tractor_37260 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Hi all Finally got around to fitting a Zimo decoder into a Bach 37. Decided to fit 2 x 8ohm Soundtraxx 23mm square Mega Bass speakers into the fuel tanks. the speakers are glued in (centered) over 20mm holes in each tank, the tanks/speakers then being sealed with a plasticard lid to form a box. The speakers are wired in parallel giving a 4ohm load. As supplied the vol on the chip was set at 55, on first start up I was surprised just how "quiet" the sound was, compared to a twin speaker (100ohm) fitted Lok 3.5 class 37. Having taken both pairs of speaker wires up to the circuit board, I disconnected one of the speakers, this made virtually no difference to either the volume or the sound quality. Using just one speaker, I played around with the volume and ended up setting it to around 125+ ? Using a second speaker on a Lok 3.5 gives more vol, but this has not happened with the Zimo ? Next plan is to try a 4 ohm speaker/and then perhaps 2 wired in series and compare the results. Otherwise the chip has excellent sounds, the manual notching settings giving great play value - once you get the hang of using them. One small gripe, why do the brakes blow off twice ? once before it moves off, and again if using notching when it dies back to idle speed. Anyone know if it is possible to adjust the brake sound/s thresholds and volume etc ?, ie if moving as SS32 and you reduce it to say SS16 the full brake sounds kick in with the loco still moving, and then again on stopping. TIA tractor_37260 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassey jones Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Tractor, I agree with the 23mm Bass speakers, I have tried them as well....... I have all my 37's fitted with either Soundtraxx 28mm 8 ohm round speaker fitted under the fans, using blutak so the speaker is completely sealed and the speaker has no enclosure fitted [the chassis area works as an enclosure once the body goes back on]. This set up sounds spot on, and the volume is set to 65 and that is louded than my Loksound fitted with 2 x speakers including a Bass refelx speaker in the tanks. Or the 40x20 Soundtraxx 8ohm, again it is fitted under the fan as as the 28mm similiar results except volume needs to be set to 80 - I did also try this speaker with a blutak enclosure on top of the chassis, for me it don't sound as good. I moved a 23mm Bass Speaker onto the Pauliebangers Sulzer sound chip, and this is spot on - volume set to 90. Yes to brake threshold, I think its CV287 - tried it at 90?, although you can do this manually using a quick press of brake squeal 2 on the functions and then brake squeal 1. - certainly sounds and looks good. Volume is also changed on your Handset for each function sound, - I thought I have set you the Pauliebangers cake layer . If you like the Sulzer sounds you must try the Digitrains manual nothing sound chip, wow! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 As supplied the vol on the chip was set at 55, on first start up I was surprised just how "quiet" the sound was, compared to a twin speaker (100ohm) fitted Lok 3.5 class 37. Using just one speaker, I played around with the volume and ended up setting it to around 125+ ? Using a second speaker on a Lok 3.5 gives more vol, but this has not happened with the Zimo ? Next plan is to try a 4 ohm speaker/and then perhaps 2 wired in series and compare the results. Otherwise the chip has excellent sounds, the manual notching settings giving great play value - once you get the hang of using them. One small gripe, why do the brakes blow off twice ? once before it moves off, and again if using notching when it dies back to idle speed. Anyone know if it is possible to adjust the brake sound/s thresholds and volume etc ?, ie if moving as SS32 and you reduce it to say SS16 the full brake sounds kick in with the loco still moving, and then again on stopping. TIA tractor_37260 Lok V3.5 have a volume range 0-64, and are usually used at 55 or above. Zimo has a range 0-255. Clearly, the absolute figures bear no correlation between decoders. A Lok V3.5 at 55 is at 85% of maximum setting, a Zimo at 55, which is the default value, is only 22% of its maximum. At 125, a Zimo is at 49% of maximum setting. Of course, these are not linear values, but they are relative to each other. You should still find that two 8 ohm in parallel better than one, not necessarilly louder, as they will be more efficient. Distortion will begin at higher volumes than with one, in my experience. The brake threshold is set with CV#287. Value range is 0-255, in steps of 10. The higher the value, the higher the speed that auto brake sounds commence. Default is 20. It is possible to alter the volume of the brake sound, both the F key (use my 'layer cake' analogy) and the automatically triggered versions. They use the same sound file, but volume can be set differently for each method of activation. More details in the manual. I can't recommend too strongly that you download the latest English version of the decoder manual - it's just become available here: http://www.mrsonline.net/html/manuals.html The air discharge during the spool-down in Notch 1 is part of the original recording, and is not activation of the separate brake sounds discussed above. It is not possible, therefore, to change this by CVs as it is an intrinsic part of the file. Kind regards, Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Cassey/Paul Thanks for the replies/ideas etc. Cassey you did indeed forward a copy of the "layer cake" info - still to get around to using it ! My twin speaker fitted (as above) 37 is now really growling - WOW it's good - a dry/bad solder joint stopped one of the pair working properly - problem now solved. Have another 37 temporarily fitted with 2 x 4ohm 20x40 Bass Enhanced speakers wired in series for a trial - NO comparision - the twin soundtraxx version blew it away - although used double headed together - pretty awesome. Plan to get some other alternative 8ohm speakers etc for more trials as suggested above. As for the notching 26 - definately going to get one of those very soon. The 26 vid / 37 test bed sounds excellent, running I presume on 2x 28mm speakers ? - be a struggle to get them into a 26 tho I noted there's 8 ? notches - are these all on F keys ? the Digitrains site only shows 3 ? with 19 functions for the 26 ? Perhaps the vid one is a special version ? Paul - yes I've got the latest english manual thanks - working my way through it a bit at a time - when I can drag myself away from my new "growler" Zimo - great sounds at a great price - I'm sold ! Regards Ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Cassey/Paul My twin speaker fitted (as above) 37 is now really growling - WOW it's good . Have another 37 temporarily fitted with 2 x 4ohm 20x40 Bass Enhanced speakers wired in series for a trial - NO comparision - the twin soundtraxx version blew it away - although used double headed together - pretty awesome. As for the notching 26 - definately going to get one of those very soon. The 26 vid / 37 test bed sounds excellent, running I presume on 2x 28mm speakers ? - be a struggle to get them into a 26 tho I noted there's 8 ? notches - are these all on F keys ? the Digitrains site only shows 3 ? with 19 functions for the 26 ? Perhaps the vid one is a special version ? Zimo - great sounds at a great price - I'm sold ! Regards Ken Ken, The 26/37 was indeed a special version. The loco is the exact one used to develop the Class 37 notching sound project, including as you rightly suggest, a pair of 28mm speakers, fitted as per my Hornby Magazine series of articles: http://www.zimo.at/web2010/aboutus/HornbyMagazine45Mar2011.pdf I then loaded my Class 26 Zimo sound project to demonstrate the ability to 'notch'. A lot is left to the imagination. There is no load which should be there to produce the sounds you hear, but overall I think I acheived my objective. The 'Notches' mentioned in the captions are just 'notional' in every sense of the word. Class 26s have a continuosly variable power handle, no notches, and the sound project has three separate 'ramp up and down' sounds plus coasting. I just spread the 8 notion notches accross the power range. I've tried many speaker combinations. For all round performance in 'OO', there's little to beat the 28mm HB speakers in my view. Not always easy/possible to fit though. My Heljan 'OO' has one 28mm fitted in the tanks, but it is a very tight fit. Just a quick mention that there are two versions of the notching 26. Normal idle speed and 'Slow Speed Control'. The latter was the type used on the 'Merry-go round' coal trains to power stations where the train did not stop to fill/empty the coal wagons and therefore has the faster engine idle speed. Welcome to the Zimo club. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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