ZIMO decoders. How to adjust individual sound levels.UPDATED.

[pauliebanger]

I've been asked quite often how to adjust the relative volume levels of any manually operated sounds on ZIMO decoders.

 

There is a simple way to achieve this

 

ZIMO Sound Volume Adjustment Info.pdf

 

The .pdf also has details of volume adjustment for automatic sounds and 'randomly generated' sounds.

 

The engine sounds can be adjusted in relation to all other sounds with CV376, or a combination of CVs 275 (cruise, low speed), 276 (cruise, high speed), 283 (acceleration) and 286 (deceleration).

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

Edited December 18, 2018 by pauliebanger

[Weatherman]

I understood the volume levels were altered universally on a Zimo chip using CV63 - am I mistaken? I've been trying to decrease the volume on my Lionheart pannier but changing the values of CV63 has so far had no effect at all unless I'm doing something wrong?

Don't want to inadvertently alter something and have everything go belly up so I'm treading very warily - any help would be appreciated. Using an NCE PowerCab - can you talk me through it step by step?

 

Cheers,

Martyn

[kevpeo]

Hi Martyn. Cv 63 controls the 'master volume' on an ESU decoder, but on a Zimo decoder you want cv266. Kev.

[pauliebanger]

I understood the volume levels were altered universally on a Zimo chip using CV63 - am I mistaken? I've been trying to decrease the volume on my Lionheart pannier but changing the values of CV63 has so far had no effect at all unless I'm doing something wrong?

Don't want to inadvertently alter something and have everything go belly up so I'm treading very warily - any help would be appreciated. Using an NCE PowerCab - can you talk me through it step by step?

 

Cheers,

Martyn

 

 

Martyn,

 

First of all, nothing goes permanently 'belly up' by changing CVs, though strange things can occur. If you can't undo any error, use CV8 = 8 to reset all the CVs on the decoder back to how they were when it was sold to you.

 

Kev's correct, CV266 for ZIMO overall volume. There are very many differences between CV on ESU Loksound and ZIMO decoders, so don't work on 'Hunches', find out for sure. Download the ZIMO small decoder manual from the ZIMO site.

 

My post was really intended to aid anyone wishing to alter individual sound levels, relative to the others. Say, for instance Coal Shovelling was assigned to F6 and you wanted to reduce it to a realistic level likely to heard outside the cab. The volume of F6 (whatever the sound) is controlled by CV529. Change the value in 529, according to the Attenuation List I posted as a guide, check new volume and repeat until you have the volume you need. 

 

All such changes, including the overall volume can be done using POM, in the following way:

With you loco on a running track,  press the Prog/Esc button on your PowerCab once. The display will show 'Program On Main'. Press ENTER

 

PowerCab asks for loco address, usually offering the current one, e.g.003. Either accept this or change to the correct number and press ENTER

 

PowerCab display 1= ADR  2 = CV  3 = CFG.  Select 2 and PowerCab asks for CV number to programme. For overall volume type in 266 and press ENTER

 

PowerCab asks for Value, type in the value required. Default is usually 64, lower figures reduce volume, higher will increase it. Max is 255, but sound will be distorted. Values up to 120 can be usefully employed if necessary and you have a 3W speaker attached. (most are 1W or 2W).

 

When you put in the value, the volume will change so you can hear the difference.

 

You can then go on to change the volume again or programme other CVs if you wish, or just press PROG/ESC button to finish programming.

 

Now you know as much about this as I do!

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

Edited April 2, 2015 by pauliebanger

[Weatherman]

Hi Kev and Paul,

 

Thanks for the info - have just successfully adjusted overall levels as per your descriptions (CV266) and  set the volume to 010, which is acceptably quieter for home use. When I bought the PowerCab I registered it (something I usually forget to do) and a while back a new update chip arrived from the US, which I got around to installing today, one added new feature being that the thumbwheel now controls CV values up/down so I didn't have to punch in the values with the buttons. As you said, I can hear the volume changing as I scroll the wheel so setting a level was quick.

 

One question - I understood I could only adjust overall volumes rather than individually (unlike Tsunami and Loksound, if I'm correct) and the reason I set the levels at 010 is because this was a compromise overall setting that meant the idle hiss was quieter but still audible but at least the very loud 'man shovelling coal' sound was reduced a little too. However the chuff volume's a bit too quiet now and I see Kev's chart above would suggest various function buttons can have their volume levels individually increased/decreased on Zimo chips.

 

Now aside from the obvious course of trying to change them individually to test things, because I'm still wary of unintentionally altering something else instead, do you know if the chip used in my pannier can have its sounds individually changed? I ask because the owner's manual that comes with the loco advised that some of the function buttons differ from the usual factory defaults and they give as an example that F8 is usually sound on/off but on the pannier it's F1 with F8 having another sound attributed to it instead. I take your point that altering CV values is unlikely to foul things up and I can reset things if I do, but I'd rather not find out the hard way!  

I appreciate I'm sounding extremely nervous about this but my technical knowledge of most things electrical is somewhat lacking. The info tends to waft in one ear and out the other with apparently very little to stop it on its journey, so if I don't write things down I'm stuffed.

 

UpDate: Took the bull by the horns and tried altering the volume of F2 (coal shovel). With the overall volume level, as soon as I chose CV266 and Enter, the volume went off completely and moving the thumb wheel increased it until I was happy with the level of background hiss - the default constant sound heard when switching on, and it's now set to 006.

So I selected F2 to listen to the man shovelling coal, then using the chart went through the routine and selected CV517 but instead of the volume instantly going dead once selected, it stayed on at the same level as before and scrolling the thumbwheel had no effect. I presume this means either that on the pannier CV517 isn't attributed to the F2 position or I simply can't control individual sound levels and only the overall ones with CV266.

 

Your thoughts would be welcomed.

 

Cheers,

Martyn

Edited August 25, 2014 by Weatherman

[pauliebanger]

Martyn,

 

I posted the list above. It does exactly as it says, and no more, so no need to be wary. All ZIMO sound decoders can be adjusted this way. This is a decoder function, (which they all have) not a sound project function.

 

From where did you obtain your 'understanding' that ZIMO was restricted in this way? I suggest your source is sadly lacking in the correct facts. You can, and unlike Loksound, have always been able to change individual sound volume levels on ZIMO decoders. If that were not true, what would be the point of my posting a list of CVs which enable you to do so? This ability did not come to Loksound until V4.0 decoders introduced new features.

 

I strongly suggest that you forget about what Tsunami and Loksound can or can't do when dealing with ZIMO decoders (and similarly, don't expect all the features ZIMO provides when dealng with any other brand).

 

To change an individual sound volume on a ZIMO sound decoder, here's what you need to do:

 

Confirm the F key which controls that sound.

 

Look up the CV which is associated with that F key from the list above and use that in POM as I detailed above.

 

Type in, or scroll to, a value which meets your needs. Adjust as required.

 

That's it. This will not affect any other feature.

 

I suggest you adjust the overall sound until the exhaust beats (chuffs) are at your required volume level. Then reduce the other sounds relative to this value until you achieve the balance with which you are comfortable.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

[pauliebanger]

Martyn,

 

Just seen your update. Please note my last suggestion above.

 

By trying to balance the sound to the boiler hiss, which should be opne of the quietest sounds, you have no scope to adjust genuinely loud sounds to a realistic level. Start with the loud sounds, and turn the other down to balance the project.

 

ZIMO software is constantly under revision, with new features often being added. The methodology I listed above is good for software versions issued in the last couple of years or so. Earlier versions may not support this 'simplified' way to change individulal volumes, but it is still possible with another method.

 

Before proceding, will you obtain the software version, please? To do this, you will need to use Service Mode programming - no other locos on the track, press PROG/ESC button once and the number 4 once, then ENTER. Press 2 and type in CV 7, press ENTER make a note of the number displayed and press ENTER, then type in CV65, press ENTER, make a note of that number and press ENTER.

 

You will end up with the main version number and the sub-version number eg, current software values would be 33.10.

 

I can then advise you further.

 

UPDATE. Sometimes PowerCabs do unexpected things. You say the thumb wheel allows scrolling to cv values and that's probably correct, but it adds a variation to the way I know works with PowerCab and ZIMO. Please repeat your experiment but type in the CV numbers and values using the keypad instead, just to eliminate any possibility that scolling has some unanticipated side-effect.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

Edited August 25, 2014 by pauliebanger

[ThePurplePrimer]

Thanks for the information Paul

 

I think that will come in handy

[Weatherman]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

Just followed your instructions and the software version is 30.10 - I await your next reply.

 

Regards,

Martyn

[pauliebanger]

Martyn,

 

Check to see that the decoder is not locked.

 

Read, method as before, CV144. The value must be 0 (zero). If not, you will need to change the value to zero, for which you should exit service mode and change the value using POM.

 

The software installed is the current version and is definitely able to change volume levels independently using the CV method in my original post. Try again using the F keys to type in the CV numbers and values, please, having first adjusted the overall volume to something over 25. (you can turn this down later after all has been balanced).

 

Is the coal shovelling on F2 a 'random' sound too?

 

Paul

[Weatherman]

Hi Paul,

I'm about to go to the workshop and try your suggestions. As far as I know - haven't really run the pannier that much yet as layout still being built - the coal shovelling is only upon demand and not a random sound. I think the only random sound Lionheart programmed in is the safety valve blow off when the loco sits idle for a while.

 

I have one of the newly released Lee Marsh 61xx locos here for weathering and it has a very quiet coal shovelling sound that is only random if the loco sits idling for a set period and cannot be triggered individually. Nice overall sounds too that have been individually adjusted to logical levels.

 

Will get back to you shortly.

[Weatherman]

Success at last! I checked the lock and it was already on zero so I figured I'd just try everything again anyway and I can now adjust individual volume levels to taste. Thanks so much for your help - I'm fairly sure it was Richard Webster at Lionheart who initially told me the volume levels were all preset and although I could adjust levels universally, I couldn't individually. Odd one - I'll be talking to him soon so I'll ask him. I asked him why the inside cab sounds were set so loud compared with the outside ones and he explained at the time that folk like to imagine themselves inside the cab driving the loco, which is of course where these sounds were recorded down on the Bodmin steam railway. The exterior sounds were also recorded at the same time from within the cab, hence the bias in volume of the internal sounds - water gauges filling, shovelling coal etc. I made the point that we model our railways with an external view and the interior sounds should be muted by comparison with, say, the whistle going off so why not preset the levels on the chip accordingly. However when I chat to him I'll tackle the subject again.

 

It's a shame so few folk realise these chips are alterable by the owners because I know at least one modeller who swapped out the factory chip with a Tsunami just so he could set individual levels, EQ etc.

 

I always felt the boiler hiss when standing idle was a bit too prominent and decreasing the overall levels to subdue this also subdues the chuff volume - they appear to be linked as a preset pairing. Thankfully I can now control/adjust all the other sounds, following your guidance, but it would appear the chuffs aren't adjustable separately? I'd like to increase the chuff levels but then I'd also increase the idling boiler hiss too. However I'm delighted with progress and my thanks again for you invaluable assistance.

 

Kind regards,

Martyn

Edited August 28, 2014 by Weatherman

[pauliebanger]

Success at last! I checked the lock and it was already on zero so I figured I'd just try everything again anyway and I can now adjust individual volume levels to taste. Thanks so much for your help - I'm fairly sure it was Richard Webster at Lionheart who initially told me the volume levels were all preset and although I could adjust levels universally, I couldn't individually. Just makes me wonder why he said this if he knew otherwise - unless he didn't and he'd assumed as such himself? Odd one - I'll be talking to him soon so I'll ask him. I asked him why the inside cab sounds were set so loud compared with the outside ones and he explained at the time that folk like to imagine themselves inside the cab driving the loco, which is of course where these sounds were recorded down on the Bodmin steam railway. The exterior sounds were also recorded at the same time from within the cab, hence the bias in volume of the internal sounds - water gauges filling, shovelling coal etc. I made the point that we model our railways with an external view and the interior sounds should be muted by comparison with, say, the whistle going off so why not preset the levels on the chip accordingly. However when I chat to him I'll tackle the subject again.

 

It's a shame so few folk realise these chips are alterable by the owners because I know at least one modeller who swapped out the factory chip with a Tsunami just so he could set individual levels, EQ etc.

 

I always felt the boiler hiss when standing idle was a bit too prominent and decreasing the overall levels to subdue this also subdues the chuff volume - they appear to be linked as a preset pairing. Thankfully I can now control/adjust all the other sounds, following your guidance, but it would appear the chuffs aren't adjustable separately? I'd like to increase the chuff levels but then I'd also increase the idling boiler hiss too. However I'm delighted with progress and my thanks again for you invaluable assistance.

 

Kind regards,

Martyn

 

Martyn,

 

I'm just going out so can't give a long reply here. Suffice to say, you can adjust the sound levels of hiss to chuff, but not in the same way. When I get back, I'll tell you how.

 

And when you chat to Richard Webster, you might mention that I can help him get his sound projects better balanced. Do you, for example, have the ability to instantly switch from light engine to heavy train with different sounds and momentum settings? All my steam projects do!

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

[Weatherman]

When you chat to Richard Webster, you might mention that I can help him get his sound projects better balanced.

Do you, for example, have the ability to instantly switch from light engine to heavy train with different sounds and momentum settings? All my steam projects do!

 

I'll tell him.

 

Don't believe so - if you accelerate harder the sounds intensify with a harsher bark, ease back and they simmer down and fade out as you change to coasting mode with just the vacuum brake huff, huff in its place. Momentum settings can be altered manually.

 

Regards,

Martyn

[pauliebanger]

Martyn,

 

I'm back!

 

To reduce the volume of the boiler hiss, use CV574 and add a suitable value to achieve the desired results.

 

I've added more volume changing CVs to the list. Knock yourself out!

 

So, to sum up, set the overall volume so that the loudest sounds, whistles should be the loudest*, are at the correct level for your needs. Then work through all the other sounds, adjusting them to acquire the correct balance to your ears. Finally, set the overall sound level as required. If you should need to increase the overall sound, the balance will be preserved and all sounds will therefore increase proportionately, and the reverse if you reduce overall volume.

 

Kind regards

 

Paul

 

* you can even reduce the exhaust beats to allow the whistles to predominate if you wish. CVs 275, 276, 283 are what you need, but do read the manual before using these so you understand the implications.

Edited August 25, 2014 by pauliebanger

[Weatherman]

Thanks Paul - much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Martyn

[Torper]

Hi Paul,

 

Don't want to pester, but I'm wondering if the Revision referred to in post #1 is going to proceed?

 

DT

[pauliebanger]

Hi Paul,

 

Don't want to pester, but I'm wondering if the Revision referred to in post #1 is going to proceed?

 

DT

 

DT,

 

Sorry about the delay.

 

Yes it will, I have a new format which will populate with data as I find time to do so.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

[tender]

DT,

 

Sorry about the delay.

 

Yes it will, I have a new format which will populate with data as I find time to do so.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

Any chance of the updated list? Edited August 21, 2017 by tender

[RD400]

Paul will you be updating the list

[pauliebanger]

Paul will you be updating the list

 

I cannot post the info as all the formatting is removed by this site and the resulting jumble is almost unreadable.

 

I've posted a .pdf which you can download and has all the required info in a reasonably readable state.

 

Merry Christmas,

 

Paul

Edited December 18, 2018 by pauliebanger

[RD400]

Thanks Paul for that much appreciated and very useful information

[Simond]

Paul

 

Please could you repost the PDF as the link appears to be broken?

 

thanks & kind regards

Simon

[Stefan88]

When I was 'test driving' a sound project of an Austrian diesel electric for an MS decoder I wanted to make the sound of the traction motors much more prominent as with the default values they could barely be heard, and on the real thing you can hear the whine of the motors from miles away. CVs 296 & 298 were listed in the project documentation as traction motors (volume and volume slope) so I doubled the values and hey presto noisy traction motors.

Edited May 3, 2023 by Stefan88