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Sound for Dapol Gauge 0 Sentinel Y1/Y3


Robin Gristwood
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Does anyone know if there is a suitable sound chip available yet for this loco?

 

The loco is due for release in a couple of months.

I have a DC version on order and would like to have a sound decoder ready to install when it arrives.

 

I know that the model will be available with sound fitted but there is usually quite a long delay before they turn up at retailers.

The specification says that it has 'provision for speaker' but no information of size or shape.

 

I will be grateful for any help anyone can provide :) 

 

Robin

 

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  • 6 months later...
  • 3 months later...

I was fed up waiting for the Dapol sound fitted model and cancelled my order, changed it for the analogue version and opted for a YouChoos sound set with consists of a Zimo MX644C and a Zimo Icecube 18X13X10-1W speaker. I added a 17,000μF 'Super Capacitor' which is a valuable stay-alive device in an 0-4-0 locomotive.

Dapol_Sentinel_101.jpg

 

The Zimo decoder MX644D comes with a smaller 470μF capacitor. If you cope with this you don't have to solder…

 

Dapol supplies a cavity at the front end of the vertical boiler which suffices for a Zimo Sugarcube 15X11X9-1W. However, the boiler is thick enough to encase a Zimo IceCube 18X13X10-1W.

Dapol_Sentinel_105.jpg

 

To get the speaker into the boiler I had to lever it slightly and prise it off the mounting plate. The wires for the speaker are preinstalled so soldering the speaker wires to the little board was a piece of cake. Well done Dapol!

Dapol_Sentinel_106.jpg

 

Dapol_Sentinel_107.jpg

 

After re-mounting the vertical boiler the first test drive could be executed. First time on the layout!

Dapol_Sentinel_110.jpg

 

Sound was great, full and loud - so the Sentinel's body could be put back onto the chassis. Before that I added a driver/fireman for one-man operation. I chose a Phoenix figure which I had available. Now that there are far more realistic figures from ModelU some of the old white metal figures look rather odd… - but in this case you don't see much of the figure inside the loco, so it'll do for me! :P

Dapol_Sentinel_111.jpg

 

Installation of a decoder is very well prepared. You just have to lift a cover in the rear part of the loco and replace the Dapol analogue PCB for a 21 pin decoder. Even for the 'SuperCap' is enough space behind the flywheel.

Dapol_Sentinel_113.jpg

Dapol_Sentinel_114.jpg

 

Cover back onto the body and ready for GO!

Dapol_Sentinel_115.jpg

 

The sound project is for 'normal' steam locos, so I had to tweak it a bit. The real Sentinel Y3 doesn't sound like a normal steam locomotive. The engine of it is similar to those used in Sentinel steam wagons. Therefore their steam locos sound rather like a steam lorry with a very fast revving steam engine. So I changed some CVs of the decoder to cope with that. John of YouChoos is very competent and was very helpful indeed. He told me what to do:

- CV#267 modifies the chuff rate. I tested a bit and chose the value 48.

- To prevent the model sounding like an insect when revving fast I reduced CV#271 (Overlapping effect at high speed) to zero. This results in a smooth flowing sound when the engine is going fast.

- The chuff sounds of the 'light engine mode' which you get if you use Quick-Select are more smooth and subtle so I inversed the Quick-Select mode so that the smooth sound is on by default CV'409 = 109 (inverses F9, which ist my Quick-Select key) - again a helpful advice of John. :good_mini:

Now I'm satisfied with the Sentinel sound. It sounds like a really high revving steam engine.

Edited by suomen
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  • 3 years later...

Nice work above.  I bought my Sentinel second hand from Hattons.  It had sound already and works quite well.  I installed a stay alive.  It's performance is quite good.  However sound volume is quite low.

 

Today, while I had the test track out, I thought I'd have a go at increasing the volume.

 

Now, I assumed the decoder is Zimo, but the CV #8 value is 255, should be 145 for Zimo.  The NMRA list doesn't have an ID for 255.

 

Also the CV #266 Total Volume value is 255, should be around 65 according to the Zimo manual.

 

Getting 255 twice is suspicious to me.  Anyone know what's going on?

 

A picture of the decoder:

 

ANMP0001.jpg.f7612739bc3496bbe8965d7e8a7b6a0c.jpg

 

Lousy picture I know.

 

I have the NCE Powercab.

 

John

 

 

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4 hours ago, brossard said:

........

 

Now, I assumed the decoder is Zimo, but the CV #8 value is 255, should be 145 for Zimo.  The NMRA list doesn't have an ID for 255.

 

Also the CV #266 Total Volume value is 255, should be around 65 according to the Zimo manual.

 

Getting 255 twice is suspicious to me.  Anyone know what's going on?

....

 

 

 

You're not reading valid results on your programming setup.    As to why, dunno,  but its a systematic failure at the programming track. 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Nigelcliffe said:

 

You're not reading valid results on your programming setup.    As to why, dunno,  but its a systematic failure at the programming track. 

 

 

 

 

OK thanks Nigel.  I will continue to check tomorrow.  Not much to fail really, a piece of plain track with alligator clips for DCC power.  I'll try a different loco.

 

John

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2 hours ago, pauliebanger said:

Though not very clear, it looks very much like a ZIMO MX644.

 

The low volume may be the setting in CV266 but it could also be the way the speaker has been installed.

 

Paul 

 

Thank you Paul.  I wanted to be sure I was dealing with Zimo before playing around with CVs.  As I say, it was bought second hand so I don't know if sound was factory installed or by the previous owner.

 

The CV#266 value of 255 that I got was very suspicious.

 

John

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Well, I seem to have what I want.  Having confidence that the decoder is in fact Zimo, I accessed CV#266, which still showed 255.  However, I changed it to 65 initially and got a change in volume but not enough.  Ended up with a setting of 150.  Weird thing is when I access 266 again, the value shows as 000 or 001.  Still I have the volume I wanted and the loco works so I'm happy.

 

John

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