I want to remove the shell from my Bachmann GP40 DCC Sound Value locomotive (model #66304).  An older post (http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,24271.0.html) says to:

"Pry the fuel tank off and you will find 4 screws underneath, remove them and pull the shell straight up."

But on the Sound Value GP40's the speaker is housed in the fuel tank.  So it seems like there must be a different procedure.  I don't want to damage the speaker.

Bach Man, can you tell me how to remove the shell from my locomotive?

Thanks,
Dennis

I went to the Bachmann booth at the Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield, Massachusetts, last month.  They sent me to the Soundtraxx booth.  The fellow there told me to use the CV definitions that are posted at the URL above for the 2-6-0 Mogul, as they are pretty much the same for the 2-8-4 Berkshire.

I got a Pere Marquette 1225 sound value locomotive for Christmas.  It's great.  Now I am looking for the details on its CV's.  I looked at the Bachmann page on the Soundtraxx web site:

    http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM_pages/bachmann/bachmann.php

but the 2-8-4 Berkshire is not listed.  Bach Man, can you point me to information on the CV's for my locomotive?

Thanks,
Dennis

I purchased a Sound Value RS-3 last year, and just got a Sound Value GP-7.  The price has not changed, but the GP-7 has a couple noticeable improvements over the RS-3:

1. The lights in the GP-7 are much brighter than the ones in the RS-3 (incandescent vs LED?)

2. The engine sounds are much clearer on the GP-7.

Mr. Bach Man, is the improvement in the sound due to (a) a better speaker, (b) an improved decoder, or (c) better sound files?  Is there something I can do to my RS-3 to make it sound as good as the GP-7?

Thanks,
Dennis

It turns out that the issue was with F9 and F12.  These function keys are not mapped in the default settings for the Soundtraxx OEM decoder in the Bachmann Sound Value locomotive.  You have to map them by setting CV 43 to 8 and CV 44 to 32 (as Hunt mentioned in his reply).  There is a technical bulletin describing this here:
http://tonystrains.com/technews/sndtrax_program_oem_locos.htm

After making these CV changes, and setting CV 116 to 32, I can manually control the engine sound with F9 and F10.  But on my PowerCab I have to press F9 twice to notch up one, and F10 twice to notch down one.  Not sure why.

The Soundtraxx documentation for the Bachmann Sound Value RS-3 says that CV 116 is the "exhaust control" and has default value 39.  (http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM_pages/bachmann/ho_alco_rs3_sv.pdf)

I found a more detailed description of the Sound Value CV's for diesel locomotives here:

    http://jmri.sourceforge.net/xml/XSLT/pages/SoundTraxx_Bachmann_SndVal_Dsl.xml.html

It says that changing CV 116 to 32  will enable "Manual notching, engine RPM controlled by F9/F10".  This is consistent with what the Sountraxx Tsunami User Guide says about CV 116 and manual notching.

So I set CV 116 to 32 using my NCE PowerCab.  Sure enough, the engine sound no longer changed as I advanced the throttle.  But F9 and F10 have no effect on the engine sound!

Does the Sound Value RS-3 not support manual notching, or do I have a defective decoder?

What I really want to do is have the locomotive sound different when it accelerating than when it is moving at a constant speed.  I have the momentum (CV 3) set relatively high, so when the throttle changes from 0 to 12 (out of 28), it takes a while for the locomotive to get up to speed.  I would like the engine to sound like it is working harder while accelerating, and though I could achieve that using manual notching.

Thanks,
Dennis

After two weeks, I called Bachmann service again.  They never did ship replacements, as I had been told they would.  Now they say that they will send replacements for two of the four turnouts, along with instructions for repairing the ones I have.

Stay tuned for further updates.

I called the Bachmann service department, as Doneldon suggested.  They asked me to e-mail a copy of my receipt and a description of the problem.  I did, including photos of the slider position and the voltage reading on my multimeter.  They me the next day to say that they would be shipping replacement to me.  Great service from Laura at Bachmann.

I'll post a follow up when they arrive.

The track is nickel silver with a grey roadbed.

There is spring tension holding the moveable "switch-point" rails in place, but no tension on the slider.

I'm not exactly sure what "solder jumper wires between the adjacent stock and closure rails just past the point heels. " means.  It seems like attaching a jumper to the closure rails might interfere with their movement.  Also, I lack soldering equipment and skill.

It doesn't seem like the problem is the points being picked by the wheels, since it happens when the train is moving in the opposite direction, with the switch in the "straight" position.

I found this posting which claims that these turnouts have a different, inferior, switching mechanism that BAchmann's other turnouts: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,10690.msg87931.html#msg87931

I bought the EZ track because it was supposed to be easy to use.  It's beginning to look like that was a mistake, and I should return it.

I recently purchased a Bachmann "My First Railroad" EZ track pack.  Everything is working, but there is an issue when operating the turnouts remotely with the slide/press electrical switches. 

When I press the switch, the black slider on the turnout (which can used to operate the switch manually) moves to the other end.  But frequently it bounces back partway.  When this happens, there is a dead spot in the turnout.  It's not just my engine; I checked with a multimeter.  It shows no voltage in the short section of fixed track between the plastic frog and the moveable section of track (points).  If I then move the slider to the end by hand, there is voltage there.

Are these turnouts defective?  Is there any way to get them to work reliably?