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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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.