How does the tender open to install a decoder in it? Can I just put a decoder in for sound using the original factory decoder for motor.

Do you know how the Heavy Mountain tender comes apart? Ron

Quote from: skipgear on February 05, 2011, 12:07:54 PM
The mountain will be the easiest as the tender has more room in it. I would put the Tsunami in the Mountain, providing it's the right Tsunami (heavy steam I think has the right sounds). The H4 will be a bit more of a challenge, but because of the smaller vanderbilt tender, speaker placement may be a challenge.

In both cases you will need to remove the factory decoder, and possibly the factory light board from the tenders to make room. If need to remove the lightboard, then you will need to scavage the resistors from the lightboard to protect the headlight and backup lights.

I have two N SCALE locos my wife got me for Xmas. One is a spectrum heavy mountain Rio Grande and one is a Spectrum Articulated 2-6-6-2 1397. She also got me two decoders to try. One decoder is a Tsunami TSU750 with a speaker and one is a digitrax sdn144s Soundfx with speaker. Both of the locos mentioned have DCC in them factory but I wanted sound. I need some advice as to which loco to try first, which would be the easiest switch over, and do I remove the original decoder or just add the new one. Hope someone will help that has performed the surgery before. Maybe a precedure would be real nice. Thanks Ron

Thanks for that info. Ron

Quote from: skipgear on January 16, 2011, 03:51:38 PM
You can hook up a stationary decoder to the one you have and end up with the same result. It was done just to simplify things and revitalize the product for a new run.

Thanks , I bought this and than relized the DCC was being made and didn't know if the DCC had any advantages other than it running under a address like a loco. Ron

Quote from: Franz T on January 15, 2011, 05:51:13 PM
It needs the depth for the drive, the DCC  one is no different. I do believe that the Atlas turntable would work on a hollow door layout as it is powered by a hand crank on the surface of the TT (which can be replaced with an electric motor disguised as a metal shop building)....

Just purchased the Walthers 130 foot turntable (not the DCC one) and found you need 2 inches below the turntable to install it. Is this true as I think it the same as the DCC one? Anyone install one yet. Nothing says this on the package or in the walthers catalog. Found it printed on the instruction sheet in the sealed box and don't want to cut the plastic packageing on the turntable to see the reason for the depth. Tough when you installing on a door. Any suggestions! Just thought I would ask as many here have installed this already. What is the advantage of the DCC turntable? Thanks Ron

Than it should work also. Ron

Quote from: Hunt on January 07, 2011, 04:33:43 PM
The old Digitrax Zephyr DCS50 like the new DCS51 has the Blast Mode. It is an undocumented feature of the DCS50.

This has to do with the Tsunami decoder as regular decoders program fine without Blast mode. The Digitrax Zephyr Extra has a Blast Mode but the address changing is done on the mainline track. Will not program on programming track for address. You set the Zephyr into Blast mode and than program normally but in PAGE mode. Now we can program a Tsunami decoder without a booster.

Found out how to do it.
This has to do with the Tsunami decoder as regular decoders program fine without Blast mode. The Digitrax Zephyr Extra has a Blast Mode but the address changing is done on the mainline track. You set the Zephyr into Blast mode and than program normally but in PAGE mode. Now we can program a Tsunami decoder without a booster.

I'm trying to program an address into my loco so I don't have to use the factory 03 address any more. I'm trying to do this on the main line but it keeps saying buzy. How do I do this? The number to put in the Digitrax Zephyr Extra is 39 for the loco. The manual driving me nuts. Thanks Ron

Your right I used atlas 80  track and atlas switches.
Kinda new to trains so I was thinking maybe the switch track switch buttons should be to the left for the direction of the main line travel and to the right setting for off main track direction. How do you know as the train travels how the switches are set without running around the layout and looking before the train gets there. Is this a memory thing( bad idea). Ron

Quote from: Franz T on January 06, 2011, 09:34:35 AM
It looks like you are using Atlas track so I am assuming you are also using the Atlas controllers. If that is the case, simply swap the red and green wires on those controllers where the buttons have the "wrong" switch track direction.
I use SPST Momentary On toggle switches (specifically Gardner Bender #GSW-117) mounted in the fascia board with the "up' position of the switch indicating "normal" (i.e. "mainline")* and the "down" position indicating "reverse" (i.e. "diverging").


*note that "normal" or "mainline" is not always the straight position...

Is there any special way to wire the buttons so it is correct for the switch track direction it takes.
When all the push buttons are to the left this is the directions the switches go.

Have my xmas gift up and running. Can't figure out how to get to the section in the digitrax to change the locos volume. The loco Walthers Y3 says it in CV 51, I think, but I don't know how to get to CV 51. Anyone able to get me started in programing. The manual sound like a foreign language. Maybe with a little help I can get going. Thanks Ron

Will triple check it. Ron

Quote from: Franz T on January 02, 2011, 06:39:04 PM
I got a N&W "J" recently and it seems to run fine even on 11" radius. Have you removed the little piece of foam packing they put under the trailing truck at the factory?? If you haven't, that is probably your problem right there.....

Learned alot here. One suggestion that helped was to cut my turns loose from my roadbed and let them flex naturally and see if it helped. It did wonders and 80% was fixed. I re glued the bedding and track and things looking better. Actually the light mountain runs my heavy mountain runs my Challenger surprisingly runs fine on 11 radius and my Walthers Y3 runs great on it the articulated spectrum runs fine but the Norfolk Western Spectrum still will not get around the track terrible. Will try more but not changing things for it. Thanks Ron