My previous post was for the first conversion I did on the Bachmann GE44 ton loco.
It used  earlier Tsunami 750 board, but same Current Keeper and RailMaster cube spkr.

CAUTION: Tsunami2 boards have a NEW set of CV listings.  See NEW ref. manual ! !
If you accidentally use old generation CV's&values,  BAD,  BAD  things happen.
 
                               REALLY BAD !

If CV not listed, default is used.
CV   3-40    120-18
       4-40    129-70
      25-10   122-0
      29-18   130-04
      63-40  114-19
      66-30  112-3
      95-30  123-5
                 130-15
                 131-50

Notes:  CV 3,4:  The prototype accelerated very rapidly, and could stop on a dime.
              66,95:  Top end on prototype around 35mph. I limit mine to 15mph. My layout
                          is for yard and local switching, not Class 1 stuff. 10mph restrictions.
                          It allows sound generator to come in before loco hardly moves.

                          Also, on the Tsunami2, from a dead stop, by cranking speed control 1/2 way
                          up or more, prime mover will really sound off with heavy load volume until
                          loco nears speed setting you applied.  If you start to lower speed
                          control back down, "heavy load" sound will diminish immediately.
                          If you move speed control at a slower rate, more gentle prime mover
                          sounds will be heard.  All this happens before the speed of the loco
                          changes much.  Very, very effective.  And, I have not even turned
                          "ON" the new Dynamic Digital Exhaust yet!

                  63:  I used a 1000ohm resistor on each LED.  This brought the briteness
                         down to a more realistic level.  And the value of 40 really does dim
                         headlight properly.
                114: speed step/engine notch, 19 okay for now.
                123: prime mover type-dual Cat D17000, 180hp each. When commanded, each
                        prime mover starts separatley,

                Remember to log your CV values B4 you change them, so you can return to original.

                CAUTION: these values are used on a Tsunami2 1100 using a RailMaster cube speaker!
                I have no idea if/how they would work on a stock Bachmann DCC motor only board.

                CAUTION: Tsunami2 boards use different set of CV's and values from previous versions.
                Obtain and use ONLY THE NEW reference manual.

Been very busy, but here are the CV values I use on my upgraded Bachmann 44. 
           New setup: Tsunami 750, Current Keeper, RailMaster cube speaker.

If CV not listed, default is used.
CV  3-20     114-6
       4-30     116-25
      29-18    115-2
      25-10    120-175
      66-40    121-35
      95-40    122-90
                   128-192

Notes:  CV3,4: The prototype accelerated very rapidly, and could stop on a dime.
             66,95: Top end on prototype around 35mph.  I limit mine to 15mph. It allows
                         the sound generator to come in before loco hardly moves. Also, my
                         layout is for yard and local switching, not Class 1 stuff, 10mph restrictions.
              114:  A rapid bell rate drives me nuts! A slow steady ring is more pleasant and
                        "sounds just right".
               116: speed step/engine notch, still playing around with this, as the type of drive
                        on the prototype is completely different than line haul locos.

                Remember to log your CV values B4 you change them, so you can return to original.
 
           CAUTION:, these values are used on a Tsunami 750 using a RailMaster cube speaker!  I
            have no idea if/how  they would work on a stock Bachmann DCC motor only board. 

            Overall, the new installation has been a great success, until I did a second unit
             using the new Tsunami2 1100.  Thinking of swapping the 750 out for a 1100 TSU2

Does anyone have the listing of CVs for the 2016 release of GE44Ton switcher.
I checked Bachmann site, Soundtraxx site, several forums, no luck.
In fact, the Bachmann and Soundtraxx sites do not even show these units.
They are brand new, from LHS, with all documentation, etc. 
No CV listings.  Great running engines, I bought 2.

My 1 year old S4 switcher was loosing 60% of it's original traction in one direction, and about 40% loss in the other direction.  Still ran smooth as silk.  My track is absolutely clean, as are all my loco wheels.  I was looking for a cause that would be dependent on direction.  It also only manifested itself when pulling several cars vs. only a couple.  Disassembled loco.  Couplings, shafting, worm gear all perfect & tight.  Gears all seemed OK.  Put a screw driver blade against teeth on first gear (next to worm), and pushed truck along.  I noticed the second gear down from the worm was jumping teeth.  Rotating wheels (with worm disconnected), all gears appeared perfect. No cracks, no damaged teeth, no dirt).  I did noticed one of the "pin" type gear shafts was not even with the outside of the truck's gear case.  Out about 1/32". Pushed the shaft in so both ends were flush with outside of gear case.  Problem solved.  These shafts are only retained by "force fit" into the gear case. Upon running the loco again, I noticed the very slight gear grumble the loco always had, one direction only, was now gone.  The sound system was masking this clue.

Apparently the wall thickness of the gear case does not allow for any movement of the gear pin axles before it causes problems with gear mesh.

This problem would apply to S2 and S4 models as they share same truck assembly.  Just thought this might be useful to others with these engines. 

They are real smooth running models.

Yardmaster - My time of a post to the forum was, as an example, 09:47 AM.  When the post shows up on the forum listing,  it is time stamped 08:47 AM.  I am in the Central time zone.  Why the "discrepancy"?  Does the forum site not recognize Dalylight Savings time?  Thanks, Dave

Just bought a second B'mann 2-6-0 DCC w/sound (new).  Runs as fine as the first one.  Until it hit a PECO curved switch. Dropped the pilot truck & 1st axle onto the ties.  My other Mogul runs this switch hundereds of time, no problem.  As with most things, the end result is the culmination of many contributing factors.  The wheels are all in perfect NMRA gauge.  Factor 1 - Inside diverging set of rails on the Peco switch is not a true radius.  It has a slight jog on the outside points rail. Factor 2 - This 2nd Mogul does not have as much side play in the driver axles as the 1 yr. old unit.  Factor 3 - The new unit wheel rims appear to be not as smooth a finish as the older unit.  Bottom line is: When loco rode over the moveable switch points, the jog in the point rail(s) caused the fairly ridgid chassis to bind, and up & over the rails she went.  Solution: Remove gear/axle cover plate.  On the 2nd (center) axle position only,  file down the plastic tab that juts out from the body of the plastic cover.  This allows the 2nd axle to have more side play.  These "tabs" are meant to keep the back face of the drivers from contacting the cast metal frame,  so be sure to leave some tab exposed.  Result: No more derailments.  Another fine running loco from B'mann.  Yes, I have to narrow up the tender.  I liked Johnathan's slope back tender.  Might try that for something different.  Dave

Reference my earlier post on tender width of Mogul, I have started the project to narrow the tender to match the cab.  A couple of surprises.  I didn't understand why a loco with one motor and one headlight had eight ( 8 ) wires between tender and loco.  Now the pc board is out and surprise two.  Here are the wire connections with wires attached:
Tab R - 2 wires, 1st-red-Rail, right. 2nd-black-unknown.
Tab B - 2 wires, 1st-black-Rail,left. 2nd-black-unknown.
Tab M+ - 1 wire, black-Motor.  Tab M+  -  1 wire, black-Motor.
Tab HL - 1 wire, black-Headlight.  Tab H+ - 1 wire, black-Headlight.
Tab S+ - 1 wire, black-Speaker.  Tab S-  -  1 wire, black-Speaker.
Tab BL - 1 wire, black-Backup light. Tab B+ - 1 wire, black-Backup light.
Tab +U - 1 wire, black-unknown.  Tab SMK - 1 wire, black-Smoke?.

I haven't removed the boiler, one project at a time.

Anybody know if these units had smoke heaters?  None is shown on the parts diagram, and the box doesn't indicate any.  Thanks, Dave

Edit.  Date stamp on CPU is 9.4.12

One thing that does bother me, visually, about the otherwise excellent B'mann Mogul DCC w/Sound is the width of the tender body to that of the cab.  Must of the pictures I come across show them to be of the same width.  I have tried to research specification data, but most do not show the tender width.  Is the cab too narrow, or is the tender too wide, or is the model correctly proportioned?  Anybody have information on this?  Thank, Dave

To Yardmaster/Administrator - On some occasions, during a long post (or one where I have to think carefully what I'm posting), when I go to post the message, the system warns me it timed out.  What is the time limit before this happens:?  Thanks, Dave

Has anyone out there added a keep alive, stay alive etc. to the B'mann Shay with a Soundtraxx DSD 3tslc decoder?.  I've upgraded my Shay and it really runs fantastic, but contact between wheels and track is still problematic. Yes, I have done all the usual remedies, including CRC-22. I found that by loosening the bolster screws 1/2 turn really helped a lot, allows trucks to maintain better contact with rails.  Any advice would be much appreciated. Dave

Just replaced broken gears on my Shay, early production w/factory DCC&Sound.  Received parts on the morning of the 3rd business day!  Impressed.  What a value for the dollar.  The "parts" I ordered were side frames, gears, shafting - or so I thought.  What I got for $10 each, was a fully assembled side frame ready to screw onto the truck bolster.  It even had the correct slip joints and universals already installed.  Just a point of information, my Shay gave no evidence of cracked gears, it ran flawlessly.  After reading another posting, I got curious, and sure enough, 4 out of 6 gears were cracked.  I bought 3 sets, I don't think I'll be around for the change over of the third set!  Anyone with these Shays and cracked gears, don't hesitate to get the B'mann side frames.

Just passing this along - -   B'mann sells a truck ass'y, mod #517XX-00Q01 ( 2-6-0 Alco  tender ) for $8.00.   Each axle has 3 "fingers" for electrical pick up.  1 truck equals 1 rail. Wire is already soldered in place.  Center bolster hole is quite large and contact is held in place by 3 plastic "stub pins", so could easily be xfr'd to a different truck.  My B'mann trucks solved a terrible pick ujp situation on my Mantua 2-6-6-2.  Well worth the $8.00 to me.  Dave

Thommo - Hello. This new thread is in response to your inquiry on Alco1000's post about sound improvement.  I have removed my sideframes on my S4. From the pictures you posted, the trucks look identical to the S2.  At the ends of each truck, there is a molded upside down U plastic extension, that snaps over a molded cam ramp on the main body of the truck.  Take small, thin screwdriver, approach from the bottom of the truck, and gently pry the plastic U away from the axle.  Only need about 1/16 inch to release.  The axles and gears on my trucks were snap fitted into the body of the truck. The wire you need to reattach joins a very small power strip. Best to remove from truck to re-solder. Good luck.  Dave

I thought owners of these engines might find my settings for CV's  interesting to try. S4 CVs:

       Alco S4                                                                  Alco  RS-3
CV    New set                                                        CV     New set
   3        150                                                             3         125
   4          70                                                             4          50
   5        100     <---light weight branch line work--->      5           20

The RS-3 CV5 setting might be a little too low, but I'm still experimenting.   Just be sure to keep
record of each change you make.  Have fun,    Dave

My B'mann S4 has a CV-5 ( V max ) listed.  It appears the RS3 does not have this CV.  Anyone know if this is True? I can't imagine they would leave it out , . . well maybe . . .  Thanks to anyone with info

My Bachmann Alco S4 with the stock DCC w/sound decoder (Soundtraxx), will accept CV changes in the OPS mode.  I have successfully made changes to accel/brake/whistle/bell etc.  It refuses to accept a CV 1 address change ( 2 digit ).  I also tried changing in DIR mode.  I reset CV 36 to "c" and tried the above steps again.  Same result.  I really don't want engine address as   " 3 " forever.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. Use wooden "skewers" with long tapered piont. Insert into cplrs, twist clockwise to open
2. Kaydee makes a special "stick" with molded end to work like above.
3. RIXX Plastics make a magnetic tool to slip over cplrs and open via. magnetic attraction.
Hope this helps.

I am having difficulty finding prototype info of Bachmann's 40ft ore car, Item 76902. Need to know how it discharged load and what RR(s) used them. Have a fleet of 20 to run with a S4 DCC switcher (Backmann). The S4 is new and a sweet runner. sound is awesome!.