then controls F5, we can activate bell, dynamic brake, short horn, or radiator fans (Or engine RPM +). Just add up the value(s) for any given effects and put the total into the CV. Alternately, if independent control of the ditch lights from the headlamp using only F5 were desired, you would then set CV 39 to 6 (2+4=6). It also applies for CV 40 for F6.
Using this scheme, almost any combination of lighting and sound effects can be contrived. In the next edition, we will show another way of opening up any sound to any function using CV 30.

2011-02-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XXXIII

Here we are with the first SoundBytes for 2011. It has been a while, but we hope everyone had a Happy New Year! In this edition, we will discuss the impending arrival of the Blackstone Tank cars, talk a bit about the tradeshow season and upcoming trips, and finish with new products coming from SoundTraxx. For our Tech Tip, we will show our Decoder Selector’s Newest Feature, the Application Notes.

Blackstone News!
The Tank cars are here! We received these much-anticipated models this week. These models are all sold out at the factory, but many of our dealers may still have stock available for purchase. Please check with them for availability.

Shipping will start next week to the dealers.

Trade Show Season
This month has flown by us. We just got back from a busy Amherst show this past weekend. We thank the many who braved the cold temperatures and snow to come out and see us. We talked with many of you and we always appreciate feedback from our customers.
George is on his way to visit the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium MD.

He will be showing some samples of the C-19, Passenger Coach and the Tank Car. Listen for announcements during the show to hear which booths he will be at, so you can come by and ask questions and see some of the new products and see demonstrations. While there, he is planning on visiting the B&O Railroad Museum. We’ll report back on his trip in a later installment.

Available Soon!
We have started to build the TSU-1000 decoders for the EMD SD70ACe and the GE GEVO locomotives. These have authentic recordings of these specific locomotives.

These will be shipping soon, so be sure to order these from your favorite dealer!

Now Shipping!
We have released the first few of the SoundTraxx Mobile Decoders! These are equipped with the fine motor control you have come to expect from the Tsunami, but without sound. All Tsunami motor control features are there, including the F11 brake acting as a brake, just without the sound! These can help make speed matching more convenient without having to read through different manufacturer’s manuals trying to get it close. Retail price starts at $19.95, so get yours today! More information can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/MotorDecoders/MotorDecoders.php

Tech Tip:
We have posted a decoder selector to help with your decoder selection. We now have a new feature included with the selector, Application Notes. These are documents that will give a full step-by-step installation of a decoder into the specific models. These will have a list of tools, supplies and which decoder and speaker to use. These are also rated by skill level, so you may not want to try a skill level 5 on your first decoder install.
The decoder selector can be accessed here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/choose/step1.php
When you find your model, click on the model’s highlighted name and it will then open up a .pdf for you to read through and use as a guide!
If anyone wants to participate in helping get some of these documents done, please contact George at georgeb@soundtraxx.com for details and to inquire as to whether we have a given model in progress or not. Also, be sure the photos are clean (on a white or grey backdrop, no messy workbenches please) and in focus. We will give full recognition to you for your submissions.

2010-12-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

We would like to wish each and every one of you out there a safe and Happy Holidays from the crew at SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models! We will close for the Holidays on Dec 23rd and re-open Jan 3rd, 2010. Thank you for a successful 20th year in business!

2010-12-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XXXII

The Holiday season is upon us! This year has gone by so fast; it seems like yesterday we were enjoying the summer outdoor activities! The good part is we are now sequestered to our layouts and back to model building. This edition, we will meet Jeff Johnson, our Project Manager for Blackstone Models. Discuss the final trade show of the 2010 season. Finally, for our Tech Tip, we will discuss the Bachmann factory-installed decoders and how to find information for CV settings.
OKC Train Show
Last weekend, Jarrette and George were in attendance at the Oklahoma City Train Show. This event is not far from the Dallas Area, where George grew up. He enjoyed seeing old friends as well as many modelers in the area.
There were many great layouts on display, including the New Mexico Narrow Gauge Module Club set up across the aisle from us, running HOn3! Thank you to all who have made this year of trade shows enjoyable and we are looking forward to visiting new areas next year to have the opportunity to meet many more modelers! For a list of upcoming shows for 2011, please visit our website at http://www.soundtraxx.com/shows.php.

Introduction to Jeff Johnson:
He was born and spent most of his younger days in Oklahoma City. Later, while living in Southern California, during High School, he worked at Knotts Berry Farm working on their railroad. In April of 1981, Jeff moved to Durango to work on the then-new Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Jeff hired out as an engine watchman and ultimately ended up as a locomotive engineer.
In an effort to build on his career, he moved to Grand Junction, CO and went to work for the Southern Pacific in 1995 as a conductor and locomotive engineer. Working his way up the corporate ladder, he improved his Class 1 railroad career to a Manager of Operating Practices for the Union Pacific. In 2005, he returned to the town that he loved, Durango, accepting a job at SoundTraxx to help Steve and Nancy start up a division to manufacture finely detailed ready to run HOn3 equipment, Blackstone Models. It is his efforts and attention to detail that has helped make Blackstone Models what it is today. As his professional career brought him back to Durango, he now works part-time for the Durango and Silverton railroad. In the small amount of free time this would give most people, he somehow still finds time to play in his country-rock band, the High Rollers (http://www.highrollersband.com/), as an accomplished fiddle and banjo player.

Tech Tip:
This time we will briefly discuss the Bachmann Spectrum locomotives.

Bachmann locomotives use only 8 functions and therefore are re-mapped accordingly. The purpose of this was to allow Bachmann E-Z Command users to have access to the sound functions since the E-Z Command has only 8 functions. As a result, some of the functions may not be set to the same as the decoder that you have installed yourself. Most of the features are present in the decoder, just not mapped to a function.
We have a page on our website that discusses Bachmann Tsunami-equipped locomotives and what changes need to be made to operate these the same way as the ones you have installed. We have also included a factory CV setting page for many of these locomotives at the bottom of the page. This will allow you to see what these default settings are for these models without having to read each CV. This will also let you know where each volume CV is set to know where to start when making adjustments.
This page can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/Bachmann/Bachmann.php. For function mapping information, see the “Operating in DCC” document in the upper left hand of the page.

2010-11-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XXXI

Welcome to the 31st edition of SoundBytes. We will also talk a bit about Trainfest 2010, the recent announcement by Blackstone Models regarding the EBT hoppers. For our Tech Tip, discuss differences between the Tsunami and an Athearn factory-installed Tsunami.
Also we want to wish each of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Blackstone Models East Broad Top Hoppers
That is right, you read correctly! Blackstone is potentially venturing outside the comfy Colorado Narrow Gauge circle and wants to satisfy the eastern narrow gaugers by producing a finely detailed HOn3 replica of the famous East Broad Top coal hoppers.

The information about this project can be found here: http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/hopper/index.php Be sure to get your advance reservations in by January 31st, 2011!

Trainfest 2010.
This year’s Trainfest did not disappoint! An attendance record was set at 23,500 attendees! We were busy all weekend. We had many of our customers come by to talk with us and see our newest products. We had many good suggestions and comments from you. It is always enjoyable talking with you at the shows.
The show was a great one with many model railroads on display. We are already looking forward to next year!
Next up, the last show for 2010 is in Oklahoma City on December 4th and 5th. Be sure to come by and see George and Jarrette see what specials we may have to offer!

Tech Tip:
When you use an aftermarket Tsunami decoder, you have the function mapping set up one way, while some of the Athearn models are set up a different way. When Athearn orders their decoders, they have selected different default settings from the Aftermarket Tsunami decoder to more closely match their model.

One way this has come up is when the modeler wants to use manual notching. Be setting CV 116 to allow manual notching, Athearn has chosen to re-map the functions to not have that as an option as a default setting. This can be easily accessed by changing a few CVs to activate the F9 for RPM+ and F10 for RPM-. There have not been many changes, but a few that you may need to know. We have written a short document highlighting the changes and what CVs need to be changed to have the Athearn Factory-Installed decoders match those of the Aftermarket Tsunami. You can access it here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/athearn/Athearn%20With%20DCC.pdf

We have also published a list of CV defaults for many of the models we have supplied them with Tsunamis. This can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/athearn/Athearn.php

2010-11-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXX

Its time for another edition of SoundBytes. In this edition, we will look at our Trade Shows, both past and future. The bug has bitten George in that he needed more real estate on his home layout, so we will look at the construction of the new section of his layout. For the tech tip, we will briefly touch on some programming fun for modern modelers.
On a side note, Congratulations to George’s hometown Texas Rangers for making it to the World Series this year, bad news is they did not win it. We’ll see how they do next year. On to Hockey season..!

iHobby Roundup
We spent last week away at the 26th International Hobby Exposition in Chicago, IL.

This show allows all hobbies to come together to display their wares to potential dealers on Thursday and Friday and to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Hobbies included were RC cars, RC trucks, RC airplanes and helicopters, Plastic models, and many other hobbies, including rubber band guns! On hand was one of the original General Lee cars from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show.
We met many of our current dealers and were able to find a few new dealers here at the show. On Public days, we were able to meet with many of our customers in the area, and introduce our products to many hobby newcomers too! Overall, it was a good show and thanks to those who came out to see us.
Next up this year is TrainFest in Milwaukee November 12 thru the 15th. www.trainfest.com George, Jarrette, Allison and Steve, our company co-founder and president will be there too. Come by say hi and see what we have new to show. We attend this show every year and we always have a great time. There is a lot to see and do, so if you are near the area, be sure to come by and see us!

Expansion time!
Well, those who know George know he could not have only a small switching layout for too long. He has started an extension to his layout in his garage to complete a round trip for constant running. Check out this photo of the completed bench work.

This portion of the layout will represent a few vignettes of the White River Run for the Mopac. (On the Carthage and Cotter Subdivisions) Included will be Pyatt Tunnel and the Calico Bluffs near Buffalo, AK. He is looking forward to getting this part up and built. We will keep you posted on the progress here.

Programming Note:
There is a programming issue that has been brought to our attention. Users of the Digitrax Zephyr may have trouble programming CV 128, overall volume control, when using the Zephyr to program. This issue is not present when using a DT300 or 400 series throttle, only when programming using the Zephyr. We have also found that despite documentation to the contrary, it will not program a long address on the mainline. We have contacted Digitrax regarding this issue and they have in fact confirmed that there is a glitch. They have advised anyone experiencing this problem to contact them about getting this issue resolved.

Tech Tip:
Our Tech Tip this time is a programming trick that was inquired about by one of our dealers. In modern diesel locomotives like the SD70 series
or the GE Dash 9, the bell is activated when the horn is sounded. This can be done using Tsunami. First, set CV36 to a value of 12. (4 for the horn, +8 for the bell.) This will have the momentary F2 sound the horn and activate the bell sound. To control this, Press F2 and the bell will start to sound at the same time as the horn. Then when releasing F2, quickly press F1 to sustain the bell ringing during the time between horn blasts (Since F2 is a momentary function, the horn and bell will stop playing as soon as the F2 button is released). Pressing F2 again will not turn off the bell, since at that time it is already on, it will continue ringing, just like the prototypes until you turn the bell (F1) off.

SoundBytes XXIIX

2010-10-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXIIX

Its time for another edition of SoundBytes. This time we will review George’s trip to Oregon and California. We will also fill you in on our upcoming schedule for shows. Finally, for our tech tip, we will discuss the capacitor found on Tsunami decoders and their purpose.

Oregon and Northern California Trip
George would like to issue a thank you to those he was able to visit on his recent trip. He was able to give clinics for many of the clubs in the area that he was traveling and saw lots of great layouts. George visited the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club (http://www.cgmrc.com/),

the Mount Hood Model Engineers, both in the Portland, Oregon area. In the Northern California area, He was able to visit the Carquinez Model Railroad Club in Crockett (http://www.carquinezmrs.org/),

the Alameda County Central Railroad Society in Pleasanton (http://www.pleasantonmodelrr.org/)

and the East Bay Model Engineer Society at the Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Richmond (http://www.gsmrm.org/).
He was happy to be able to spend some time with these club members showing the capabilities and features of the Tsunami decoders.
During this trip, he also visited several SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models authorized dealers in the area. He was able to visit Whistlestop Trains (http://www.wsor.com/)
and The Hobbysmith (http://www.hobbysmith.com/),
both in Portland, OR, Mainline Trains in Forest Grove, OR,

Tammie’s Hobbies (http://www.tammieshobbies.com/) in Beaverton, OR

and Eugene Toy and Hobby in Eugene OR.
Stops in California included The Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA,
Tom’s Trackside Trains (http://www.tomstracksidetrains.com/) in Menlo Park, CA,
Railroad Hobbies (http://www.rrhobbies.com/) in Roseville, CA,
Bruce’s Train Shop (http://www.brucestrainshop.com/), in Sacramento, CA,
Roger’s Railroad Junction (http://www.rogersrailroadjunction.com/) in Lodi, CA,
Franciscan Hobbies (www.franciscanhobbies.com) in San Francisco, CA and Just Trains (www.just-trains.com) in Concord, CA. Just Trains was holding their annual Open House Sunday, October 3rd.
This year had a good crowd that lasted all day. There were lots of great layouts on display, including an HOn3 Blackstone Models inspired layout by Bill Iwan,
a member of the Northern California Narrow Gaugers,
a great On30 modular layout club.
This was a busy trip, but he had a good time, despite the traffic! If you live in these areas, or are just visiting, be sure to visit these fine dealers.

Upcoming Shows
This week, Nancy, Jarrette and George will be in Chicago for the International Hobby Expo (www.ihobbyexpo.com). This will be held at the Rosemont Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, near the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. If you are in the area, come by and see what we have to show.
November 12, 13, and 14th, we will be at Trainfest in Milwaukee (www.trainfest.com). Following that, we will be at the Oklahoma City Train Show, (www.okctrainshow.com) December 4th and 5th. Be sure to come by if you are in the area to see what’s new and to see some of the upcoming releases from Blackstone Models!

Tech Tip:
ch There seems to be confusion as to the purpose of the Capacitor included in the Tsunami decoders. This is a 220uf capacitor that is designed as a stay-alive capacitor for the processor. Older SoundTraxx decoders had a 33uf bi-directional capacitor included to hook up in line with the speakers. This was a noise filter and is no longer necessary with the Tsunami line of decoders. Lets look at how it works.
At any point in time, the locomotive is picking up power from one wheel on each rail, no matter how many wheels it has.

Electricity follows the shortest path of least resistance, which will be one wheel on each rail. As the locomotive is moving, this point of contact with the rail is broken and needs to be re-established quickly, which it does, but for that moment, the decoder is without power. The capacitor supplies the processor with power until another reliable path of electricity is found. This window is only milliseconds long, but with a sound decoder, even this is enough to result in a constantly re-setting sound decoder, similar to plugging in and unplugging a computer. With a non-sound decoder, this takes place so fast that we never see any interruption of power, but with sound, we would hear the loss of power.
We have selected a 220uf capacitor because on a well-wired layout, these interruptions of power will only last ¼ second to ½ second. This capacitor is more than enough to handle this amount of time. If you are still experiencing losses of power causing interruption of operation, you can increase the capacitance to help lengthen the amount of time that the processor will be powered over dead track. Remember, as capacitance increases, so to does the physical size of the capacitor, which may be a tight fit into small locomotives. You can use as large a capacitor as you can fit, but we do recommend keeping it less than 1000uf. If the capacitance of multiple locomotives gets too high, this could cause the DCC system to detect a short circuit upon startup due to the inrush current caused by multiple capacitors charging at the same time. Most installations will not need this, however, if the locomotive’s track power pickups are insuffecient (not enough wheels are picking up power), this could help overcome these issues.

2010-09-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXVIII

In this edition, we will re-cap the 30th National Narrow Gauge Convention. We will also shed light onto a couple of our SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models dealers, discuss future trips.

Narrow Gauge Convention Wrap-Up
We had a great time visiting with our customers and dealers who were in attendance. We were proud to show the newest pre-production samples of the C-19s, and decorated samples of the passenger coach and the tank cars. These were well received and whet the appetites of many HOn3 modelers! You can view these samples on our website, http://www.blackstonemodels.com/rolling/passengercoach/index.php and http://www.blackstonemodels.com/new/tankcar/index.php.
A great Honor was bestowed to our company’s founders, Steve Dominguez and Nancy Workman. These extraordinary individuals were honored at the convention by being inducted into the Narrow Gauge Hall of Fame! It is truly great to have them recognized for contributions in both the category of sound and revitalizing HOn3 with the introduction of the Blackstone Models division.
We also would like to thank those who opened their layouts to conventioneers. The layout hosts were very hospitable and we saw some fabulous layouts. In particular, we’d like to thank Jeff Boock, Eric Brooman, Chuck Graham, John Kalin, Herb Koening, Randy Meyers and Ron Schlueter- Your layouts were truly inspirational! Nearly all featured our Tsunami sound decoders and we even found one using our SoundTraxx S220-IR Steam layout sound system! We will post some photos at in a future post.
During our time there, we took the opportunity to visit Mark Twain Hobbies in St. Charles, MO (http://www.hobby1.com/). If you are in the area, please stop by- this is an awesome store with a wonderful selection of items for all hobbies. It truly brought back childhood memories for all of us!

Look for us in your area!
George will be spending a week on the west coast in the coming weeks! Starting in Portland, he will visit with our dealers in the area with clinics at The Hobbysmith (http://www.hobbysmith.com/) at 4:00pm and at the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad club (http://www.cgmrc.com/) at 6:00pm, on Tuesday, September 28th. Traveling to the San Francisco Bay Area Wednesday, he will be doing public clinics at Bruce’s Train Shop along with the 26th Street Model Engineers (http://www.26thstmodelengineers.org/) in Sacramento, CA at Noon on Friday, October 1st and at Roger’s Railroad Junction in Lodi on Saturday, Oct 2nd at 10:30am. If you are in the area and can attend, we would love to have you! We are planning on visiting our dealers in the area as well, along with several clubs including the Carquinez Model Railroad Society (http://www.carquinezmrs.org/) Thursday evening at 7:00pm and the Alameda County Central Railroad Society (http://www.pleasantonmodelrr.org/) on Friday evening at 6:00pm. On Sunday, Oct 3rd, we will be displaying at the Open House for Just Trains (http://www.just-trains.com/) in Concord, CA. Please come by and say hello and see what’s new!

Dealer News:
From time to time, we like to give some special ‘kudos’ to dealers who are doing what they can to help serve the model railroad community. At this time, we would like to congratulate Johns and Nancy Thut of DCC Hobby Supply (http://www.dcchobbysupply.com/) for expanding their services to their customers. In addition to almost always having the items asked for in stock, they now offer installation services for both brass and mass-produced plastic models. Give them a call and support them in their efforts to better support you!

2010-09-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXVII

It seems as though summer has just started, and here we are going into September and sending the kids off to school! Of course, that means time for railroading! In this edition, we will look at an annual occurrence here in Durango, Railfest at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. We will also see our newest announcement from SoundTraxx. For our Tech Tip, we will look at an easy change to make to your Tsunami decoder, the Whistle or air horn!

Railfest
This year’s Railfest at the D&SNG was bigger than ever. This is an annual celebration of railroading in the Colorado Rockies and visiting equipment stole the show. Railfest this year ran from August 19th through August 24th. Events included freight photo specials, special passenger photo specials, special excursions with the visiting equipment and more! This year, the D&RGW 315, a C18 consolidation, the Eureka and Palisades #4, a 4-4-0 and the RGS Galloping Goose #5 all were here running special trips throughout the Animas Canyon. One of the highlights of this year’s festivities was the Parade of Trains through Durango, featuring a train arriving at the depot about every 10 minutes, finally posing for a special photo shoot with some of the everyday D&S equipment! This kicked off the Railfest Banquet held in the Railroad Museum. This annual event seems to get better every year. If you are looking for a great railroad vacation, Railfest is hard to beat!

Upcoming Shows
If you are able to attend the 30th National Narrow Gauge Convention held this year in St. Louis, MO, be sure to come by the booth to see what’s new. We will have plenty of samples of our upcoming projects to show, including a few versions of the C-19 to look at as well as decorated samples of the passenger cars with the full detailed and painted interior and decorated samples of our frameless and narrow-frame tank cars.
George would also like to thank all who attended the clinic in Colorado Springs at Custom Railway Supply. Your questions and participation is appreciated. For those who were not able to attend, watch here for more clinic schedules and locations. We are looking to plan a few more around the country!

Mobile Decoders
We have been asked many times about speed matching Tsunami sound-equipped locomotives with non-sound-equipped locos. In response to this, we have introduced a non-sound decoder that features the same fine motor control and features found in the Tsunami decoders, just without the sound! This way, you can have a multi-unit consist that has each decoder is using the same set of CVs for controlling the lights and motor, including the popular F11 braking! No more will you have to look through many manuals to figure out how to get different decoder-equipped locos to run together smoothly.
The Mobile decoders will be available in many formats to facilitate an easy installation. The lineup can be found here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/MotorDecoders/MotorDecoders.php
These will be available soon from your favorite dealers.

Tech Tip:
One of the easiest and most distinct changes that can be made to a decoder is to change the whistle or horn. Each steam decoder is pre-loaded with a selection of up to 8 whistles and diesel decoders are preloaded with 16 air horns to choose from. Prototype locomotives carried many different whistles based on the railroad or region of the country, or even different class of locomotives! Diesels became more “standardized” with the railroad selecting the air horn of choice for all locomotive models. Each Tsunami decoder has a card enclosed in the packaging that denotes which whistles and air horns are selectable on the decoder. By reading the chart, you can determine the values to program into CV115 to select each air horn and whistle type. For example, on the EMD 567 diesel decoder, CV 115 should be set to a value of 3 of you want to hear a Leslie A200. On the Southern Steam decoder, set CV 115 to 2 if you want to hear the Norfolk & Western #1218 whistle.Using CV115, you can select a whistle or air horn that you like the sound of. After all, this is your railroad. By using the many choices available, doing a small bit of research on your prototypes can make for a more prototypically accurate running experience.

2010-08-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXVI

It is time for another installment of SoundBytes. We have some trips planned in the near future including a trip to Colorado Springs to give a Tsunami clinic. Also, we will be displaying at the 30th National Narrow Gauge convention in St. Louis, MO. We will discuss a bit about the latest from Blackstone Models. For out Tech Tip, we will look more in depth into Dynamic Brakes and how they work for diesels.

Show Season
Show season is upon us. George will be traveling this weekend to Colorado Springs to give a Tsunami sound presentation at Custom Railway Supply in Colorado Springs Saturday Morning, August 21st at 9:30am. If you are able to attend, please do so as it will be fun and informative. http://www.customrailwaysupply.com/
After a busy NMRA National show, we now get to go to St. Louis, MO and set up at the 30th National Narrow Gauge Convention. This is usually a great show to display Blackstone Models equipment and to talk with many of our “Narrow-Minded” friends about current and upcoming projects. As always, we enjoy speaking with our friends in the modeling community. If you are able to attend this show, or are in the near vicinity, come by and visit. Also, Jarrette will be giving clinics on using Tsunami sound and Jeff will be giving a peek into the world of Blackstone Models. Check the clinic schedule to find out times and locations of these informative and fun clinics! http://30ngconvention.org/Blackstone Models
We have been shipping out our K-27 locomotives and our double-deck stockcars as fast as we can. We have a large demand for these items and quantities are limited. Be sure to check with your dealers to ensure you get your models before they are sold out!We also have passed the deadline for guaranteed reservations on the narrow frame and frameless tank cars. We have very limited quantities available, so be sure you have ordered yours to guarantee you receive these quality models.
Our second set of sample C-19s have arrived and we are extensively testing these models to ensure that the quality we expect is present and that these models run as good as our K-27s. These models have been great so far, we want to push these to the limits to be sure you can enjoy running these locomotives!

Tech Tip:
For this Tech Tip, we will discuss dynamic brakes and how they work on your Tsunami decoder. For those who may not know what Dynamic Braking is, let us explain.
Locomotives are not direct drive like our cars and trucks. Since they need much more horsepower to pull that much tonnage, they rely on electric motors (Traction motors) on the axles to turn the wheels. An electric generator (Main Generator) attached to the diesel engine (Prime mover) supplies the electrical power to these motors. The engineer regulates how much power is applied to the traction motors from the cab for pulling trains. Dynamic braking was developed to help reduce the wear on the train’s brake shoes while helping to maintain better control of the train when drifting downhill or negotiating territory with significant undulating grades. This method of braking turns the traction motors into generators, using electro-mechanical force to slow the rotation of the locomotive’s wheels and causing resistance to the momentum of the train downhill. The extra electric energy generated by these traction motors is dissipated in a resistor grid located in the locomotive. The dynamic brake fan sound on the Tsunami is representing the dedicated fan (or set of fans) that cools these resistor grids to prevent thermal damage to them.
Each locomotive manufacturer had a different way of addressing the locomotive’s needs for the dynamic brake application. Tsunami allows you to replicate any of these options to create a more realistic sound decoder. Since the prime mover would not be generating power to pull the train anymore, most EMD locomotives would drop the diesel engine RPMs to idle to save fuel. As an exception to that rule, Southern Pacific and Missouri Pacific would have the prime mover on their locomotives drop to Run 4 so there was enough power generated by the main generator to keep the traction motor blowers running to help prevent the traction motors from overheating. ALCO and GE had these fans directly driven from the crankshaft of the prime mover and would then have to crank the prime mover up to Run 8 or full throttle to keep the fan turning as fast as it can and cool the resistors.
Following the Tsunami Diesel User’s Guide, available here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals.php, these options can be set up in your diesel Tsunami decoder to follow prototype practices and therefore result in more realistic operation. F4 by default controls the dynamic brake sound. CV116 sets up a few things, including auto-notching or manual notching, auto start, and interlock as well as the dynamic brake feature. Start by determining the value for CV116 that controls the other features first. Next, determine how your prototype’s dynamic brakes behaved. Default settings for Tsunami simply have the fan sound play. If you want the prime mover to drop to idle, add in 64 to the pre-determined value for CV116. If you want the dynamic brakes to go to Run 4, add 128 to the value for CV116. If the prime mover’s RPMs need to go to Run 8, add in 192 to the value in CV 116.
With many railroads using locomotives from different manufacturers, following this procedure creates realistic operation options allowing the unique locomotives to behave differently when in a prototypical consist. A neat addendum to this is in a case where a locomotive (Or locomotives) in the consist does not have dynamic brakes. The locomotive in question, when coupled to a few locomotives that did have dynamic brakes, would drop to idle to save fuel, but there were no fans, so set CV116 accordingly and set CV 133, Dynamic Brake fan volume, to 0. This way, when in a consist, this locomotive will behave properly in accordance with the prototype, and there will be no Dynamic Brake fan sound! This feature found only in Tsunami helps create the realism we are all striving to achieve on our layouts!

2010-08-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXV

This has been a seemingly short amount of time since our last post. We have been to Milwaukee for the National Train Show and now it is August! Also, Blackstone Models K-27s and Double Deck Stock Cars arrived here on July 29th. For our Tech Tip, let’s take a look at the UP GTEL Turbine decoder and some of its operational capabilities!

On another front, Allison got married on July 24th at the Durango Mountain Resort. It was a rainy day, so the ceremony was held indoors, but it was a nice ceremony anyway. We wish her well in her new married life!

National Train Show
This year at the National Train Show, SoundTraxx made a big splash! Many people came by our booth to talk with us.

We want to extend a big Thank You to the many people who attended our clinics at the show. Both nights of clinics were full.

After a long week of clinics, convention and fun, we were glad to be back at home!
Also, we are working on our “Official” announcements from the show. To keep apprised and up to date with the official news, be sure to sign up for our customer newsletter. Send an e-mail to customernews@soundtraxx.com with “Subscribe” in the subject and we will add you to our e-mail list.

Blackstone Models
For our Blackstone Models customers, we have received the K-27s AND the Double-Deck Stock Cars this week.

We received many pallets of product that we will now test and inspect to be sure we catch any issues before they leave our facility.

These should be shipping in a week or so.

Tech Tip:
Our Tech Tip will briefly discuss the many operational features we have implemented into the GTEL UP Gas Turbine Electric decoder. We have researched the prototype using the operator’s manual, in print as well as having worked closely with former UP shop technicians who used to work on and with these large beasts to ensure an accurately operating decoder. Lets get to some of the details…
The Turbine locomotives had a small diesel engine on board to help hostle the locomotive around the shops as well as start up the turbine. Therefore, the Tsunami has both a diesel sound and a turbine sound built in. Depending on the version of the turbine used, this diesel engine may shut off when the turbine is active, or run constantly regardless of the turbine running or not. We have allowed the user to select either option to more accurately match your prototype.

It has been written that the dynamic brakes also could have been addressed in a few ways. One publication mentions that on long runs downhill, the engineer could turn off the turbine while applying the dynamic brakes to help conserve fuel. While this is technically true, the technicians said no one ever actually did this in operation because they could hit a section of flat track and lose power to pull the train. The turbine engine took a long time to start up, so the train would be dead waiting on the turbine to get started again. We have incorporated either method for dynamic brake application, to allow the modeler to decide how he or she wants the locomotive/sound to behave when the dynamic brakes are applied.
The Tsunami has 5 operating modes to choose from. These modes are automatic, semi-automatic and fully manual along with semi-automatic and fully manual with optional speed limiting. Automatic mode does exactly what it says. As you increase the throttle, the diesel engine will rev up, then transition to the turbine and rev up from there as the speed to the model is increased. The turbine will remain on, even when stopped, but will time out after a predetermined time (Default 10 sec) while sitting and no functions on. Semi-automatic mode utilized auto notching, but requires the F9 to turn on the turbine and F10 to turn the turbine off. Fully manual uses F9 to increase the engine up through the diesel and initiates the turbine and increases the turbine from there, while the F10 decreases the RPM of the turbine and shuts the turbine off. Because the diesel engine was barely powerful enough to move itself without a train, we have also incorporated speed limiting to regulate the speed of the motor while the diesel engine is operational.
All of the options discussed here can be set up using CVs. We have made a separate manual for the turbine that can be downloaded free from our website. http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/Users%20Guide%20UP%20Turbine_1.14.pdf

Utilizing these options, you can simply enjoy running your Tsunami-equipped Turbine locomotive, or operate the locomotive as if you were running the real thing.

2010-07-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXIV

It is time for another edition of SoundBytes. This time, we will look a little at what it takes to get ready for a trade show. For our Tech Tip, we will also complete the look into speed tables in the Tsunami decoders.

UP Gas Turbine!
We are shipping the Union Pacific Gas Turbine decoders out this week. After extensive testing and exhaustive research, we have built the best Turbine decoder available. We have utilized remaining audio recordings and worked with some of the remaining Union Pacific service technicians who worked with these large locomotives to ensure an accurately operating decoder. With a few new CVs to accommodate every possible operation mode, you can be sure your models operate as the prototypes did many years ago!

NMRA 75th
The National Train Show along with the NMRA’s 75th annual convention takes place this coming week in Milwaukee, WI. The NMRA convention runs July 12th through the 16th. Modelers travel from across the globe to attend the clinics, layouts and other railfan activities. This year, Jarrette and George are giving clinics about Tsunami and Prototypical operation using Tsunami Thursday and Friday Evenings. If you are attending the NMRA convention, be sure to come by and sit in on these fun and informative clinics.This convention is complemented with the National Train Show. Manufacturers work on projects and save the announcements for this show with all the Model Railroad press and attention in attendance. Many run “Show Specials” at this show as well. Here at SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models, we are no exception. Be sure to come by and see what we have new this year! We have a few surprises up our sleeves to help celebrate our 20th anniversary!

Packing Up The Booth:
Each time we travel to a show, there is much work to be done. For starters, we discuss what we want to announce or showcase at the show or convention. Next, we pre-stage the booths and displays to ensure that we have all parts in good condition and we have all the display models operating. We assemble the entire booth to stage the plaques and other signs that we want to display. This gives us a good idea of what we need to pack and ship to highlight our products. We also test every display model and set up any tracks that we have to ensure all goes well before we get there. Every DCC command station we use is tested too to be sure it all works before we send them all out. We also have to pack many ‘normal household items’ that we may need, such as power cords, a carpet sweeper, counter cleaning materials, and tools to fix anything that may have been damaged in shipping. We also print off any literature that we will hand out.
This usually takes several weeks to get it all in order. The booth and other materials has to be shipped a week or more in advance to ensure it arrives on time for us. It is a lot of work to get everything done in time for the show. We enjoy doing it though, since we get to go out and meet with many of you and show off and demonstrate our products.

Tech Tip:
Last time we showed how to set up Tsunami using the pre-loaded speed tables. Tsunami also has the ability to operate using a user-loaded speed table. Using this feature, you can limit top speed, adjust for a slower operation, and precisely speed match locomotives.
To do this, first you will need to activate alternate speed tables in CV29. Turning on Bit 4 in CV29 (adding a value of 16) will activate alternate speed tables. CV25 then tells the decoder which table to use, one of the pre-loaded tables like we discussed last time, or a user adjustable table. CV25 values 0-15 use the pre-loaded tables, but a value of 16 then activates the user-adjustable tables.
To adjust the speed tables, CV 67-94 correspond to 28 individual speed steps (1-28). Each of these can have a value corresponding to the percentage of available power from 0 (0%) to 255 (100%) to be applied to the motor in that speed step. Default values create a linear table from 0-255 across 28 speed steps, in equal increments. This can be adjusted to limit top speed to 75% of available power by setting CV94 to 192, then decreasing in equal increments accordingly throughout the remaining CVs.
CV66 and CV95 are used to ‘trim’ the speed table to help speed match locomotives as well. CV66 is for motor control in the forward direction, while CV95 is in the reverse direction. These are separate since mechanical bund and motor efficiency may not be the same in both directions. Factors for the trim are determined by (CV Value)/128. This means that CV values above 128 increase the power applied to the motor, while values less than 128 decrease the power applied to the motor. Each increase/decrease increment of 1 shifts the entire speed table up or down 1/128.
For fine-tuning the locomotive, Tsunami has 2048 internal speed steps that the decoder works through calculating in the speed tables, momentum, brakes and BEMF. Using all these factors and spending some time, you can have a great running model that meets your running demands for your layout.

2010-06-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes, XXIII

Well, we have been busy preparing for and holding our annual Dealer Training. Lots to do in what seems like not enough time! In this edition, we will tell a little about what dealer training is and give you a hint to what we are displaying at this year’s NMRA National Convention and Train Show. For our Tech Tip, we’ll discuss using the custom speed curves available on the Tsunami decoder.

Dealer Training.
This year we held our Dealer Training June 9th thru 12th. This is a 4-day seminar where we invite our dealers out to Durango to learn hands-on from our staff about our DCC products and how to install and use them. This year we had a full curriculum for them as we discussed our company history, product line, how to get the best from the speakers, creative installation techniques, programming, Blackstone Models, and hands-on Tsunami sound installations. In addition to learning, we show them around to some of the fun events in Durango, like the Bar D Chuck Wagon dinner and western music show, a local 55' x 35' layout operating session, and of course, we take a day to ride the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Train! In this photo, Jarrette comes in to our car from the locomotive to say "Hi!" to everyone.This year’s attendees included: Lin’s Junction, Lansdale, PA; Mullet River and Southern, Plymouth, WI; EngineHouse Services, LLC, Green Bay, WI, TVW Miniatures, Greendale, WI; Discount Model Trains, Addison, TX; Sounds of Motion, Solon, OH; Central Coast Trains, Atascadero, CA; Mark Twain Hobby Center, St. Charles, MO, DCC Installs and Sales, Martinez, GA, Grizzly Mountain Engineering, Estes Park, CO as well as Representatives from Athearn and Bachmann. It is a fun and educational environment for all who attended. We are appreciative of all who attended and we encourage our customers to lend their support to these shop owners who invested their time and money in order to better serve their customers. With this year’s class done and in the books, we are looking forward to next year!

Blackstone Models:
The Drop Bottom Gondolas have arrived in Durango. This has unfortunately coincided with our dealer training, so we will be getting these out to the dealers as quickly as we can.

NMRA 75th Annual Convention And Train Show NMRA National Convention and the National Train Show are around the corner. This year’s annual event is being held in Milwaukee, WI July 13-18th. Anyone who is attending be sure to stop by to see the pre-production samples of the C-19, K-27s, Double-Deck Stock Cars, Tank Cars and Passenger Cars! Also, Jarrette and George will be giving Clinics Thursday and Friday Evening Covering getting the best from your sound decoders, and steam and diesel Prototype sound and how to set up the decoders to match your prototypes! Be sure to attend and don’t miss out on these informative clinics! Tech Tip:
In every Tsunami is the ability to adjust the speed curve that controls the speed of the motor and locomotive. Tsunami comes with 14 pre-programmed speed curves, along with the ability to adjust and built your own! Let’s take a look at how these are set up.
The speed curves that are pre-loaded into the Tsunami are able to adjust the speed commands to model the prototypical purpose of the locomotive. For example, the exponential curves allow more precise control at the lower end of the speed curve for switching, and the logarithmic curves allow more control at the higher end of the speed table.
To start setting up the speed tables, bit 4 of CV29 (value 16) will need to be active. When figuring the value of CV29, refer to the chart available in the Steam and Diesel User’s Guides. You can find the User’s Guides here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals.php
Next, CV25 determines which pre-programmed speed curve that will be used. Looking in the User’s Guide, a value of 2 assigns a linear speed curve, values 3 through 9 assigns a logarithmic curve and values 10 through 15 assign an exponential curve. Assigning a value of 16 to CV 25 allows the modeler to input his own curve, or ‘user adjustable’ to fully customize the curve. We will talk a bit more about the ‘user adjustable’ speed curve in the next edition of SoundBytes’ Tech Tip.

2010-05-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes, XXII

It has been a while since our last post. My, how the time flies when you have been busy! Speaking of busy, we have been inspecting the initial test models for many of the Blackstone Models upcoming releases, including the much anticipated C-19 consolidation. We have also been busy finishing up testing for the UP Gas Turbine decoder. In this edition, we will share another story from the early days of SoundTraxx, and for our Tech Tip, using our new product, the DBX-9000.

The Evolution of the Model Railroader (from Nancy’s perspective)

While this is a story about a long-ago tradeshow, it is also a commentary on how far we have come in recognizing that women, too, have a place in the model railroading world.
In the early days, the only two employees of the company, Steve and Nancy, attended tradeshows. Back in 1991, we attended our very first NMRA National Train Show, which was held in Denver that year. We had now attended a year’s worth of shows and it had become apparent that many modelers were not used to women being involved in the manufacturing end of the equation, especially when it related to electronics. To be quite blunt, Nancy was getting a little tired of being treated like some piece of fluff! Steve was pretty aware of how much this irritated her.
During the course of the show, one gentleman in particular came up to the booth and stood patiently waiting while Steve explained the operation of the new D220-IR to another customer. Nancy was not otherwise occupied at the moment and asked if she could answer any questions for him. He looked rather disdainfully at her and said, ‘It’s technical.’ She told him that she was likely able to answer her question and he reiterated that it was technical in nature and that he needed to talk to a man.
Steve overheard this comment just as he was finishing up with his customer. Nancy stepped back and deferred to Steve, but as the gentleman began to explain his question, Steve held up his hand and said, ‘You’re going to have to talk to Nancy – I don’t know anything about this stuff’ and he walked away. The man sheepishly turned and this time allowed Nancy to answer his questions.
Nancy is happy to report that this sort of thing almost never happens these days, noting that model railroaders have accepted that women just occasionally do know what they are talking about!

The Turbine is ready for sale.
We have been working hard to produce the most accurate gas-turbine decoder available on the market. We have been working with the original GE operator’s manual along with help from former UP employees who have worked on these thunderous beasts to ensure prototypical operation and sound accuracy. Those turbine models will no longer have to be silent.

You can listen to the sound sample on our website here: http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/tsunami/tsunamisound.php#turbine
Part number for these decoders is 827114 and can be ordered through your dealer today!

Blackstone News!
We have been receiving the pre-production samples of the upcoming projects for Blackstone Models. We are excited to see these and are doing extensive testing now to ensure they operate as good as they look. Take a look at the pre-production samples for the C-19;

the narrow frame tank cars;

and the passenger car.

We also have been given notification that the Drop Bottom gondolas are on their way to us from overseas. This means that provided that the shipment goes smoothly without any pirates, sea monsters or bad weather, we should see these cars arrive here in about 2-3 weeks. They will begin shipping to the dealers immediately after that. These cars are sold out, so contact your dealers if you have not ordered these cars yet to see if they have any available.

Texas Trip: George was on the road again visiting our dealers in the Lone Star State. During this trip, he was able to visit, Hobby Time in Amarillo; King’s Hobbies in Austin; Lone Star Trains and Collectibles, Dibble’s Hobbies, HobbyTown, USA, and Ligar Technologies in San Antonio; M&M Hobby Center, Larry’s Hobbies, Papa Ben’s in Houston; Spring Crossing in Spring; Discount Model Trains in Dallas; Greenville Hobby Depot in Greenville; and Angelo Hobbies and Model Train Crossing in Ft. Worth. George was able to meet with many fellow modelers and demonstrate the features of the Tsunami and show Blackstone pre-production samples. He was also able to demo the new turbine decoder for them as well! We would like to thank these dealers for their hospitality. Many thanks also to those who attended clinics at Ligar Technologies, Papa Ben’s Train Place and Angelo Hobbies! Congratulations too to Ligar Technologies for their Grand Opening! Please visit and support these dealers. For photos of these stores and any stores we visit, please visit our Facebook page.

Tech Tip:
One of our newest products is the DBX-9000, a 9-wire harness that allows easy connection from the locomotive to the tender. This will allow many of the Tsunami features to be transferred from the tender, where the decoder is typically located, to the locomotive, where most of the features are used.
The DBX board has 9 small soldering pads arranged in a semi circle pattern numbered 1-9. These numbers correspond to the wires in the mini-plug in order. This will help determine which wires would be wired to what in the locomotive. For example, we will need 2 wires for track pick-up (ideally), 2 wires for the motor, and 2 wires for the headlamp, for a total of 6 wires. If you want to use the cam option, there is another wire, and any other light functions for class lights or firebox flicker add in 1 or 2 more wires (These all use the same common blue wire). This necessitates a total of 9 wires. By determining which wires are hooked up to which soldering pads, this will enable the full features of the Tsunami decoder to be utilized. Let’s see how to wire it up.

For the above-mentioned example, solder to soldering pad #1- Track +, #2- Motor +, #3- white wire for headlamp, #4- brown wire for FX5, #5- blue wire for common, #6- green wire for FX6, #7- tan cam wire, #8- Motor -, and #9- Track-. Then simply hook up the wires from the harness to the assigned output or feature. If you would rather have a speaker in the locomotive, eliminate the 2 FX5 and FX6 wires, and use the speaker wires there. The possibilities are endless to be able to match your prototypes. It is easier to connect one small harness rather than 2 or 3 plugs based on traditional methods and it helps the model appear more prototypical as well!
To mount the DBX circuit board to the model, simply use a number 2-56 screw in the center hole to mount the board to either side, loco or tender, wherever it fits best. The versatility of this accessory helps make installation easier!

For George’s Bachmann Mountain model, he used the DBX circuit board in the tender, and wired the harness up into the locomotive, allowing 2 firebox flicker lights and a chuff cam, along with the headlamp, motor connections and track pick-ups. With the firebox lights using FX5 in phase A and FX6 in phase B, it produces a nice random flicker, along with a synchronized chuff, no matter the speed.

2010-04-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XXI

It is time for another edition of SoundBytes. In this edition, we will share another story from the early days of SoundTraxx, this time at Timonium. We will share our first limited edition Anniversary special as well. In our Tech Tip, we will take a look at the DDE, or Dynamic Digital Exhaust.

Our First Sound System
Every company has their early memories of success (and yes, failure!). There are those that teach, those that lift your spirits and those that make you wonder what the !**@? you are doing.

Back in 1990, we attended our very first Timonium Train Show. For those who are not familiar with these shows they occur roughly four times a year at the fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. The ‘exhibit halls’ are large buildings with concrete floors that generally smell mildly of hay, since they are most often used for livestock shows of some kind.
We had just finished our first sound system, the D200-IR,

which was a diesel sound system intended primarily for under-layout use and controlled with an infrared wireless throttle. It was the first of its kind and we were excited to have an opportunity to display at this show, since its completion had been a little too late for our first show in Springfield, Massachusetts in February. We were told that due to our late inquiry, we could have a booth at the far end of the hall in the back corner; it was all that was available.
It was a beautiful October day and we found our booth as far back in the hall as you could get and began to set up for the show the next day. The back doors (big barn doors) were open since it was such nice weather and you could see the CSX tracks running right behind the building. We set up our track, made our connections to the sound system and hooked it up to a big under table speaker and a subwoofer for the really low frequencies. We turned it on to test it.
All of a sudden, we looked up to see about a dozen men coming toward us. Not just coming, but sprinting. They rushed past us, out the door and stood looking down the tracks. They all started clamoring that they could hear the train, but they couldn’t see it. Cameras poised and ready, waiting for the train - one by one you could see them start to look over their shoulder at our booth and drift our way, mouths open, listening to the diesel rumble of a GP7 emanating from under our table. It was at that moment we knew we had a winner.

Our 1st 20th Anniversary Offering:
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are proud to offer a special run boxcar painted to celebrate our 20 years. This limited edition HOn3 offering from SoundTraxx and produced by Blackstone Models was decorated to commemorate this special occasion. These cars are available for purchase through your favorite dealers to run on your own layout, or simply to collect. A limited number have been made, so if you are interested, be sure to get yours quickly. This car, part number B340127, has a retail price of $39.95.

Be looking for more special anniversary specials in the months to come!

Tech Tip:
One of the coolest features of the Steam Tsunami (In George’s Opinion anyway) is the DDE, or Dynamic Digital Exhaust. This feature allows the decoder to read the load on the motor using BEMF (Back Electro Motive Force) and adjusts the chuff to match the locomotive’s load! When starting up or beginning the grade, the chuff will get heavier and louder to match how hard the locomotive would be working.

When slowing to a stop or after cresting the hill, the chuff virtually disappears and the side rod clanking increases to represent drifting.

Lets take a look at how to set this up.
CV 177 through CV 188 controls all aspects of the DDE, although adjusting only a couple of CVs, CV 177 and 178, will result in satisfactory results. CV 177 sets up the sensitivity to changes in the throttle setting, 0-255. If you are turning the throttle to start a train, this will adjust how sensitive it would be to changes. If this is set too high, then any slight adjustment will cause a dramatic change to the sound. Default value for CV 177 is 10. Start this CV set to about 150. CV 178 sets up the sensitivity to motor load, 0-255. This will use BEMF to determine if the load is heavier or lighter, for example going up a grade. Set this too high and the changes become subtle as any change in track, a turnout or curve, could cause the loco to change the chuff. The default value of CV 178 is 10. Start by setting this CV to a value of 150.

To get the most from this Tsunami feature, momentum will need to be added; otherwise the throttle changes would be instant, not giving the DDE time to react. Using a value of 25 for both CV3 and CV4 should yield good results. Play with the values in CV 177 and 178 to determine good sensitivity settings for your locomotives. These settings are subjective, so spend a little time and get it right to your ears. Once these settings are determined, look at the some of the other DDE CVs to fine-tune the exhaust sounds for each locomotive in your fleet.

Find us on Facebook!

2010-04-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

It's Allison here. I just wanted to let you all know that we have created a Facebook page. Please become our fan and pass on the word to your friends! Thanks so much!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Durango-CO/SoundTraxx/108666145830300

2010-04-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XX

In this edition, we will take a look at the early beginnings of SoundTraxx in Massachusetts. Then, for our Tech Tip, lets look at setting and adjusting volume levels for our decoders.

As it was in the beginning:
In the early days before SoundTraxx, Steve and Nancy worked for a Marine electronics company. Nancy was in the marketing department while Steve was in the engineering department. Steve was a model railroader that loved narrow gauge. One day, Steve approached Nancy with an Idea to start a Model Railroad Electronics company. He wanted to have prototypical sound and lighting in his brass Fujiama K-36 in HOn3. Nancy, not being at all familiar with model railroading, was not sure what he wanted. He returned the next day with his prized possession to show and Nancy thought it was the coolest thing she had ever seen. They then began to work together and formed the Throttle Up! Corporation in Pocasset, Massachusetts. Their first product was shown to the public in Springfield, MA at the Big Railroad Show in January 1990. This was the Hyperlight. This product was the first lighting module on the market that used a processor to control the lighting effect. One module was able to create many different lighting effects, including a Mars light and Gyralight. No longer would the modeler need to purchase separate circuits for different lighting effects. The heritage of this product is still evident today in our Tsunami decoders. This was just the beginning….

Blacktone Models

As of this week, our Drop-Bottom Gondolas are sold out. These cars are currently in production at our facility in China and are expected to arrive here in early May. If you are wanting some of these cars and have not yet put in your reservations, check with your dealers to see what may they have available. On the plus side, we do still have a few High-Sided Gondolas from the second run still available for order through your dealers.

Tech Tip:
When using Tsunami decoders, each sound effect has its own volume setting, as well as an overall volume setting. This allows the modeler to customize the sounds to desired levels. Volume setting CVs are considered percentage CVs, meaning that a value of 0 (0%) turns the sound effect off, while a value of 255 (100%) is maximum volume. These CVs will accept any value between 0 and 255.
CV128 is used for the overall volume control for both steam and diesel Tsunami decoders. The Tsunami decoders leave our factory with CV128 set at 192, which translates to 75% volume. CV 129 controls the whistle or horn volume. CV 130 is for the bell, and CV 131 controls the exhaust, diesel or steam chuff. CVs from there become model specific. You can reference the lists of specific sounds in the respective User’s Guides, available here: Steam- http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/tsunamisteam_users_guide.pdf, For Diesel- http://www.soundtraxx.com/manuals/Users%20Guide%20Diesel.pdf.
After learning the array of sound effects available in each decoder, it is time to adjust the sound volumes. By setting CV 128, or overall volume, to maximum level immediately, it diminishes the effectiveness of volume adjustments for the different sound effects using the other CVs. To begin to adjust the sound levels, we recommend starting by turning down the overall volume to about 50%, or set CV 128 to 128. When the overall volume level is lower, the changes made in each sound effect are more audible. Once the adjustments have been made to customize the sound, the overall volume can then be raised to desired levels, and all volume adjustments will be raised equally.

Customizing sound volumes can be used to match prototype locomotives. Late in the heyday of steam, many steam locomotives were much too large for one crewmember to shovel coal. For example, a Union Pacific Big Boy was equipped with a coal stoker, so set CV 148, volume control for sound of coal shoveling, to a value of 0 to eliminate that sound effect. This way, Fireman Fred will not be worn out by the time the train leaves the yard!
Another example of using volume levels is to customize a locomotive to match the prototype can be found on George’s Mopac Layout. Adjusting an EMD SD40-2 non-dynamic brake equipped loco is easy. When these locomotives were in a consist with dynamic brake equipped locos and the dynamic brakes were applied, the prime mover on the loco in question still followed the railroad’s practices by ramping down to idle. By setting CV 133, volume control for Dynamic Brakes, to a value of 0, this will turn the dynamic brake fan sound off, eliminating that sound effect. To control the prime mover, set CV 116 to 103. (7, Auto notching at 7 speed steps, +32, auto start enabled, +64, EMD dynamics runs prime mover to idle =103) This will allow the locomotive to drop to idle, as was the practice, but it will not play the dynamic brake sound when activated. This is effective when consisting locomotives using advanced consisting. (This was discussed in SoundBytes X)

Using sound mixer CVs, you too can customize your locos to act more like their prototypes and get great reactions from your friends and operating crews!

SoundBytes XIX

2010-03-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Jarrette is back at work following the birth of his daughter. Some of us are thinking that he is only here for time to sleep!
In this edition, we will look a little at our 20 years we have been here serving the model railroading community. We will also be featuring “A look back at SoundTraxx’ history” segment as well as 20th anniversary specials to celebrate this year.

20 Years In The Model Railroad Community:
SoundTraxx’ corporate entity, Throttle Up! Corp. was started in Pocasset, MA in late 1989. Our first product was the Hyperlight, introduced and shipped in January of 1990. This was the first lighting module using a microprocessor to control which lighting effect the modeler rather than purchasing different circuits. The Hyperlight is still evident today in our products recreating brilliant lighting effects on our Tsunami line of decoders.
In 1991, SoundTraxx introduced the D220-IR, a diesel layout sound system. This was the first sound and throttle system to incorporate wireless control. Next year, the S220-IR steam sound system was released, and was the first sound system to offer a ‘playable’ whistle.
In 1994, SoundTraxx moved to Broomfield, CO, a suburb of Denver. Then in 1996, we were proud to release the DSD-2408 Digital Sound Decoder for steam. This decoder was the first DCC decoder to be integrated with sound and lighting. This was also the first decoder to offer DDE (Dynamic Digital Exhaust) and introduced polyphonic sounds. No longer would one sound interrupt the playing of another sound. Next in 1997, we introduced the DSD-050 and DSD-150, smaller cousins of the 2408.

In 1998, SoundTraxx moved to Durango, CO and purchased new SMT equipment allowing us in 1999 to introduce the ‘LC’ series of decoders, the first DCC sound decoders available under $100. In 2001, we moved to our current 6100 sq. ft. home in the Durango Tech Center. In 2004, Blackstone Models was created. In 2005, the first 16-bit Tsunami steam decoders were released and in 2008, the diesel versions were released.
SoundTraxx is proud to manufacture all of our Tsunami decoders here in our facility in Durango, CO, USA. SoundTraxx employs a full-time staff to assemble, test and package every decoder that we build here. Our customer-service department will do everything we can to ensure your enjoyment. We have had 20 years of innovation and helping make our hobby more enjoyable and fun, and we are looking forward to the future. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our longevity and enjoyment in the hobby.

New Product Announcements!
At SoundTraxx, we value our customer’s opinions. We take every call to heart with suggestions to help make the model railroading experience better for everyone. As a result, we have added to the Micro Tsunami product line-up. We have added the EMD 645-Turbo (p/n 827002) and the EMD 710 (p/n 827003) to the TSU-750. We are also proud to announce a new sound added to the Micro as well. This is a GE ‘Center-cab’ Cummins diesel prime mover (p/n 827014), ideal for GE 45-tonners, ‘center-cab’ switchers and other light industrial switchers. These new sounds will be shipping soon!

For our Blackstone Models line, you now have a chance to voice your opinion to us as well. We are conducting a survey about possible future products. The survey is linked from our homepage, http://www.blackstonemodels.com/ . Please take the time to help us plan out future releases.

SoundBytes XVIII

2010-02-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XVIII

In this edition, we will look ahead at some of the exciting news from Blackstone Models. We will also see how our Tsunami can be used with an actual functioning brake!

Blackstone Models:
Next week, assembly will begin on the drop-bottom gondolas. We have received the decorated samples here to view and approve. These cars will look great and we are excited. We are close to being sold out on most of these cars. Be sure to get your orders in quickly before they are all spoken for!

We have been getting many pre-orders for the K-27 re-release that we have scheduled for this summer. A sample of the 458 is here at the offices, so we wanted to share it with you. All of these models will be equipped with the top of the line Tsunami dual-mode DCC sound decoder already installed. In addition to the K-27, we will be ordering the K-27 snowplows and doghouses as well as a limited number of the K-27 drawbars for sale when these all arrive here. If you are interested, please place orders for these items with your dealer.
The tank cars,

Passenger cars,
and the C-19 model designs have been approved and have now gone to the tooling department. Hopefully we will see samples of these here before long.

Tech Tip:
Tsunami has many features built in to help your locomotives and your railroad operate as close to the prototype as possible. Included in this is the ability to have the brake squeal sound play at the press of a button. But, did you know that you could actually turn this sound into a functioning brake? Using some programming, your locomotive will be able to slow down without touching the speed knob. This handy feature is great for switching yards or industrial areas. Let’s see how to do it.
To start, put some momentum into CV3 and CV4 for realistic acceleration and deceleration. We typically enter a higher value for deceleration, so for this example, we will enter into CV3 a value of 25 and into CV4 a value of 100. This means that the loco will take a while longer to slow down than speed up using the throttle knob. CV 61 allows the brake squeal function to actually apply the brakes. Values above 128 detract from the value in CV4 and allow the locomotive to slow down quicker, like the brakes are applied. To figure this, the value above 128 – 128 will determine the value subtracted from CV4. For this example, we will set CV 61 to 178. (178 – 128 = 50; 100 – 50 = 50) This will then set the brake rate to 50, when the brakes are applied. If we wanted it faster, we could set CV 61 to 203. (203 – 128 = 75; 100 – 75 = 25) The actual values are up to you, but understanding how these work will help you while implementing it.
Setting lower values into CV 61 will add to the deceleration rate, simulating a heavier train. So numbers less than 128 will add to the value. For example, if CV 61 is set to a value of 78, using the previous set deceleration rate of 100 would give us a much longer slowing rate of 150. (128 – 78 = 50; 100 + 50 = 150)
Either of these effects would only take effect when the brake squeal sound (Typically F11) is played, and in turn, the brakes are applied, so the normal rate set in CV4 is the slow rate when using the speed knob turned down to 0. Applying the brakes will stop the loco without touching the speed knob. Setting CV 61 set to 0 or 128 disables this effect. The default is 0.Using this feature will allow more precise spotting of cars, or coupling the trains together. This will also work well in a club setting if the train on the main in front of you suddenly stops. (As was common in George’s old RR club in Dallas!) After practice, this will become one of the most used features in your Tsunami decoder.

2010-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes, Baby Edition

We would like to welcome the newest addition to the SoundTraxx family, Baby Bridgette Brielle Ireland. Weighing in at 6 pounds, 9 oz, she was born Feb 14, 2010 at 3:54AM.

Jarrette will be taking some time off to be with his new baby and help his wife.

2010-02-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XVII

It is already February. It seems as though we just had the New Year! Time flies when having fun, right? So here for another SoundBytes, we will chat about the Amherst Show and some of the new announcements we made during this weekend. For our Tech Tip, we will take a look at speaker enclosures and why they are critical to good, quality sound. On a side note, Jarrette and his wife are expecting their first child this week, so he will be out of the office for a week or so. We are all looking forward to meeting little miss Ireland!

Amherst 2010
We always look forward to attending the Big Railroad Hobby Show held in West Springfield, MA and sponsored by the Amherst Railway Society. For those unfamiliar with the Amherst show, let us introduce this train show to you. With an ever-expanding lineup of manufacturers and dealers, this show encompasses 325,000 square feet of display room, with over 450 exhibitors. There were 38 operating layouts on display in all scales. With those numbers, it is no wonder why the show draws an average attendance of over 21,000 modelers throughout the weekend. Overall, we had a great time talking with the show attendees.
This show is also a great opportunity to announce new products. We were able to add a new plug-and-play Tsunami, increase our sound library, and also announced some new accessories.
We have welcomed the Baldwin Family to SoundTraxx. Not Alec, Billy and the rest of the clan, we added three Baldwin prime mover sounds, the VO, 608NA (non-Turbo) and the 608A (turbocharged) to the TSU-1000 line. These are in stock and available now. We also added a TSU-4664N Tsunami decoder for Athearn N-scale Challenger and Big Boys. This is a direct decoder for models that were purchased without sound, or for models with another sound system in them, which the modeler would like to change out to a Tsunami. These decoders will be available soon.
A welcome hit at the show was our DBX-9000. This is a 9-wire harness that will simplify the locomotive to tender wiring, combining this into one small ½” connector. This is a welcome wiring aid for installing decoders that allows separation of the locomotive and tender for storage or servicing. We also added 3mm LEDs in both Golden White and Sunny White. These will be sold in 6 packs.
Another fun fact about this show is that this marks our 20th anniversary. This is 20 years of being the industry leader in sound and DCC technology. We are thankful to all who have helped make this possible and we are looking forward to many more years to come!

Philadelphia
While in the North East for this show, George stayed a few days after the show to visit his grandparents in Center Valley, PA. In conjunction with this trip, he decided to visit a few of our dealers nearby. During this time, he visited Mainline Hobbies in East Norriton, Lin’s Junction in Lansdale, and J&D Whistlestop in Quakertown. While there, David of J&D invited him to the Coopersburg Area Society of Model Engineers (http://www.casme.org/) and he was able to see their layout and spend the evening talking with their members. George wants to extend a thank you to the club for their hospitality.

Tech Tip:
One of the biggest questions we get is about the speaker baffle and why is it necessary. Lack of a baffle, or improper baffling is almost always the cause for poor sound quality and volume. To understand this, we need to understand how a speaker works.
A speaker when moving is creating air pressure. When the speaker cone moves forward, it creates a positive pressure wave. When creating a positive wave on the front of the speaker, the back of the speaker, being open to the air as well, creates a negative pressure wave. If left open to the air, the negative wave cancels out the positive wave, diminishing the volume and quality. This is why we need to install a baffle around our speaker. This will allow the air pressures to remain isolated and able to project out better. Which side of the speaker is baffled is not important. Sound will radiate from either side of the speaker, as long as one side is properly baffled.
With our popular line of round speakers, we do have a series of baffle kits designed to make the installation of the speaker and baffle easier. These are injection molded plastic kits that are easy to assemble. The oval speakers do not have baffle kits available currently for them. Therefore, we need to build a speaker baffle. When building a baffle, use a material that is rigid to keep the baffle from absorbing some of the pressures. We like to use .030” or .040” styrene. Cutting straight lines using sheet styrene can be tricky, so we use scribed styrene to cut straight since the speaker is inside the model and not visible anyway. Measure the depth that the speaker and enclosure will fit into. Cut the styrene at minimum just larger than the depth of the speaker and .1” longer than each side. Assemble these in a ‘pinwheel’ fashion to ensure a clean sealed joint at each corner. After attaching all sides to the speaker using plastic cement, trim the extra material off the end and file clean. Decide where the speaker wires will go through and drill small holes accordingly. Now, measure the baffle size onto the styrene and cut out. This will create a top to the baffle and enclose the back of the speaker. Then take a small amount of silicone and close up the 4 screw holes on the front of the speaker and the speaker wire hole(s). This will isolate the front and back of the speaker. The speaker can be mounted in any way that will allow the sound to escape. Leaving a small lip on the front of the baffle around the speaker can allow silicone to adhere the speaker to a shell without interfering with the travel of the cone. The speaker baffle can be built on either side of the speaker, leaving room for the mechanism, for example an Atlas RS-3. Building a small baffle on the sides of the speaker and using the top of the shell as the top of the enclosure allows the speaker to be sealed, leaving just enough room for the gear towers to pivot.
For more information on sound and the science of sound, visit our website. We have many documents that will help guide you in your quest for realistic, quality sound. Start with the sound primer, http://www.soundtraxx.com/primer/ and read on from there. There are many things to help you with your installation available on the website.

2010-01-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XVI

Well, it’s 2010 and we are back to work after a short holiday break and time to crank out another edition of SoundBytes. In this post, we will take a look at the upcoming
Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show and discuss some new products. Blackstone has some new announcements as well as the imminent delivery of the Economy-Door Boxcars. For our Tech Tip, we will look at installing an exhaust cam in steam locomotives.

Amherst 2010

Every year we make the journey to Springfield, Massachusetts in January for the Big Railroad show sponsored by the Amherst Railway Society. This show encompasses 4 buildings at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds.

We will be displaying our products in the Better Living Center, next to our friends at Athearn and one of our dealers, Traintek at Booth 27.
If you are in the area and are able to attend, be sure to come by our booth and say “Hi!” George will also be giving a Tsunami programming clinic on Saturday at 3:00pm and on Sunday at 1:00pm in the Young building. In this clinic we will be discussing programming tips and techniques to help get the most from your Tsunami decoders. We will also be having show specials and some big announcements, so be sure to come see us!
Another exciting fact is that with this show, it marks our 20th year in business delivering high quality electronics for the model railroader! More information can be found at http://www.railroadhobbyshow.com/

Blackstone Models

We are expecting delivery of the Economy-Door Boxcars this week at our facility in Durango. We should get these into stock quickly and sent out to the dealers soon. If you have not yet ordered any of these cars yet, get your orders in soon. Many of the cars are close to being sold out!

It is time to get your sheep together! This weekend, we announced the road numbers for the double deck sheep cars. These are a version of the stock car that divided the car into 2 decks to allow more, but shorter livestock to be carried than on a conventional single deck stock car. Following Blackstone’s reputation for high levels of accurate detail and reliable operation out of the box, we are proud to offer these cars in 7 different road numbers with 2 paint schemes both weathered and non-weathered. Pre-orders are being taken now, so be sure to contact your dealer. These cars are due sometime late summer 2010.
Also, don’t forget to get orders in for your K-27. We are doing a very limited re-run of these locomotives. Be sure to get your order in before February 1st to guarantee you get yours.

We are re-running 3 road numbers, 453, 463, and 464 while adding 3 new numbers, 452, 458 and 462. See http://www.blackstonemodels.com/ for more details.

Tech Tip:

The Tsunami is set up for an automatic chuff that is adjustable. It will increase in speed linearly as the throttle increases. The problem with that is locomotive gearing is not usually 1:1. Therefore, the chuffs are not always in sync with the current speed of the locomotive. For the discerning modeler that wants exact timing at every speed, Tsunami has the ability to use a chuff cam.
The cam kit sold by SoundTraxx has a printed circuit board with different size cams printed on it. It also comes with a small piece of PC board and small piece of Phosphor-Bronze spring wire.

Notice there are a few different patterns on the cam board. These represent different types of locomotives. The standard 4 spoke is for most conventional rod locomotives. There is one with 8 traces, which would be for a simple articulated locomotive for the corresponding 8 chuffs per revolution. There are 2 additional ones for geared locomotives with 12 and 16 chuffs per revolution.
Be sure to follow the instructions for a good solid installation. Install the cam following the instructions included with the kit. Painting only the back of the cam black will help disguise it through spoked drivers. Use an Ohm Meter to test for continuity with the wheel. Mounting the small pc board and getting the wire just right can be easy or tricky depending on the installation model. An alternate method to mount the wiper was suggested by one of our dealers. Using a small brass tube, a Kadee® knuckle spring and a straight pin, an alternate method can be built. Solder a short piece of the brass tube parallel to the axle on the copper pc board. Then, put the spring onto the pin and insert into the tube. Bend the pin out the other side to keep it in place, but be sure to allow enough play that the spring keeps the pinhead against the cam on the axle at all times. Exact spacing may take some trial and error, but the results are worth the effort. Then solder the wire from the decoder for the cam to the board and paint the assembly black to help disguise it, and then the installation is done. (Be careful not to paint the moving parts on this wiper.) This is one George did for his Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2 mountain.

Activating the cam is simply a matter of programming CV112. Following the chart we posted last time, a value of 128 is for a cam and single air pump, while a value of 129 is for a cam with 2 air pumps. Once these have been programmed, the cam sound work well and give the proper number of chuffs no matter the speed.

2009-12-23T13:27:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays!

From our Family and Friends at SoundTraxx.

2009-12-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XV

Winter is here! We have gotten a large snowfall over the last week here. We also are getting close to wrapping up another year here before the Christmas break. Due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, this will be the last post until after the 1st of the year. In this edition, we will take a look at the Oklahoma City Train Show Jarrette and George attended as well as exciting news from Blackstone Models! And finally for our Tech Tip, lets take a close look at setting up CV112 for a steam loco.

Snow Down
Winter hit here last week. Until then, we had just cold temperatures and a light dusting of snow, but the snow fell heavy this week. In town we have accumulated over 2’, but up near the Purgatory ski area (Durango Mountain Resort) received about 6’. Needless to say, there is lots of snow around. It’s going to be a white Christmas here! The office dogs are having a great time playing in it!
On a side note, we will be closed Dec 24th through January 3rd for Christmas and the New Year holidays and will re-open January 4th. We apologize for any inconvenience. We also want to wish everyone and their families Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

OKC Show Wrap-Up
George and Jarrette traveled to Oklahoma City for the 33rd Annual Oklahoma City train Show Dec 5th and 6th. We were able to talk with many modelers and see some great layouts as well. This show is especially fun for George. Having grown up in Arlington TX, near Dallas, he always traveled up to this show as an attendee. As a result, he got to see many friends and familiar faces. We also were in attendance for the Southern Plains N-scale convention banquet held there every year. As a manufacturer that has products for N-scale, we get to meet with many of the members and speak a bit about our products. During this banquet, we were privileged to see a presentation documenting the photographic history of the Rock Island in Chickasha, Oklahoma courtesy of their keynote speaker. We appreciate their hospitality.
As always, we appreciate the opportunity to speak with everyone who came out this year. The show had set a new attendance record this year of over 19,000 attendees! On the drive both directions, we got slowed down in snowstorms. Travel was tricky, but in the end, we made it to our destinations safely in both directions.

Blackstone News Flash!
We are pleased to announce a small limited second run of Blackstone’s popular HOn3 K-27s! We have been getting many requests for a 2nd run of these models because they sold out quickly. Due to unscheduled extra assembly capacity at our factory, we were able to slip this project in. This production run will be for 6 road numbers in various heralds, including 3 new road numbers. All of these K-27s will be available with Tsunami DCC and sound. The available road numbers and their respective part numbers are as follows:
B310101-S #452 Flying Grande; B310102-S #453 Flying Grande; B310105-S #462 Royal Gorge with Green Boiler; B310106-S #463 Flying Grande; B310107-S #464 Flying Grande with snowplow; B310123-S #458 Moffat Tunnel.
This run is very limited, so be sure to get your reservations in to your dealers before Feb 1st, 2010. The K-27s are expected to be released mid summer, 2010.

Tech Tip: CV112 Steam Sound Configuration
When setting up the Steam Tsunami for a particular locomotive, there are a few things to consider. CV112 addresses many operating characteristics of a steam locomotive. First, does this model have multiple air pumps? Many of the larger steam locomotives had 2 air pumps to keep up with the demands of the longer trains they were pulling. Next, is this a conventional rod locomotive, a simple articulated, or a compound articulated? A conventional rod locomotive is one with a single set of drivers using only 2 cylinders, creating 4 chuffs per revolution. A simple articulated locomotive has 2 sets of drivers and uses the steam only once in each cylinder producing 8 chuffs per revolution, 4 per set of drivers and can be identified by having all the cylinders at the same size. A compound articulated recycles the steam from the high pressure rear cylinders for use in the low pressure front cylinders producing only 4 chuffs per revolution like a more common 2-cylinder locomotive, and is identified by front cylinders being much larger than the rear set of cylinders. Last, consider whether auto chuff rate or a chuff cam will be used. A cam uses the tan wire, located between the 2 purple speaker wires, to synchronize the chuffs to the revolution of the wheel. The SoundTraxx cam kit comes with cams designed for conventional rod locomotives, geared locomotives, and articulated locomotives in various sizes to fit your model.
When using the auto chuff rate for a simple articulated locomotive, we also have incorporated a slip rate that will allow the 2 sets of drivers to go in and out of sync, creating an interesting and realistic sound. We have built in 4 slip rates; none, slow, medium and fast. This will also allow a double-header steam train with only one sound decoder to simulate 2 locomotives working together and going in and out of sync as well.
Following the chart taken from the Steam User’s Guide re-used here, we can answer the questions asked and determine a value for CV112.
This will help your locomotive sound just like the prototype you are trying to model.

2009-12-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XIV

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year. George stayed here in Durango, while Jarrette went to Denver to be with his wife’s family. We were out of the office for a few days and now we are ready to get back to work.
In this edition of SoundBytes, we look forward to OKC. We will also learn how to get accurate sound for those E-units.

On the Road Again!
Next up is Oklahoma City Train show slated for December 5th and 6th. Jarrette and George will be driving to set up for this one. We always look forward to meeting with the modelers. If you are in the area and able to attend, be sure to come by and say Hi!

Blackstone Models:
We have been getting many great comments on our D&RGW Long Caboose that has been shipping to the hobby shops. In case you missed it, we also lettered a caboose for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This caboose is currently only available through the D&S gift shop. For more information or to order, contact the D&S at 970.385.8873 or go to their website, http://www.durangotrain.com/. Next up for Blackstone is the economy-door boxcar. Production should start soon, so be sure you have these on order. We will be doing another Grande Gold boxcar and Supply car in this run with the appropriate car numbers on them. These sold out quickly when we did these paint schemes before. We are hoping to see these cars in February.

Tech Tip:
What do EMD E-units, Alco's DL series, and EMD's DDA40X all have in common? These locos were equipped with 2 prime movers. The purpose behind this was to get more horsepower out of one locomotive. What happens though is that the normal sound decoder is not able the replicate this well. Tsunami is no ordinary sound decoder. Built-in to every Tsunami is the ability to add reverb to the sound. Using this tool, we can simulate 2 prime movers without needing 2 decoders.
First, we need to look at the CVs associated with reverb to understand how these work. Many of these are explained in the user’s guide available free from our website. CV 161 is the control. This will allow some pre-selects to be used, but these don’t faithfully replicate 2 prime movers. Since none of these are set for 2 prime movers, set this to 7, for user adjustable. CV 162 is the output level, or how much of the original sound is ‘reflected’. In this case we want 100%, or a value of 255 for a full replication of the prime mover sound. Next CV 163 is the delay time in milliseconds. To get a good delay and distinction between our prime movers, put the maximum value of 255 in for 64 milliseconds, but this value is not critical. CV164 controls the feedback mix. This is the percentage of the original sound that is mixed in to the reverb, creating multiple sound reflections. Since we are trying to recreate one sound, set this to 0 for no additional feedback. Last is the reverb mixer. CVs 169 through 172 will add the reverb at different levels for different sound effects. Since we are working on the prime mover only at this time, set CV 171 to 255, or full mix. Now the locomotive is sounding as though there are 2 prime movers in the model. If you wanted to play with it a bit, set the output level to a different value (220) to get a more distinct sound for the 2nd prime mover.

2009-11-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

SoundBytes XIII

We have been busy here the last few weeks. We received the Blackstone cabooses here this past week and have been trying to get these out to the dealers quickly. Also, we were in Milwaukee this past weekend for Trainfest 2009.

Blackstone cabooses.
For those Blackstone modelers, we have received the cabooses Friday, Nov 6th and have been shipping them since to the hobby shops.

These should arrive soon at your favorite dealer soon. The delivery truck showed up and we all went out and organized the boxes by part number. We then open and inspect each box to ensure that the cars that we received and ship are in excellent condition. We also inspect the cars for accuracy during assembly. Then we put them in the warehouse and begin shipping to the dealers. This process usually takes half a day. As you can see, we get quite a few cabooses to ship all around the world.

Trainfest 2009
We were in Milwaukee this past weekend for Trainfest 2009. This show is one of the largest shows in the USA. Many manufacturers and vendors attend this show annually.

The show started Friday night with a manufacturer meet and greet. This portion of the show layout is open to modelers who have purchased tickets for this special event. The rest of the show opened Saturday morning and ran through Sunday evening. We were able to meet with many of our customers, which we enjoy.

We also got to visit the North American Prototype Modelers Club layout located in Milwaukee. This layout is impressive, and there is much to still get finished. Thank you to the NAPM members for their hospitality. You can see some of their work on the website, http://www.napmltd.org/.
Next up is the Oklahoma City Show, December 5th and 6th. Details can be found at http://www.okctrainshow.com/. Be sure to come by and see us.

Tech Tip:
Operating a diesel Locomotive.
Last time we discussed in depth about operating a steam locomotive in a realistic way. This time, we will demonstrate how to operate a diesel locomotive in a similar fashion.

Operating a Diesel Locomotive

•Turn on the prime mover (F9)
This will start your operating session. Allow the air brake lines to pump up and idle for a few moments to get the loco to operating temp.
•Turn on lights (F0, F5, F6)

These allow you to see, but more importantly, allow others to see your train coming.
•Whistle (horn) signals (F2&3)
Following whistle signals will alert crew on train and ground as to your train’s movements. See chart at the end.
•Turn on the bell (F1)
The bell helps alert anyone within the area to hear and look for moving trains.
•Release the engine brakes (F11)
Setting the brakes holds the train still while crew are working. Releasing them in a separate step will sound the “hiss” of released air from the brakes.
•Ramp engine to notch 2 (F9)
Increasing the throttle will allow just a bit more power to the traction motors on the trucks than when in idle.
•Gently increase throttle to pullout the slack (Speed Knob)
Start off slow to pull the slack out from the couplers. If you just crank up the throttle, the tons of weight behind the locomotive will break the couplers and cause the train to go into emergency. •Ramp prime mover to run 3 (F9)
•Increase throttle (Speed Knob)
After the slack is pulled out from the couplers and all cars are moving, now you can gently accelerate as the trackage dictates. If in a yard, proceed at yard speed limits, however if out on the main; accelerate slowly until reaching maximum allowable track speeds.
•Increase to run 4 (F9)
Once clear of the yard limits, you can then begin to get the train up to speed.
•Blow a grade crossing
Following FRA rules, every public road crossing needs a whistle signal blown. 2 long blasts, 1 short blast then 1 more long blast. For other non-public crossings one long blast and one short would be appropriate. See chart at end.

To simulate heavy train, pulling up a grade:

•Continue running engine to run 8
The train will need all available horsepower to pull the train up the hill.
•Keep the train at a steady pace (Speed Knob)
Using the speed knob, keep the train at a slow, steady pace to get it up the hill in tact. Too much force could break a knuckle. The locomotives screaming at run 8 are putting the full horsepower available on the train to get it up the hill.

Once the grade is crested, you will need to use the brakes to get it down the hill.

•Keep train at steady pace (Speed Knob)
The train as it crests the hill, will begin to bunch up on the locomotive(s). Balancing the train over the crest can be a tricky endeavor while half needs to be pulled up; the other half is trying to roll down the hill.
•Turn on dynamic brake (F4) Dynamic brakes use the traction motors as generators, and as a result of the magnetic field, cause resistance on the axles. This helps the locomotive keep control of the train in conjunction with the train brakes and locomotive brakes. When dynamic brakes are used, each locomotive manufacturer addresses the cooling in different ways. EMD, for example, runs the diesel prime mover to idle before the dynamic braking effects and cooling fans activate.
•Turn on brake squeal (F11)
When the train goes down the grade, try to apply the brakes sparingly to keep them from overheating. This will also help keep the train under control while running downhill.
•Turn off dynamic brake (F4)
When level ground is reached again, turn off the dynamic brakes. When the dynamic brakes are turned off, the prime mover on an EMD loco will return to the last notch setting that was applied before. Now you may need throttle again to pull the train along the level ground.

Arriving at next station or siding for meet and shutdown sequence:
•Gently reduce throttle (Speed Knob)
•Ramp down prime mover (F10)
When approaching the next stop, you will want to slow the train down to control the cars if you should need to traverse any turnouts in the arriving yard or take a siding. You can keep the prime mover up if you desire to have additional power available if needed to follow the path set by the yardmaster.
•Ring the bell (F1)
When in a yard, around public or railroad personnel, the bell warns those on the ground to look for a moving train.
•Apply the train brakes (F11)
By applying the brakes, you can control the location for the train to stop without touching the throttle. This will allow you to pinpoint a stop without needing to ‘kick’ the throttle then overshoot your spot. Once the train is stopped at the proper location, turn down the throttle to stop.
•Whistle signal for brake/stop (F3)
A short blast allows those on the ground to know that the locomotive/train is stopped. See the chart below.
•Once stopped, reduce throttle and diesel RPMs to idle. (F10 + Speed Knob)
This will allow the locomotive to be stopped fully. The locomotive drops to idle.
•Turn off diesel Prime mover (F10)
When ready to de-bark the locomotive, we can shut down the locomotive’s prime mover. This will stop the locomotive for the next crew.

Common Whistle Signals

- is designated as long whistle blast
o is designated as short whistle blast

Approaching a public road - - o -
Warning for areas where view is obstructed - o
Approaching a station or flag stop -
Release brakes - -
Set brakes o
Flagman protect the rear of a train - ooo
Stopping (When in motion) ooo
Going in reverse (When initially moving) ooo
Going forward (when initially moving) - -
Recall Flagman from West (North) - - - -
Recall Flagman from East (South) - - - - -
Approach/Meet with another train - - o
Acknowledgement of signal not otherwise specified oo

2009-10-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XII

It has been a busy month here for us. We were set up at the International Hobby Expo in Chicago and we will be setting up at Trainfest in Milwaukee November 13-15th. In this edition, we will talk a bit about the iHobby show. Then we will introduce you to one of the newest members of SoundTraxx and her first snow. Last for our Tech tip, we will show you how to operate our Tsunami prototypically and help slow down our operation sessions and add virtual length to our always too short model railroads.

iHobby
The iHobby show in Chicago is different from the shows we usually attend. At this convention, there are manufacturers from many different hobbies,

such as Radio Controlled cars, planes, boats and helicopters, slot cars, plastic model kits like cars and jets, collectible cars and a few tool manufacturers as well. The show is open only to store owners and their employees the first couple of days, and then is open to the public Saturday and Sunday. We were able to visit with many dealers over the weekend, as well as many of our customers. We demonstrated our new TSU-KT1000 installed into a Kato F40PH set up for HEP. (Head End Power) This decoder is the easiest yet since it has the LEDs built on the board in the correct places for the ‘light pipes’ that Kato uses for illumination, and Kato has provided a speaker mount for the 1” round speaker we offer as well. These should be shipping shortly.
We are also getting ready for Trainfest in Milwaukee, WI. This show will be held November 14-15, 2009. If you are able to attend, come by and see us. We will be showing any new products we may have up our sleeves!
On another note, the Cabooses are in the USA on a truck headed to our facility. These are scheduled to arrive by the end of next week. Once we have completed incoming inspection, we will get these out to our dealer network as quickly as possible.

The new SoundTraxx CEO(??)

Our newest member of the team has been getting a lot of attention. Nancy’s 8 month-old Golden Retriever, Sadie experienced her first snow this week in Durango. We all couldn’t help ourselves from laughing as she would bury her face into the snow and roll around. Sadie probably would be content to spend all day outside if she could! She spends each day ‘helping out’ in the office, greeting visitors and always wants to be a part of every meeting. She has become a staple of our office environment.

Tech Tip:
One of the aspects of operation we promote is realistic operation using sound. Following FRA rules and ‘Whistle Signals’ will help add that missing dimension to create a realistic simulation of the prototype. Add in handling of a train correctly, this helps involve us more than simply turning a knob to run a train, now we are operating a railroad. All of this adds to the fun, as well as adding to the always too short mainline runs, and switching jobs that we love to have during any model railroad ops sessions.
We have outlined a typical use of running a steam Tsunami equipped locomotive in pulling out of the yard and stopping to take on water. These methods can be used for a multitude of situations that may come up in an operating session. Running a Steam Tsunami

•Turn on the dynamo (F0)
This will turn on the electric power to the locomotive for lights.
•Whistle signals (F2&3)
Following whistle signals will alert crew on train and ground as to your train’s movements. See chart at the end.
•Turn on the bell (F1)
The bell helps alert anyone within the area to hear and look for moving trains.
•Throw Johnson bar (Direction Key)
This will set the locomotive into a forward direction.
•Release the brake (F11)
Setting the brakes holds the train still while crew are working. Releasing them in a separate step will sound the hiss of released air from the brakes.
•Crack the throttle (Speed Knob)
Start off slow to pull the slack out from the couplers. If you just crank up the throttle, the tons of weight behind the locomotive will break the couplers and cause the train to go into emergency.
•Hear the snifter lift (Automatic)
This is a valve on top of the cylinders that keeps water from condensing into the piston cylinders.
•Open the cylinder cocks (F4)
By opening the cylinder cocks, any sediment that could compromise the steam entering the cylinders is blown out.
•Increase throttle (Speed Knob)
After the slack is pulled out from the couplers and all cars are moving, now you can gently accelerate as the trackage dictates. If in a yard, proceed at yard speed limits, however if out on the main; accelerate slowly until reaching maximum allowable track speeds.
•Close cylinder cocks (F4)
Open cylinder cocks do cost pressure in the cylinders and therefore decrease the power the locomotive has available to move the train.
•Blow a grade crossing (when necessary)
Following FRA rules, every road crossing needs a whistle signal blown. 2 long blasts, 1 short blast then 1 more long blast. See chart at end.

Stop for water.
•Call For Flagman (F2 & F3)
Following the whistle signals will tell your train crew to protect the rear of the train from following trains during a stop. This signal is one long blast followed by 3 short blasts of the whistle. See chart at end.
•Drag brakes to slow train (F11)
Applying the brakes will gently slow the train to a stop. For the train, a gentle application of the brakes will keep the train from bunching up on the locomotive and keep it stretched out to protect against derailments.
•Come to stop/blow signal (F3)
Once the train is completely stopped under the water tower, blow one short blast of the whistle to tell everyone that you are stopped completely.
•Fill tender with water
Using F9 will give the sounds of the water hatch opening, water filling up the tender and when done, sound of the tender hatch closing. Doing this for a predetermined time per loco will ensure a full tank.
•Recall flagman (F3)
The flagman is protecting the rear of the train during the stop. We need to notify him of out impending departure. Blowing the appropriate signal from the whistle tells the flagman to return to the train. This signal will depend on direction of travel of the train. See chart at end.
•Begin departure
Start up the departure sequence again, whistle signals, bell, release brakes, crack throttle, accelerate.

Common Whistle Signals

- is designated as long whistle blast
o is designated as short whistle blast

Approaching a public road - - o -
Warning for areas where view is obstructed - o
Approaching a station or flag stop -
Release brakes - -
Set brakes o
Flagman protect the rear of a train - ooo
Stopping (When in motion) ooo
Going in reverse (When initially moving) ooo
Going forward (when initially moving) - -
Recall Flagman from West (North) - - - -
Recall Flagman from East (South) - - - - -
Approach/Meet with another train - - o
Acknowledgement of signal not otherwise specified oo

As you can see that there are many things to attend to when actually operating a steam locomotive with a train. Just turning a knob does not fully get you involved like sound can. This sequence was developed by following the actual operation techniques used by our employees Jarrette (Fireman) and Jeff (Engineer) on the Durango and Silverton Railroad. Following this sequence will bring the railroad to life, and help make it more fun!

2009-10-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes XI

Trade show season is looming upon us. We get to pack up and travel to many cities to meet and greet the modelers. As much fun as it is to talk with our customers and hearing about their layouts and experiences, it is also hard work. Packing up everything we need including our booth displays can be exhausting. As tiring as it can be, it is all worth it in the end. Our upcoming train-show schedule includes iHobby (International Hobby Exposition) in Chicago, IL, Trainfest in Milwaukee, WI, The Oklahoma City train Show in Oklahoma City, OK, and The Big Railroad Show in West Springfield, MA. The dates and locations of each of these shows are available from our website. We invite anyone in attendance of these shows to come by the SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models booth to say “hi” and see what we have that is new.

SoundTraxx’ Great California Extravaganza!
This past week, George and Nancy took a trip to Southern California to visit some of our dealers. We were able to visit many fine Hobby shops in southern and central California. The week started in Los Angeles area. On Thursday, we held 2 clinics in the Milepost 38 Train store. Attendance was great and everyone walked away learning something.
Friday we were at it again. We were able to visit a few more of our dealers and we held a clinic for Allied Model Trains and The Original Whistlestop at the Radisson in Culver City. Thank you to all of those that were able to attend, we hope that you enjoyed our presentation.
On the road again Saturday Morning, we drove from LA area to San Francisco area for the Open house at Just Trains in Concord. Along the way, we were able to stop in to a couple more hobby shops.
Sunday saw a large turnout for the Open House. We spoke with many model railroaders in the area. Afterward, we were invited by a member of the Carquinez Model Railroad Society to view their layout in progress. The sheer size was amazing, but the fact that it will only get better was astounding! This is a mushroom style layout in a 36’x60’ space. Pete was a great host giving us a tour of the layout. You can find out more about the club at http://www.carquinezmrs.org/
Monday, we were able to stop by 2 more hobby shops before flying back home. Overall it was a good trip, meeting many of our customers. We stopped at 12 hobby shops, gave 3 clinics, one all-day open house in 4 ½ days.
We want to issue a special Thank you to Allied Model Trains, The Original Whistlestop, Just Trains and Milepost 38 trains for their hospitality.

Tech Tip:
Since we have been building the Tsunami for the Genesis Models, more and more modelers have been introduced to DCC and sound. The biggest question we get is a simple one: How do I change the address?
First, lets talk about addresses. Most modern decoders support both a long and short address, but what does all that mean? CV1 is used to store what is called the short address. The short address can be any number from 1-127. For example, Locomotive road number 91 would be considered a short address.CVs 17 and 18 are used to store what is called the long address by using a mathematical algorithm to calculate the individual CV values. Most of the command stations available today do this calculation for you. The long address is usually 128-9999, but can include 0001-0127 as well, depending on the command station’s capabilities. This allows us as modelers to use the locomotive road number as the decoder address. Following this example a road number of 5675 would be considered a long address. In a prior post, we discussed the PTB-100 and why it is recommended. This would allow easy programming of the address for the Tsunami decoder, long or short, at any time. However, with mainline programming (AKA OPS mode or programming on the main) it is possible to make necessary changes to the decoder, including the address. It just involves a couple more steps in the process. Let me explain.
The Tsunami decoder is programmed to ignore changes to the address it is using on the mainline to ensure you do not lose control of the locomotive. Therefore, if we want to change the address to 20 from the default value of 3, it will ignore the command. The reason for this is if we are programming CV41 in a hurry and accidentally do not fully press the 4, we would be programming CV1, short address, and would instantly lose control of the locomotive, possibly causing a headache for the modeler! There are many ways this could happen. I have done it myself and thank goodness for that feature!
To then change address 3 to 20, it involves an additional step. To start, we would select OPS programming. Be sure to follow your DCC manufacturer’s instructions on how to do this because all systems are different and some systems do not allow it. Because the decoder will not change the address it is using, we must change the long address first. Choose a number for the long address that is easy to remember, like 1000. Following the DCC system’s instructions, change the long address to 1000. Then we need to program CV29 to look for and use the long address. Using the chart in the user’s guide, I select for my locomotives a value of 34 for CV29. Be sure to check the documentation for your system since some systems make this change for you and activate the address you just entered, long or short. Dial up address 1000 with the cab and get control of your locomotive. Once you have control of the locomotive, now we will use ops mode programming to change the short address to 20. Using a similar procedure used to change the long address, we would now select short address, or CV1 and program this to a value of 20. Then using the CV29 chart in the users’ guide again, change CV29 to 2 or 6 (6 allows use on DC whereas 2 does not). Then gain control of the locomotive under address 20. Now your locomotive is running under address 20. Using this method will allow you to change the address any time you need. When programming in this method, be sure the locomotive accepts the program by watching for it to lurch forward. This is the visual acknowledgement from the decoder that it has accepted the change that you have made.

2009-09-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes X

It’s time for another installment of SoundBytes. This time we will visit the SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models booth at the 29th National Narrow Gauge Convention. We will also share with you the most recent Blackstone Models product announcements. Finally, our Tech Tip this time will focus on consisting locomotives with sound.
As previously mentioned, we will be visiting several hobby shops in the Los Angeles/Southern California area and in the San Francisco Bay area. On Thursday night, Oct 1, we will be giving a SoundTraxx Tsunami clinic at Milepost 38 in Anaheim, CA.

On Friday, Oct 2, we will be giving a clinic in conjunction with Allied Model Trains in Culver City and The Original Whistlestop in Pasadena at the Radisson in Culver City, CA. On Sunday, Oct 4th, we will be setting up at Just Trains in Concord for their annual Open House. Come by and see us. For more details, please contact these hobby shops for times and to sign-up, space may be limited.

The 29th NNG
The end of summer also brings about an exciting time for the model train community, Train Show season. This year, we begin the season with a trip to the 29th National Narrow Gauge convention in Colorado Springs. This year, the convention ran from Wednesday, September 16th through Saturday, September 19th. This convention is a big one for us, especially with our Blackstone Models in Hon3. Being just a few hours away, driving gave us the ability to bring

more things to show. The Hon3 layout constructed by Allison was on display and running trains in the booth. A display computer showed the various CAD drawings of the C-19 locomotive and other upcoming Blackstone projects as well. On display were pre-production samples of our caboose, economy door boxcar and the first sample of the drop bottom gondola, along with our other currently available rolling stock. This sample was custom painted for display purposes only and may vary from actual production models. We also brought along a section of the large SoundTraxx booth for displaying Tsunami sound decoders as well.
We had the opportunity to talk with many of our customers who had many good things to say, as well as many suggestions for the future products we should consider offering. Spending time with the customers is always one of the more enjoyable aspects of being in this business.

Blackstone Announcements:

At this convention, many manufacturers of narrow gauge equipment take this time to announce new products and we were no exception. A while back, we had announced our intention to produce tank cars. These will be done in the narrow frame and frameless versions. A matrix for road name and numbers was finalized in time for the show. Hobby shops are taking pre-orders now. Along with the sample of the drop bottom gondola, we also had displayed the first sample of a new rolling stock announcement, a double-deck stock car. This car was designed with a middle deck to load sheep with 2x the capacity as a normal stock car. Road numbers and paint versions have not been finalized yet.
Our final announcement we had was to let everyone know that we are in fact currently researching and designing the Jackson and Sharp open platform passenger cars. These are still under development; so many details are yet to be determined, including paint schemes and road numbers. As you can see it will be a busy and exciting year for Blackstone Models. Many thanks to you who have helped support this growing product line!

Tech Tip:
Diesel locomotives were designed to connect multiple locomotives and operate as though they are one unit. Steam locomotives too were consisted, but required 2 full crews to double head a train. Consisting multiple Tsunami-equipped locomotives appears to be complicated to some, but really it is not difficult. Following these techniques, you should be able to consist any number of locomotives with ease.
Consisting a set of locomotives can be done in a few different ways, basic, standard and advanced. The recommended method to use is the advanced consist. The consist address is stored in the decoder and responds to the functions you designate for each loco. The DCC system sends out only one command and any loco programmed with the advanced consist address will respond accordingly. Lets look closer at the advanced consist.
Advanced consist addresses range from 1-127. This value is stored into CV 19. For example, let’s use consist number 45. Any locomotive facing forward would have CV 19=45. If the locomotive will be traveling backward in the consist, add 128 to the value. In our example, any unit facing backwards, CV 19 should be programmed to 173. (45+128=173) This can be set for any number of locomotives within the limits of a DCC power booster. Many command stations can set up advanced consists as well, be sure to check the DCC system’s documentation. Now the locomotives will all respond to motor commands as one unit, but there are no functions working yet.
Each unit based on its position in the consist will be set up to respond differently to the function commands. For example, the trailing unit would not blow its horn when the lead unit does, and the middle unit(s) will not have the headlamps on. So CV 21 and CV 22 will set up each locomotive to respond to the function commands that pertain to each unit.
Following this chart, you will ‘turn on’ any function for any unit as desired. Simply determine which functions will be active and add up the associated values to calculate the final value of each CV. F2 (horn) has a value of 2 and F3 (short horn) has a value of 4. If the lead unit will use the horn, add 6 (2+4) to the value in CV21. Add any values associated with the functions you want active. As an example, we will set up an A-B-A set of Tsunami-equipped F-units using a consist address of 45. The lead unit and B-unit (facing forward) will have CV 19 set to 45. The trailing A-unit will have CV 19 programmed to 173. (Remember, 45+128=173)
Now concentrate on the functions. The lead unit will have the headlamp, horn, bell, dynamic brakes, FX5 (mars light), F7 (dim) Mute, RPM+, RPM- (we will use manual notching for this example) Brake and Coupler active. To determine these values, refer to the chart. CV 21 for the lead A-unit, we want F1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Total these values and you will get 223. CV22 for the lead A-unit we want F0f, F9, 10, 11, and 12. Total these and you will get 61.
Following this example let’s look to the B-unit. The B-unit will not use the lights, bell, horn, FX5 or FX6, F7 (dim) or coupler, however we will have dynamic brakes, mute, RPM+, RPM- and F11 Brakes. CV 21 will be set to 136. CV 22 will be set to 28.
Last, we look to the trailing A-unit. For this unit, we will have the F0f (which works based on the direction of travel for the locomotive, not the consist) dynamic brakes, mute, RPM+, RPM- and F11 brake active while all else is not applicable. In this case CV 21 will be set to 28. CV22 will be set to 137. This should set up your consist to operate as though it is one unit. Each time a consist is broken up and re-assigned, the function CVs may need to be changed. Following this method, setting up all of your consists should be trouble-free.

We want to issue a special “Thank You” to Dave Houston of Daylight Sales, a SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models dealer in the Sacremento, CA area, for sending us the photo of his F-units on his home layout.

2009-09-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes IX-b

Attention modelers in the southern California area! SoundTraxx personnel will be in your area October 1st through the 5th. Everyone is invited to attend a SoundTraxx clinic and meet with SoundTraxx personnel. SoundTraxx Tsunami clinics will be held Thursday evening, Oct. 1 at Milepost 38 Trains in Anaheim and Friday evening, Oct. 2 in conjunction with Allied Model Trains and The Original Whistlestop at a central, convenient meeting site in the Los Angeles Area for either store. Please contact any of these fine shops for more details and a sign up sheet. On Oct 4th, we will be participating in the Open House for Just trains in Concord, CA, located in the San Francisco area. Come by and see us and see what we have new to show.
We will have more information about these upcoming visits in the next ‘Official’ post.

2009-08-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes IX

With dealer training behind us we have been back to business as usual around here in Durango. We have started preparing for the 29th National Narrow Gauge Convention in 3 weeks in September as well as been soaking in the last of summer up here in the beautiful mountains of Southwest Colorado. In this latest installment of SoundBytes we’ll talk a little bit about a fun week in town at Railfest on the D&SNGRR and take a look at our new decoder selector on our website. For this weeks tech tip we will take a look at setting up advanced motor controls on the Tsunami.

Railfest and the Trains of August…

Every year in August on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad they have a celebration of narrow gauge railroading known as Railfest. This year welcomed some famous pieces of visiting equipment the opportunity to strut their stuff on rail fan excursions up the Animas Canyon. Visitors included the Eureka and Palisades #4, a Baldwin wood burning 4-4-0 American that has the distinction of being the oldest operating narrow gauge locomotive in the country, the NARCOA club’s line up of historic speeder pop cars, and the RGS historical society's Galloping Goose #5.

With all of the fun and excitement just a few blocks away George ran down to the depot to make sure he got a chance to see the E&P #4 depart. This engine was especially exciting for him to see, as he personally loves locomotives in this wheel arrangement. Its weeks like this when we realize how lucky we are to work only a few blocks from all the action. This makes morning train chasing trips easy to take in.

Another tradition at Railfest is a special train that runs over the weekend called the Presidential Special. This train consists of some of the red first class cars on the D&S as well as the General Palmer (The private car of Al Harper, the owner). This years consist was the 473 painted with a green boiler (The same green found on our Blackstone K-27 455), the newest first class car called “The Prospector”, “The San Juan”, “The Cinco”, and of course “The Palmer”. Two employees here at SoundTraxx were on board the train this year. Jeff played guitar (One many instruments he is skilled at playing) as the onboard entertainment while Jarrette was up in the engine as the fireman.

SoundTraxx New Decoder Selector!
As some of you may have noticed, we have launched our new decoder selector on the SoundTraxx website. It will include information for the correct prime mover sound as well as the Tsunami decoder we recommend for a given model. We have made it easy to use. First, simply select your scale. It will then pull up a list of popular manufacturers in your scale. After selecting the brand, it will pull up a list of their models that we have sounds available for. The locomotive model will have our suggested decoder and speaker, along with a speaker baffle if available. Sometimes, there may be more than one option to fit into a model, so we selected one that may require the least amount of work involved. For example, an HO- Athearn- Ready-To-Roll SD40-2, we recommend replacing their ‘DCC quick-plug’ board and use the TSU-AT1000 for EMD 2nd Generation 645 Turbo-charged. This board already has the circuitry to regulate the outputs for use with the 1.5v bulbs. This will allow more room for the speaker and any wires needed to fit with ease. You could also install a TSU-1000, but we believe the TSU-AT1000 is a better option. If you have not visited our selector yet, feel free to do so.
This is only phase one of our decoder selector. For phase 2, we plan on having additional information available in a step-by-step .PDF document to help you install the decoders into your model. This may take more time to get done. This is where you may be able to help. If you have installed our Tsunami decoder and speaker in a model listed, you can submit your photos along with a brief description of the installation. If you feel that you have an installation that would be beneficial to other SoundTraxx users, please send an E-mail to georgeb@soundtraxx.com and give a brief description of any methods that you employed to make the installation. Don’t forget to attach the photos to the e-mail. Not all submissions will make it to the final .PDF files for the website. We would prefer an easy install, but we also want it to be well planned with proven and reliable techniques that any modeler may be able to accomplish with common tools available to most modelers. For example, be sure the installation can be accomplished using normal hand tools in addition to those with access to a milling machine. We will be looking forward to receiving your submissions.

Tech Tip!
How to get the most out of the Tsunami motor control features

In many cases so many people focus on the great 16-bit digital sound found in the different Tsunami decoders we currently offer that they may not pay as close attention to some of its other great features. On top of being a great sounding decoder it also has some of the best motor control currently found on the market to date. While many decoders offer 14, 28, and 128 speed step modes (The Tsunami being no exception), the Tsunami has 2048 speed steps internally that gives ultra fine speed control. The Tsunami is also a decoder equipped with Back EMF. Back EMF measures the efficiency of the motor and compensates for efficiency losses that happen when under greater loads. This allows your locomotive to have it’s own “cruise control”, meaning that as it starts up a hill or crests down a grade the train’s speed will stay unchanged as the Back EMF corrects for any changes in the load on the motor. Although this feature is becoming more common in DCC decoders, the great thing about it in the Tsunami is that it is completely adjustable.

When adjusting the motor control and Back EMF there is several different CVs to adjust, however the first thing to take into account is what type of locomotive you have. Steam engines by nature are a lot less free rolling than diesel locomotives currently offered. This is due to the fact that diesel models have large flywheels that spin freely. In this example lets set up an Athearn Genesis SD60M equipped with a TSU-GN1000 to ideal motor control settings. We personally like to slow the locomotive down out of the box but not to the point that it isn’t realistic. In this example: set CV 209 to a value of 29, CV 210 to a value of 18 and CV212 to a value of 80 (although the lower you go in this CV the slower the locomotive will run). CV 209 is known as the Kp Coefficient and is adjusting the gain factor for the PID motor control equation. CV 210 adjusts the gain factor of the Ki coefficient for the PID motor control equation. CV 212 adjusts the motor intensity. If you set these values too high the motor will run very rough, also if you set the values to 0 then the motor will stop. When adjusting these CVs, start with 209 and 210 at very low values and increase them each by 1-2 until the model runs smoother. If it begins to run rough lower the value back down. Once you find the motor running smooth take CV 212 and decrease it by 10s until it gets you to the slow speed you desire in speed step 1. Also, when using a Back EMF decoder with advanced motor control, make sure to leave CV 2 at a value of 0. Add in a bit of momentum, and your train will start up smooth as silk.
Taking time to adjust the speed control CVs of the Tsunami decoder will produce an excellent running model. Following this procedure, you can have an entire fleet of great running locomotives and be the envy of all your modeling friends!

2009-08-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes VIII

This past Month has been a busy one for us here at SoundTraxx. After we got back from the national show, we started preparing for Dealer Training, which took place the first week in August. Therefore, this time we will take a look at our Dealer Training Program, and this past weeks adventures here in Durango. We will then mention the latest announcement from Blackstone Models. In our Tech Tip, we will discuss speakers and enclosures and how vital they are to having good sound.
On an important, unrelated note, we have seen more decoders being sent back because the installer is using Tix flux for their installations. We mentioned this a few posts ago, but it continues to be an issue. The acidic nature of the Tix flux does attack the components on the board and damages the decoders. Be sure to get flux specifically for electrical work, or you too could be having an expensive problem.

Dealer Training...
Every year here at SoundTraxx we offer a 4 day dealer training program allowing many shops in the industry a chance to learn all about our products directly from us. This year’s dealer training class was held August 5th-8th at the Durango Rec. Center.

Although it is always a lot of work we always seem to have a great time. During the 3 days in the classroom we discussed many subjects including: History of SoundTraxx, DCC, proper installation techniques, product overview, programming CVs, and, of course, a few hands on installations. Dealer training however isn’t all work and no play so each day we offer everyone in attendance some highlights of Durango. On the first night we all attended the Bar D chuck wagon. Here are some photos of our night out at the Bar D.

The second night after a long day of intense discussion and hands on installation we treated everyone to a behind the scenes tour of the historic Durango yards. We were lucky enough to have Paul Schrank, General Manager of the World Famous Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad as a tour guide. During the tour we saw the inside of the roundhouse and car shop, as well as seeing K-36, #486 being moved on the turntable.

On Friday after a couple of long days in the classroom we had a field trip to Silverton on board the D&SNGRR. We had a very special guest with us, Al Harper who is the owner of American Heritage Railways and the D&SNGRR. Everyone enjoyed a beautiful Colorado summer day along the Animas River. Also onboard was the entire SoundTraxx staff, which turns into our annual narrow gauge field trip!

On the final day, we had our small group classes that allow a little something for everyone. We offered classes on future product discussions, Tsunami advanced programming, and creative tips for installing decoders in non-sound ready models. Overall we all had a very good time and always enjoy hosting so many great people from as far away as the U.K.

To learn more about our dealer training program for your store send us an email to sales@soundtraxx.com

Tanks, Blackstone!
In case you missed the announcement, Blackstone Models will be doing tank cars in HOn3. This is a preliminary announcement, with the specific road name and road number details to follow at a later date. We will be producing both narrow frame and

frameless tank cars in several versions found on the D&RGW. Stay tuned to the Blackstone Models website (http://www.blackstonemodels.com/) for more details featuring road names and numbers.

Tech Tip:
Sound installations can be affected by many factors. Perhaps the most important factor is the quality of the speaker and baffle. We have taken the time to test many speakers for the best sound quality, widest frequency range and cone durability so you don’t have to. However, these tests are only part of the equation. The use of a quality baffle or enclosure is essential to good sound.
Lets look a little into the science of sound. The speaker makes sound by creating air pressure in the form of waves when it moves forward and back. We’ve all seen a speaker vibrate, right? Well, the front of the speaker creates a positive pressure (when moving forward), while the back creates a negative pressure. Without a solid sealed enclosure, the pressures created by the two sides, now cancel each other out, affecting the volume and clarity of the sound. By building a sealed enclosure or baffle, this will keep the front and back air pressures isolated, and therefore give a better sound wave and as a result, a better sound. More often than not, an inadequate baffle, or lack of a baffle is the cause for lack of volume or poor sound quality.
When fitting the speaker and baffle into our locomotives, we need to be creative with the installation. Based on what we just discussed in the prior paragraph, we want to install the largest speaker we can in our locomotive. You do want to try to have the baffled area be a 1x1x1 volume. This is where creative baffling comes into play. You might think that the speaker has to be flat or square inside the model, but as long as one side, front or back, is isolated, it can be in some of the tightest spaces needed. For example, you can fit a larger speaker or a mega bass speaker diagonally in a diesel locomotive shell, to clear the drive train. On a steam locomotive, the tender shell can be used as part of the baffle to help utilize a larger speaker. Using scribed styrene will help you cut straight lines easier, allowing you to create virtually any baffle shape needed to ensure the front of the speaker is isolated from the rear.
For more information on sound and how it works, visit our website and read the sound primer. www.soundtraxx.com/primer/ This document goes into more detail to help you better understand sound principals.

2009-07-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes VII

In this edition, we will wrap-up our trip to the NMRA National Convention and the National Train Show and share with you the new announcements we made. In this week’s Tech Tip, we will demonstrate the usefulness of the 7-band equalizer that is installed in every Tsunami Sound decoder.

Trade Show Wrap-Up
Well, It was a busy weekend at the National Train show and the NMRA National convention in Hartford, CT. We enjoyed talking with people about our products. We met many modelers and demonstrated our products for them. We had lots of positive feedback as well.
Jarrette started the trip on Tuesday with a cold, but recovered in time to deliver his clinics throughout the week. George flew in with Steve on Thursday, which gave us a crew of 5 along with Nancy and Allison to work the show. After a busy 2 ½ days, everyone but George and Jarrette flew home on Sunday afternoon, leaving us to take down and pack the Blackstone Models and the SoundTraxx booths. Starting after the final call to close the show at 5pm, we worked diligently to pack our booths with care and get it ready to ship back. After we finished at 9:30pm Sunday night, that hot tub at the hotel sure felt great!
Every year, many manufacturers use this show to announce new products. We were no exception. We announced some new sounds to add to the diesel lineup. Some of you may have figured it out after seeing the photo we posted of our recording trip last time. We now added the ALCO 539 available in both a turbo and non-turbo version. Now all the ALCO fans will have the proper prime mover available with Tsunami quality sound for their 539-equipped locomotives. Another announcement we made is to help facilitate easier installation into Kato HO locomotives. The TSU-KT-1000 Tsunami decoder will be designed for specific Kato models with LEDs installed at the correct locations to match up with the light pipes. No modification will be needed to mount the decoder and illuminate the lights.
All in all, we had a productive show. Next up for us is our Dealer Training. This is a 4-day workshop where your hobby shops and local dealers are able visit us in Durango to become more familiar with our products as well as gain tips and hints on installing our decoders. This information helps the hobby shop personnel answer any questions that can come up while selling the products. This will take place August 5th thru the 8th. After which we will get to ‘rest’ for a month or so before we have to start getting ready for the National Narrow Gauge Show in Colorado Springs, September 16 thru the 19th, 2009.

Tech Tip: the EQ
One of the many features available on the Tsunami that is not available anywhere else is a built-in 7-band equalizer. This is similar to the equalizers found on many home stereo systems. This allows the user to adjust the bands based on the sound or speaker limitations and help distinguish each locomotive. It is very easy to use.
CVs 153-160 are the associated CVs to control the Graphic Equalizer. CV 153 sets up the equalizer for 7 pre-sets or a user adjustable EQ. Values 0-6 assign pre-determined EQ settings

we have compiled to help compensate for limitations of certain speakers. CV 153 set to 7 opens up CVs 154-160 to be adjusted by the user. Each of these CVs has a range 0-255, with a value of 128 being flat, or no change, while a value of 0 cuts the frequency completely and value of 255 boosts it fully. To start, determine the frequency range of your speaker. Most small speakers cannot faithfully replicate the lowest frequency, 62.5hz, so we can set CV 154 to 0. Next is then the lowest frequency our speakers can handle, so we can boost CV 155 to 200. CV 156 is next, so we can set it to about 180. You can adjust these settings for the remainder of the CVs. We recommend using ops mode programming, or programming on the main, so you can hear each adjustment immediately and can fine-tune each CV setting from there.
One of the more popular uses of the equalizer is to help adjust the chuff in the steam decoders. Each steam decoder is loaded with 8 whistles, and a pre-determined air pump (single phase or cross-compound). If the whistle you like or desire is loaded on the medium steam decoder, while you have a 2-10-2, you can boost the bass and cause the chuff to sound heavier and deeper. This will allow you to use the medium or heavy steam decoders without sacrificing an authentic heavy chuff sound. Combine this with the Dynamic Digital Exhaust and it will give a great sound to your hard working steam locomotive. Similar use is available for diesel decoders. The boost of the lower-end frequencies will allow the rumble of the diesel engine to stand out more and give it a distinctive hard-working characteristic to the sound.

After playing with this a bit, you too can feel comfortable using this unique feature. Combine the Equalizer settings with the multitude of sound combinations available we mentioned last post, and you can have seemingly endless combinations available to make your model unique and as prototypical as possible.

2009-07-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes VI
This time, we will glance at what it takes to prepare for a trade show. Next we will discuss the options of downloadable sounds and some myths associated with them. Due to the timing and preparation needed for the NMRA National Convention and Train Show, we will be brief this time out.

Trade Show Mania
We have been busy preparing for the NMRA national convention and the National Train Show. This year it is being held in Hartford, CT. This is always a busy time for us.
One of the many things we try to do is to pre-assemble our trade show booths. This way we can repair any damaged parts or address other issues that require our attention beforehand. We also arrange our plaques and signs to be sure to give full visibility for the products we want to show. This includes any new products or announcements that we have been working on.
Then we work on getting any display locomotives ready and test run them to be sure we have a variety of locomotives to display. We are also showing our SurroundTraxx this year and want to have our display unit functional so we can demonstrate it and show some of the many features we have incorporated.
Once our booths have been checked and the locomotives and other electronics have been inspected and tested, we then turn our attention to paperwork and handouts that we will have with us to distribute to all the model railroaders who stop by and visit us. This all has to be shipped out before we leave to ensure it arrives on time and safely. After 4 days of packing, the trucking company arrived and took our materials on to Hartford! If you are at the show, be sure to come by and say ‘hello’ and see what’s new in the world of SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models! We always enjoy talking with our customers!

Mythbusters:
DCC sound decoders are becoming more popular as DCC becomes the control system of choice. Some manufactures offer the option of user input or downloadable sounds. By displaying a catalog of available downloads showing a prime mover with a specific horn, they have attempted to create a virtual endless list of possible sound combinations to amaze the customer.
The other option is for the hobbyist to spend countless ‘modeling’ hours trying to manipulate the sounds to create a specific locomotive recording. Usually these recordings can be crude and of poor quality, compromising the realism to have a specific sound. Don’t forget to count the extra cost of the hardware you must buy to accomplish such a download. Additionally, editing the sound to create a seamless transition takes time and software tools not normally available to the modeler.
We have worked to offer as wide a range of locomotive sounds as we can in both steam and diesel. We also are always adding sound files to our library. With each diesel decoder, for example, there are 16 era-related horn choices. We have up to 12 different diesel Prime movers now available, which accounts for 192 different sound options in our diesel decoders alone! Combine that with the 7-band equalizer and reverb, available on every Tsunami sound decoder, you can have that distinct locomotive sound to give your finely-detailed model character, without the hours in front of a computer manipulating sound files.
When we go out into the field to obtain our recordings, we work with the railroads to grant us access to the equipment we wish to record. For example, we take a locomotive and locate an average of 3 microphones in various places on the locomotive to ensure we get a full cacophony of sounds. We also record the locomotive pulling a load and sitting light to be sure we get accurate recordings we can work with. A usual recording session of one locomotive, for example can take all day. The audio tracks are then taken to our sound studio where a trained technician takes the recordings, using our state-of-the-art equipment and specialized audio software, and combines the tracks and creates realistic sound tracks to load into the decoder. This guarantees a true quality recording of the prototype locomotive and ensures a much more realistic sound.

Our Tech Tip will be on hiatus this time due to time constraints. We will look at Tsunami’s exclusive 7-band equalizer, what it can do for you and how to adjust the settings in our next post. Also, tune in next time to see what we have to announce during this year’s National Train Show that’s new!

SoundBytes Vol 5

2009-06-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes V
In this latest installment, we’ll introduce you to our indispensable Administrative Assistant /Sales person Allison Nataro. Then we’ll have some fun with flats. As our tech-tip, we discuss a bit about soldering to help dispel some myths and guide you to reliable solder joints every time.

Intro to Allison
Allison grew up in Beltsville, Maryland as an avid cyclist. Pursuing her passion for mountain biking, she began her college life in Durango at Fort Lewis College. After her first year, she returned home following a cycling accident, but not before meeting Casey. She graduated from Longwood University in Virginia with a BA in English and Professional Writing. After college, she bought her 2003 VW Beetle Turbo S, which started a deep passion for VWs and auto performance, which is her main hobby today.
After 8 years of keeping in touch with Casey, she decided to move along with her ‘baby’ Snoopy, her black cat, back to Durango. Allison answered an ad for a job at SoundTraxx on her first day back in town. She started here in January 2008 and has continued to grow her role in the company since.
The influence of her co-workers and her interest in Blackstone Models has inspired her to build a HOn3 layout of her own. She has learned so much about the hobby and has a better appreciation for model railroading. Her layout will be on display in Hartford, Connecticut at the 2009 NMRA national convention. Stop by our booth and see her work and say hi!
In exciting news, Allison and Casey recently were engaged and we couldn’t be happier for them.

Fun With Flats,.. oh…and a Teaser!
Blackstone Models has issued a second release of our popular flat car. There are 5 new D&RGW numbers as well as one new RGS car number. These feature our new enhanced deck with simulated wood grain and weathering. Since we have these available now, we decided to have some fun and try out different loads to enhance the appearance of these cars.

George found in his stash a Jaeger Products lumber load kit. This makes a great and interesting load. We also trimmed some straws from local fast food eateries and painted them to create a pipe load.

Then we decided to haul a NASCAR car and a VW around Allison’s layout.

Now for a teaser photo for our next release, the D&RGW Long Caboose. This is a pre-production sample. These will be available sometime late summer/early fall.
Tech Tip:
Many times we answer questions about soldering tools and techniques. Many fear soldering, while some are simply misguided. So here is a guide for soldering for the inexperienced, as well as a reference for the experienced.
To start, you want a good soldering iron. Retailers like Radio Shack have some inexpensive soldering irons that will work just fine. If you are doing many installs, you may want to upgrade to a better iron for a more proficient solder joint. There are many professional quality soldering irons and soldering stations available from companies like Radio Shack and Weller. Never use a large soldering gun for installing and soldering decoders. Keep the soldering iron's rating below 25 watts. We recommend using a soldering iron holder, preferably with a sponge for keeping the tip clean. These are not expensive and can keep the iron from rolling off the table or burning someone, help keep the iron's tip clean and keep your soldering area neat and organized to insure your soldering work is more professional.
There are many types of solder and flux that you can get for various jobs, for instance, plumbing, jewelry and electrical work. Thin solder designed for electrical PCB work will help you better control the amount of solder you apply. The solder we recommend for installing decoders is .032” or 20-gauge 60/40 rosin-flux core, which is also the most common. The flux core cleans oxidation from the surface and helps the solder flow easier to obtain a better solder joint. Flux is also available separately to help supplement the flux core of the solder. Pay attention to the type of flux you use as well. There are different types of flux available for specific purposes, for example electrical work, jewelry work or plumbing. Be sure to get flux designed for electrical PC board work. We have seen instances where using the wrong type of flux, like an acidic flux, caused damage to decoders. By using the proper tools and materials, you can protect your sound decoder from accidental harm.
To guarantee a reliable solder joint, there are some techniques to follow. When soldering, heat the joint, not the solder. Be sure to solder only on the designated pads provided on the PCB style decoders or you could damage the decoder or its components. Heat up the joint and lightly touch a minimal amount of solder to the joint while the iron is touching it. The flux core of the solder will help clean the joint and help the molten solder flow evenly into the joint. If you opt to use additional flux on the joint, apply it sparingly before you make the joint. After the solder has flowed evenly into the joint, pull the iron and the solder away and allow it to cool for a few seconds. Do not blow onto the joint as this could compromise the quality of the joint. After the joint cools, it should be smooth and shiny silver in color and appear like a small smear, not a puddle or doughnut in shape. To properly solder, it takes two hands, so tools like hemostats and self-closing tweezers can help hold the work in place while being soldered. To clean up the excess flux after the soldering is done, you can use lacquer thinner or rubbing alcohol applied lightly with a cotton swab.
Be sure to keep the tip of the soldering iron clean. You should have a damp sponge to clean excess solder off the tip after each use. Typically the sponge is located beneath the iron holder. Do not use your soldering iron to melt plastic. This could affect the plating of the tip and shorten the life of your soldering tip.
Soldering is an integral part of installing sound decoders. It is a skill that is easy to master, and handy to have in the model railroad hobby. Following these tips and techniques, you can easily achieve professional, reliable solder joints every time!

2009-06-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

SoundBytes IV: On the Road

In this edition of SoundBytes, we look back at our trip on the road. Jarrette and George were at the “Trains on the Plains” train show and the Rocky Mountain Region NMRA meet for SoundTraxx in Greeley, CO. We decided to drive so we could see the old D&RGW narrow gauge right-of-way and the C&S line south of Denver. It was as enjoyable as it was tiring. This weekend also marked the official grand opening for the Greeley Freight Station Railroad Museum.
On the way, we would be passing the Colorado Railroad Museum located in Golden, CO. We decided to leave at 6am Thursday morning to give us some time to visit the museum. George had not been to the museum since he was around 10 years old. Jarrette had not been to the museum since December. On an overcast day, it still was an enjoyable time. Amongst the large amount of narrow gauge equipment they had was a D&RGW Long Caboose # 0574, one of the

numbers we are producing in our Blackstone Models line. The C-19 #346 was put away, but fortunately we did get to see it. There were a few diesels there, but George enjoyed seeing the steamers too. Overall, we had a good time at the museum, Jarrette even got to pull handles and twist knobs.

Next, it was off to check in to the hotel, because we had another activity taking place soon.
One of the treats of our trip was to operate on John Parker’s BNSF Fall River Division layout located in Longmont, CO. The operating session started Thursday night about 6:00 pm and lasted till about 11:00 pm. We were handed a multitude of jobs and everything ran flawlessly. The layout was a mushroom style linear walk around that made it feel as though we were in remote locations and traveling great distances on his layout. A run that traversed the layout took about 20-30 minutes depending on whether the dispatcher liked you or not. The dispatching was done via radio communication and full operating CTC signaling. If the layout looked this good partially sceniked, we can’t wait to visit again when he has done more scenery!
Overall, we had a great time. We want to give a special “Thank You” to Mr. Parker and his regular operating crew. They were hospitable, friendly and helped make the operating session fun and enjoyable. The crew and layout from top to bottom was first class all the way. You can visit his website, http://www.bnsfrr.net/, to see the track plan, more photos and see what it took to create this great model railroad.
We did not want to travel near Denver without visiting Caboose Hobbies. Friday afternoon, we looked around and shopped a while, and then we were able to give a ‘Tsunami programming’ clinic. Attendance was great and we want to issue a thank you to those who were in attendance. A Tsunami-equipped locomotive was given away to one of the attendees.
After the opening night of the ‘Trains on the Plains’ show Friday, we were able to visit the Greeley Freight Station Museum, located in Greeley, CO. Some of you may remember the museum from articles in magazines such as the Model Railroader December Issue. With as much as there is to see there, they could fill the entire magazine with pictures and still miss some things! We were looking in awe of the sheer size of the layout, then someone handed us a throttle. We ran a train around the layout, following the working CTC and radio communication with the dispatcher. It took us about 3 hours to get through the entire run!

We want to give a special thanks to the Greeley Freight Museum personnel for their hospitality throughout the weekend. Many who attended Friday Night were able to run trains on this extensive layout. Be sure to stop in and say “Hi!” when you are in the area. You can also visit their website, http://www.gfsm.org/.

With all the fun we were having on

the trip, the highlight of the trip was Randy’s Chicken Coop’s dancin’ chicken. This was too good to pass up, so we decided to get a photo with him to share with you.

Overall, we had a great time, and a productive trip. We were able to meet and talk with many of our customers, which we enjoy doing. If you are at a show that we are attending, come on by and see us. To see upcoming shows we will be attending, visit our website link www.soundtraxx.com/tradeshows.

Blackstone Models:
On a side note, excitement hit here this Thursday. The much-anticipated Blackstone Models high-side gondolas finally arrived here. Everybody was outside checking in the shipment.

The cars were inspected to see that they arrived the way we expected and in one piece. Shipping to our customers has begun this week!

Tech Tip:
The PTB-100 is our Programming Track Booster. It is designed to help boost the power signal on your programming track to give the decoder enough power to fully “wake up” the processor and accept the programming.
Back in the early days of DCC, there were many manufacturers in the marketplace, but all had a different way of doing DCC. They all came together under the watch of the NMRA to decide on a standard to benefit the modelers. At that time, sound decoders did not even exist, and even motor decoders did not have the features that Tsunami has today. Without the foresight to see the future of sound technology, the power to the programming track was set very low.
Today, Tsunami has so many features that we have incorporated a powerful 16-bit processor that needs a little more power to be able to accept changes in CVs. We have designed the PTB-100 to help program your decoders, give visual 2-way communication so you know

your decoder has accepted the programming, plus short circuit protection for suspect or faulty installations. By wiring in the 6 wires, you can be ready to program the decoders reliably. There is a green LED on the board for signifying proper operation and the presence of a DCC signal. The yellow LED illuminates when the decoder has accepted the programming. The red LED illuminates when there is a problem and immediately shuts down the power to protect your locomotive, decoder, and DCC system. Other programming boosters on the market simply boost the signal. Using our PTB-100, you can program non-sound decoders as well with the same acknowledgement.
Using the PTB-100 with any DCC system available will help ensure you can program Tsunami sound decoders, as well as many other decoders on the market.

SoundBytes Volume III; Life of Tsunami

2009-05-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Well it’s time for another edition of SoundBytes. This week we’ll take a look at how a Tsunami is born. Then we’ll talk a little bit about all of the fun that Steve and Jeff had in China on a recent engineering trip for Blackstone Models upcoming projects. Finally our tech tip this week will take a closer look at a feature found in all SoundTraxx digital sound decoders, Hyperlights, On a personal note here at the office it was a fun week of celebration for one of our employees, Dan Szabo in production graduated from Fort Lewis College here in Durango with a Bachelors degree in Physics Engineering. So again enjoy all the latest happenings here at SoundTraxx and remember to send us any requests you have for SoundBytes to GeorgeB@soundtraxx.com .

One thing we take great pride in here at SoundTraxx is that we actually manufacture all of our decoders right here in Durango. For those of you who are visiting in the area don’t hesitate to stop by and let us show you around. The first step in a Tsunami’s life is to program its sound file to the correct steam or diesel sound file. When the sound memory chip is programmed it is instantly verified so we know right away it has been successfully programmed.

Next, all of the sound chips and components on the Tsunami are loaded into our pick and place machine. Panels of raw boards are placed on the machine and one of the sides of the decoder is built. Then the board is run through the “Pizza Oven”, which melts the solder paste to hold the components to the board.

Then the board gets turned over and the process is repeated. In this case adding the “side B” components to the boards. At the same time this is going on production is busy making wire harnesses programming for the next build, or assembling the capacitors to be attached later. After the parts are placed and the board has gone through the “Pizza Oven” again the boards are ready to be cut from the panel into their final size.
After the boards are cut they are returned to the programming station to program the processor on the decoder. The code is verified when it is programmed so we know right away if an error occurred during the process. The next step is to actually hand test every single decoder to make sure it will work as intended. We hook the decoder up to a decoder tester, which contains all the needed LEDs, a voltmeter, a motor, a bookshelf speaker, and a command station. Each decoder goes through a brief 2-minute test procedure to ensure that it works correctly. Finally when the boards pass all of their tests they move onto final assembly for completion. For TSU-1000 decoders this means attaching the wire harnesses, adding the capacitor, heat sink, and shrinking the purple wrap around the board. At this point we now have a complete Tsunami. Production’s final task will be to package every board they built and check their work with one final inspection before taking them to the stock.

China Connection!

Jeff and Steve returned from an engineering trip to China on the C-19 project last week. They were there for a week to ensure the C-19s have the detail that you have come to expect from Blackstone Models. They had a very successful trip. On a side note though, they did bring back some exotic foods and candies from the east.
They had a selection of chocolates, chocolate covered jellybeans, cookies and what appeared to be chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. However, the ‘catch’ of the day was a package of freeze-dried squid or jellyfish, or something. They opened the package inside the lunchroom and sent everyone running for the hills as the smell emanated out of that plastic bag. Some who were daring, not either of us, tried it and quickly un-tried it! The office smelt like a fish market in about 5 minutes! Joanne, our accountant, decided to take them home.

No word on whether she ate them or not. Just for grins, the production staff tried to re-hydrate one in a cup of water (outside of course) just to try to see what it turned out to be. Some of the goodies were great tasting. (With the ladies around, the chocolate did not last long!) What a day.

Tech Tip:
Setting up the Hyperlights.
Prototype locomotives came equipped with headlamps that were used for illumination of the road ahead. Many railroads used lights as visual warning devices for pedestrians and motorists as well. Tsunami sound decoders allow you to re-create many of these lighting effects.
To configure the lights we will be programming CVs 49-52. Within the CV, there are various options to choose from. Besides the 15 different lighting effects, there are 2 phases, and grade crossing logic, which means that a given effect will be activated after the horn or whistle is blown. Lets take a closer look at programming the lights.
All 15 Hyperlight effects are available on each of the lighting outputs. To set the value, lets look at the chart and determine the lighting effect we want. For our example, lets set CV 51 for FX5, to a double pulse strobe. First, we consult the chart to see what the value for our light effect is.

We find it to be 6. Next we look at the phase. Phase gives you the ability to have multiple lighting effects out of sync, for example strobe lights, alternating ditch lamps, or firebox flicker, using phase A and phase B as listed in the chart. For our example, lets select Phase B. We would then add 16 to the value giving a total of 22. Next bit to look at is for grade crossing logic. Do we want this to be activated when the horn or whistle is blown? For now, we will not, so our total remains at 22. Rule 17 would not apply for this now; so next we look to determine if we installed LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) to illuminate the light. LEDs have different lighting characteristics that can cause the visual effect to appear unrealistic. In all Tsunami decoders, we have added an LED compensation bit, and this helps the LED react more like an incandescent bulb. For this example, lets say we did install LEDs, so we would add the value of this bit, 128, to our total, which will now be 150.

Following this method, you can add realistic lighting to all of your models and steal the show. Remember, that with the new Tsunami AT-1000s and GN-1000s, you can use 1.5v micro bulbs without the need for external resistors!

One last note, for anyone who is in the Greeley or Denver, Colorado area May 22-24, 2009, come by the NMRA Rocky Mountain Region meet in Greeley and see us. Jarrette and George will be at the show for SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models. We will also be presenting a programming clinic for Tsunami decoders at Caboose Hobbies in Denver, CO on Friday, May 22 at 3:00pm.

SoundBytes Vol. II

2009-04-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Well it’s time for another addition of SoundBytes. This week we’ll take a look at George’s personal Missouri Pacific layout at his house, talk a little bit about the big news from SoundTraxx and exciting new releases from Blackstone and for our tech tip this week we’ll take a closer look at one of the most important CVs on a decoder, CV 29. So enjoy this weeks edition and if there is anything you would like to see here on SoundBytes don’t hesitate to email us at GeorgeB@soundtraxx.com .

A Look at George’s Missouri Pacific Layout:
For those interested, I currently have a 12’x8’ L-shaped layout. It is my lone remnant of the 22’x16’ 2-car garage layout that I had in Texas before moving up here to Durango. The layout is loosely set in East Texas around Jacksonville and focuses on the Missouri Pacific in 1978.
The main line runs the entire length, terminates at each end and runs behind the industrial switching area.

Off the junction with another subdivision,

there is a Coca-Cola Bottling plant and then it leads to a small staging track for interchange traffic.

In the industrial switching area, I have a 2-track holding/fiddle yard and 4 industries to serve. Usually there is only one switcher stationed here, an MP-15, SW-1500 or a GP-15-1.

Among the “named” industries, I have Edmonton Oil Company,

Stars Shipping,

and Belfour Plastics. (Can you see any hockey influence?)

I have yet to name the feed mill. With car cards and waybills I am working on, I can have about a 2-hour operation session by myself. On the L-leg, I have the “scenic” portion

allowing a switching lead and the mainline to cross the river.

The river makes for some good fishing, just beware of the bull shark!

*Now for some details, I use Micro Engineering track, under-table Blue Point manual switch machines from New Rail Models, and EasyDCC from CVP products, as well as SoundTraxx sound decoders for the locomotives. Scenery is mostly done, with trees needing to be added (when does it ever stop??) and some extensive “static grass” ground cover in some areas. Once I finish the buildings and weather them, then I get to add the fun details!

SoundBytes:

Well, it has been an exciting and busy time here at SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models.

In case you haven’t heard, we are excited to partner up with Athearn to produce Tsunami sound decoders for their Genesis line and other select products. For a list of the models equipped with Tsunami sound decoders, visit their website and search SoundTraxx. Following this announcement, we have received some calls from loyal customers concerned that we may not be able to keep stock levels up of our after-market production Tsunami decoders. We can assure you that this is not the case. We have a great production staff and plenty of production capacity to ensure the Tsunamis will continue to be supplied to the hobby shops. This will ensure your ability to get your older Athearn locomotives to sound as good as the new Tsunami-equipped models!

Recently, we have been seeing the results of the hard work put in by Jeff and Jessica in our Blackstone Models Division. We have posted photos on the Blackstone Models website, http://www.blackstonemodels.com/, of the “final” samples of the high-side gondolas. These should be wrapping up production any day now and we hope to have them here to ship sometime in June!

The first pre-production test samples of the cabooses have arrived. Final comments and approval are all that is left before they start building these cabbages. The anticipation is as high as the demand for these extraordinary models. Some sample photos are on http://www.blackstonemodels.com/. The pre-order deadline to guarantee the road numbers you desire is May 15!

Also recently added to the 2009 new release lineup is the “economy” door boxcar. These are versions of the D&RGW 3000 series boxcar with a sparse door hardware design, giving the car a plain door look. These cars will be shipping early winter. Included paint schemes in this release in addition to the 6 car numbers are a painted and unlettered, the popular “supply car” and the “Grande Gold” to match the respective “economy” prototypes. Get your orders in before June 15th!

Tech Tip:
CV29 is probably the most important CV (Configuration Variable) to address. This determines how the decoder operates and reacts to the DCC commands sent from the Command station. Using the programming techniques described in the prior SoundBytes posting, we have to answer 5 questions to determine CV29’s value.

First up is Direction, bit 0. This allows you to easily flip the motor direction on the decoder. For example, did the railroad run long hood forward? If so, we would add 1 to the CV value instead of rewiring the decoder. Next we have to look at the speed steps. Is the Command Station set up for 14 or 28/128 speed steps? For the more advanced speed steps (28/128), add 2 (note: all SoundTraxx decoders are defaulted to 28/128 speed step mode). The Command Station must match this or the headlamps may not function correctly. We now look at the next bit, DCC/analog. Are you planning on running your locomotive using traditional DC voltage, also known as analog control? If so, add 4 to the total accumulated so far. Next up are speed tables. Most modelers use a linear, standard table, meaning the throttle response and speed steps have a direct linear correlation. If you wanted to use an alternate table like the ones on page 18 of the Diesel’s User’s Guide, then you would add 16 and adjust CV25 to select a new speed table. Lastly, and maybe most important, is whether you want to use a long or short address for the locomotive. Numbers 1-127 are a short address, which is accessed by CV 1, while CVs 17 and 18 consider 0001-9,999 a long address, which is accessed. Bit 5 simply tells which type of address to respond to. This is bit #5. When 4-digit is enabled, it adds 32 to the total.
So summarizing, when using Fwd direction, 128 speed steps, DCC only, standard speed tables and 4-digit addressing, the value for CV29 would be 34. Following this method, your decoders will perform well every time out!

For more information, please visit our website, http://www.soundtraxx.com/ and http://www.blackstonemodels.com/

Premier of Soundbytes

2009-04-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Sound Bytes. This is our new bi-monthly blog and will be your opportunity to take a look at what’s going on here in Durango in the world of SoundTraxx and Blackstone Models direct from the main offices and production floor!
George Bogatiuk and Jarrette Ireland will be giving you periodic updates on things happening here at the factory as well as when we go on the road to different trade shows around the country.

George A. Bogatiuk III and Jarrette Ireland

An introduction to George A. Bogatiuk III: I was born and grew up in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. After graduating High School, and while attending UT Arlington, I went to work in the auto parts industry. After 17 years in the auto industry, I decided to follow a different career path. I moved to Durango, CO and started work here as a salesman in November 08, and I enjoy the work and my co-workers, and I love the area.
I have been into model railroading since I was 13. I model the Missouri Pacific circa 1978, in HO scale. I always enjoyed seeing the blue Screaming Eagles running through town when I was growing up. As a result, I am the lone diesel modeler amongst a sea of steam enthusiasts here at SoundTraxx. I strive to achieve a high level of detail on all of my models, including locomotives and rolling stock, as well as create a finely detailed scene for them to run through. I currently operate a 12’x 8’ L-shaped switching layout that I salvaged from my 2-car garage-sized layout in Texas. I had been an avid proponent of DCC and SoundTraxx® products before coming here to work. I read and studied DCC to ensure a fun and enjoyable operating environment for my fellow modelers and myself, and to be able to resolve technical issues when they came up. I have been in a few model railroad clubs, most recently, Spring Creek Model Railroad Club, an HO and HOn3 modular club based in Dallas, Texas.
I am also an avid sports fan; I have played some form of sport all my life, including baseball and soccer. I currently play goalie in ice hockey and follow Dallas Stars Hockey as well as other Dallas area professional sports teams… (Hard to believe, right?) I am also a passionate NASCAR fan! GO Harvick #29!

An introduction to Jarrette Ireland: I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up around the greater valley area. I graduated from Arizona State University where I majored in Political Science and Public Relations. Once I graduated I took off for Durango, CO in an escape from the heat and traffic!
I have always loved the Durango area and narrow gauge steam railroading. I first rode the D&SNGRR when I was 9 months old. The railroad bug caught me at a young age and I was hooked. My dad was a collector of LGB trains, which got me into model railroading. I got my first real train set at age 10, (An LGB Christmas train set, which I still have around my Christmas tree to this day!) but was never satisfied till I had models that actually were of a K 28 and Jackson Sharp coaches. My favorite model I own to this day is my Accucraft K 28 473 in the bumblebee paint scheme. This locomotive is also what introduced me to SoundTraxx as I put a Sierra Sound board into it right after I bought it. Currently I am beginning to model in HOn3 with of course Blackstone Models.
The railroad bug doesn’t just end however with models. While growing up in Phoenix I ran several locomotives at the McCormick Railroad Park. This a is a really neat park that houses a 15” gauge railroad that is based on Colorado narrow gauge equipment and a 7.5” gauge railroad. When I first moved to Durango I hired out with the D&SNGRR in the operating department. One of the greatest thrills for me was getting to operate the 473 when it was painted in the bumblebee paint scheme (Not often someone gets to run the prototype of their favorite model!). At this time I also started working for SoundTraxx 1 day a week in production. After 4 and half years of working for the railroad I reversed things and took a full time job with SoundTraxx and now work weekends in the summer for the railroad.
Like George, I too am an avid sports fan; I played and coached hockey, and played basketball growing up. I worked as a media relation assistant for 5 years during college for the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL (Yes the Dallas Stars are our rival!). I am a die-hard fan of all of Phoenix sports teams. This makes for some fun around the office between my love of Phoenix teams, George’s love of Dallas teams, and Nancy’s love of Boston teams. My other interests are anything mechanical, hiking around the San Juans, and traveling to anywhere I haven’t been before. (Which is great during trade show season!) Anytime you see us at a trade show don’t hesitate to stop by and say “Hi”.

SOUND BYTES:

Recently, we have been announcing the release of many new products. Headlining our Tsunami® releases is our GN-1000, a drop-in decoder designed for Athearn Genesis diesel locomotives using no additional hardware! To demonstrate just how new, here is Cole pulling the first ones out of the “pizza oven” completed, ready to be tested.

After the components are soldered to the board by baking them in the oven, then the boards are separated to individual decoders; ready for Dan to perform the tedious/fun job of hand testing and listening to each one to ensure they work correctly! Here he has the first tray of the GN-1000s to test.

SoundTraxx library of sounds continues to grow with additions to our steam and diesel Tsunami line. Newest in the lineup is an EMD 645 non-turbocharged diesel prime mover sound for MP-15s, SW1500s and GP-38s, one in which George had a personal interest in. For steam enthusiasts, a Southern style decoder with whistles native to the southeast United States. You spoke and we listened!

TECH TIP OF THE WEEK:
How to calculate a CV Value. Configuration variables or CVs as they are called are designed to allow a modeler to customize decoder properties such as the address, volume settings, momentum, throttle response, and lighting effects. Each CV has 8 bits in it and a range of 0 to 255 (Which is the total of all 8 bits turned on). When a bit is turned “off” or not selected its value is 0. When a bit is turned “on” or selected its value is 1. As shown in the chart below the total values are exponential meaning that as you go from right to left the value of each bit doubles. Again think of each CV as an on/off switch where a value of 0= off and a value of 1 = on. In the CV example shown below, lets say we were looking at CV 29 which is known as the configuration register CV, we have turned off bits 0,2,3,5,6, and 7 and turned on bits 1 and 4. Turning on bit 1 enables 128-speed step mode and bit 4 enables customizable speed curves. Therefore to achieve this we would set this CV to a value of 18. For more information on adjusting your SoundTraxx decoders CVs to enhance your enjoyment check out the manuals and technical references found on our web site.

For more information, please visit http://www.soundtraxx.com/