After many years I have an interest in adding sound to an engine. I've selected a 2-8-0 to begin with...Now what? Well I ask my steam buddies which decoder they would recommend...
I would assume one question would be...how much money am I willing to spend? I want something simple...basic steam sounds, with a quality speaker and easy to program. As far as money...I don't what to buy something then wish I would of bought that. My controller is a Lenz LH100 which I assume still conforms to NMRA DCC Standards...
Thanks,
I have run steam engines with 3 different decoders and I myself prefer, without naming, that big company out in Colorado. The number of available CVs is astounding, accessibility to the CVs is easy, the choice of 90 whistles is almost ridiculous along with large numbers of bell and chuff choices, and the customer service is outstanding, I have developed personal relationships with them over the years.
This does not mean that you would like them though. You really should try to operate engines with as many companies as you can.
Looks like costs to retrofit is anywhere between $40.00 to $180.00 which includes decoder, speaker and baffle. I don't need 90 whistles and bells, but I would like a realistic chuff sound. I'm going to my hobby dealer which will be very helpful sometime soon. In fact, I may ask to hear his steamers with sound, etc. But one question I do have at this time is...."are chuff sounds always controlled by motor voltage or are there other factors involved?
Cv130 controls the chuff rate with Soundtraxx decoders.
Syncing the chuff rate is what I was referring to...slow start to normal run
I don't believe the less expensive decoders have this function...Just guessing from what I'm reading.
CV 114: Adjust the Chuff Rate
Adjust the cadence of the exhaust chuff to match your
locomotive's wheel rotations with CV 114. Entering values
from 1 to 255 into CV 114 will determine the chuff rate. High
values indicate more rapid chuffs, and low values indicate
less rapid chuffs. CV 114 should merely be used to bring the
chuff rate in line with wheel rotations. Setting CV 114 to a
value of 0 will disable Auto-Exhaust.
Exhaust Chuff Rate
0 = Auto-Exhaust disabled
1 = Slowest chuff rate
↓
57 = Default
↓
255 = Fastest chuff rate
Place the locomotive on level track and increase the throttle from zero. If the chuff rate does not
match the wheel rotations, enter higher or lower values into CV 114 until synchronized. The
decoder will automatically adjust the cadence of the chuff to compensate for changes in motor
load and speed.
36
You are correct, Russ, I was wrong, CV 114 is the one that controls the chuff rate. CV 130 is the volume of the chuff, how loud it is. Please excuse the senior moment that this represents.😂
In my preferred brand of decoder, I found that the finesse of control of the chuff rate is much much better with the newest decoder than the ones of say 20 years ago. Plus, they were offering a certain line of bottom end decoders for factory installation and steam engines, and I found that CV 116, the chuff rate in that particular decoder, was much harder to control.
I don't know how deep you're getting in the motor control CVs, but with the latest decoders from my preferred company, there are five motor control CVs that, if manipulated away from factory default, can have an effect on the chuff rate. I've learned what to expect out of them if altered, but if you get into them, there will be a learning curve.
Incidentally, I found the chuff rate that usually works for me is somewhere between 150 down to 100 but that could vary. 57 seems low and could result in the chuffs being too far spaced. With your 2-8-0, which I have several examples of, the chuff rate needs to be four chuffs per driver revolution. You will also find that matter where you set the chuff rate, there will be be some speeds where it's not exactly right . I run on 128 steps and my optimal switching speed is around step eight, where I run my engine most of the time, and that's where I want the most accuracy and on down to almost stop. There will probably be some discrepancy at the slowest speed, but when you start running faster you really can't tell how many chuffs you are getting for revolution, so I don't care so much about track speed. The goal is to try to make chuff variations as minimally detectable as possible at all speeds.
I'm apologize for how long this encyclopedia has been, but I have sat for untold hours in front of my layout trying to get chuff rates that's close as I can get them at as many speeds as I can, knowing that they won't all be right, it's unavoidable.
Thank you...this is the degree of information I'm looking for. I'm pretty good at understanding motor control/light CV's but sound decoders...well you just got to read and ask questions...There are many You Tube Installation videos so I'm ok in basic wiring, speaker options, etc. I'm going to try to hold cost around $100.00 per engine for now...and as said my Hobby Supply Guy is great and I look forward to our discussion. Thanks again...
The big company in Colorado offers a budget Steam decoder that's "Econ-namical" if you get my drift. It has 15 whistles, several chuffs and bells, there as far as I know that's their cheap one.
I have it in a couple of my engines. I only like two or three of the whistles, but then I'm very particular about steam whistles, compared to most people. Other than that, I really like it.
Appreciate your continue responses Mr.trainman203...On my way to the golf course today, I stopped at my train hobby store and to my surprise...my main man doesn't care for sound...has none on his home layout....He does has a small layout in store but a few customers were hanging around and I didn't bother asking if he had any sound going on...next trip I will.
Anyways...he also recommended the State of Colorado and also the State of Pennsylvania. He said my budget of $100 is off by about $50.00...."it isn't cheap" he said. He also said it's very important to have "Keep Alive" because of sensitivity and most of his customers preferred dual cube speakers over a cone type speaker.
Bottom line is I need to hear these train sounds live in a train room before purchasing. And as with double crossovers and reverse loops, it was fun learning...By the way...that one 2-8-0 that was in a bind...is still in a bind...I'll look at it some more come colder weather...
Off the wall question...My train room is a 20' by 10' wrap around layout. Would running 3 trains at one time with sound be a little too much unwanted noise?
You can adjust all the volumes to whatever you want them to be. Some people like the trains barely audible so that a bunch of them don't interfere each other. I myself like a thunderous sound because steam engines in real life are really very loud, I've ridden in cabs a lot, and can attest of that, plus I only run one engine at one time.
CV 128 is the master volume control on my decoders. The individual volume controls for each sound. The Whistle is cv129, the bell is 130, and the chuff is 131, those are probably the most important ones. You need to get them balanced, they never are. The Whistle should by far the loudest and drown out the chuff and the bell when you blow it. But you need to make the value of those individual sounds never exceed the value of the master control or it will discord.
I usually set my master volume around 125 or less. The Whistle needs to be 75 or so, and then you adjust the bell and chuff accordingly.
I have not yet tried decoders from Pennsylvania, so I can't speak about those. I'm well satisfied with the Colorado ones and I have a personal relationship with a couple people there who help me all the time.
Also, have a real hard time understanding why people don't want to run sound. It's all personal choice in a hobby like this and you do what you want, of course. But to me, running without sound is like pushing corpses around on the track.
I appreciate your input trainman and agree with you. However, I've come to know that most of my engines have their own distinct sound so that's pretty neat too...I'll be sold when I get somewhere where I can hear the sounds "live" ...but perhaps YouTube videos will help persuade me...funny, but I haven't really listened to many YouTube shorts...also I'm convinced that I'll pay the $$$ and I like individual sound volume control....I need to look deeper into CV's...thanks
Checked out several Colorado YouTube Videos last night...They do one heck of a job on instructional videos. In fact...they fully explain how a steam engine actually functions...it's a history lesson...I prefer more bass on their selected whistles though...