Connie and Sierra Sound

[kiwin992]

Greetings from New Zealand,
my friend recently purchased a used Connie fitted with Soundtrax Sierra system (rev.c.312023)...we know little about this system and would like to know a few answers please...

the onboard battery (like the loco and sound system) appear to be about 9 years old. it has a 'powersonic' battery pack Ps-605wl (6v and 0.5ah).

Does this battery charge during running,via track power? or does it need separate charging.?

after charging for several hours, it read  just over 3 v but by next morning had dropped to under 1v. maybe this needs replacing.

after running the loco for a few minutes, we could get the whistle to operate, respoding to variation in throttle.

under the tender are 2 toggle switches, one momentary, which should contol volume ??. the other seems to switch sound (and lights) on/off.

Grateful for advice from someone who is familiar with this sound system which i believe no longer made ??

thanks so much
rgds
brian a.

[Tony Walsham]

Those are 6 volt Gel Cell batteries.
They do not last very long if not kept charged regularly.
Unfortunately you will need to replace the one you have.  I think you will find it very difficult to get a straight replacement battery.
If you do manage to find a replacement, as recommended by Sierra, make sure an external charge jack is fitted to the loco to ensure the battery is kept charged in future.

[Kevin Strong]

The battery does charge from track power during running, so it does not need separate charging. I'd suggest replacing the battery, given its age and the fact that it doesn't seem to be holding a charge. It's a sealed lead-acid battery, otherwise known as a "gel-cell." You can probably find a suitable replacement on-line, but Soundtraxx (the manufacturer of Sierra) is still in business and can probably point you in the right direction. They may even have some still in stock. I talked to them a few months ago about some old Sierra systems I have here, and they indicated they still have limited support for certain aspects of the system.

You might also ask them if they have an old manual or if they've got an on-line version of it. The board is programmable, and the manual walks you through it. (I Googled Sierra Soundtraxx Manual and got a hit on a diesel manual.)

The momentary switch controls volume and also programming. They correspond to the two small round buttons in the middle of the board next to the red and green LEDs. When pressed momentarily, they control the volume up and down. (The button next to the green LED is softer; red, louder.) When you hold the green button down (or the momentary switch down to the corresponding side) for two seconds, you'll hear the whistle toot. This tells you you're in programming mode. There are 20-something parameters that can be programmed. You'll need to be able to see the LEDs to tell which step you're on (the green one) and its status (the red one.) You're gonna need the manual to navigate that, so there's no point in going further on that front here--just know that's what's going on.

The other switch is probably a power switch that control power to the board. I want to say the Sierra does directional lighting but I've never used it for that. My bet is that the lights are being controlled by the board, and that when the power is shut off, the lights go dark with it.

Later,

K

[kiwin992]

thanks for the replies,
already a local battery specialist has provided us with suitable replacement battery and the loco has really come alive!
will try and obtain a manual on this system so we can navigate the options and 'personalize' the loco. yes, google has provided most of the answers too !
and thanks,Kevin, for your mag articles and input into the hobby.
rgds
brian a.

[Kevin Strong]

Great to hear! If you can't find an on-line manual, let me know. I was cleaning the workshop today and found a spare.

Later,

K

[Dave]

Gidday Brian,
          Give me a Ring on  07-863-7147,  thats near Waihi. I have installed a couple of Sierra Sound units and I think I have the Manual for a Steam unit.

                        Cheers
                             Dave,  Waikino