Bachmann Sound Jinty (32-227DS) on analogue?

[Alex TM]

Hi everyone,

 

I have just bought one of these, and it runs fine on dcc.  It is, however, also designed to run on an analogue supply; doing this results in a basic 'chuffing' sound with some additional random loco noises.  That said, the loco does not respond to the controller as I would have expected.  It requires:

 

a higher staring voltage;

patience while it thinks about moving off;

lack of responsivity to the contoller.

 

I have spoken with a couple of model shops I know, and they all say the same.

 

I have previously played with Bachmann dcc fitted locos that have all ran perfectly okay on analogue although with no sound.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on why this is?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[SRman]

It's mostly the way the sound project us set up. As you yourself said, the others you tried had the sound turned off.

There are some tweaks you can apply, but you'll need access to a DCC system that can program the decoder to do them. One is to reduce the inertia and momentum settings (CVs 3 and 4). It may be possible to alter the starting voltage, but it depends on what it's already se on as to how much leeway you have.

To some degree, you will find most decoder fitted locomotives (whether or not they have sound) will require a higher setting on the analogue controller before they move off. If they have lights, you should be able to observe that those will remain on a more constant brightness as the decoder controls their output.

If you have access to that DCC system, you could also turn the sound off (CV13 set to 0) to see how differently the locomotive behaves without the built-in delays of the sound project. To turn the sound back on, set CV13 to a value of 1.

Bachmann sound locos used to come from the factory with the sound off on DC, but most now come with it on.

[Alex TM]

Hi,

 

Thanks for that.  I understand some of it, but will have to look into how to adjust CVs, etc.  DCC unit is a Prodigy Express so I believe that I can make those changes (first time I've owned a controller that can that).

 

Again, thanks for the knowledge and insight.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[Tony Burgess]

Have a look at DC Master - you should be able to find them at US suppliers, if not in UK, and on the leading online auction site.  It is designed for accessing DCC decoders (including 4 Function calls) on AnalogueDC-controlled layouts.  So with it you can change CVs as mentioned wrt acceleration etc, and - from memory - F1, F3, F4 & F8 buttons which allow you to sound the whistle etc to add to the "chuff" or diesel motor sounds, and random sounds, you have already experienced.  You should be able to download the DC Master instruction book to study which will explain what the product does.  You simply insert the DC Master between the output from your DC controller and the track.  You may need to check the type and version of the sound decoder fitted to your loco and then enquire if DC Master will fully work with it.  You may find a similar product available from Gaugemaster.

 

Not all DCC sound fitted locos provide the basic sounds on DC you experience with your Jinty, so well done Bachmann.

 

The sound chip will need about 5 or 6v to bring the sound circuits in, and that may be more important than the CV acceleration setting in explaining the behaviour comparison with non-sound DCC-chipped locos.

 

I use several DC Masters on my layout.  Their cost has probably increased since I bought them several years ago, when they were about £20-25 each.  The Function buttons actuate ESU Loksound ver3.5 decoders, but I believe not the current V4 type.  If you want to change CVs, a 2nd hand DC Master might well be your cheapest option.

[John YouChoos]

Sound decoders will certainly need a fair voltage on DC before they kick into life.  Generally speaking, you will be running the loco in the top third of the controller's power range.  There's nothing you can do to change it - they just need that much oomph before they come alive.  Reducing the momentum settings can sometimes give you motion a little earlier, but then you lose that nice feature of the decoder.

 

I did an example video some years ago of this in action if you are interested:

(sorry, not sure how to link to a video directly, so just copy the URL to your browser!)