Rail Exclusive ZIMO Class 47 for Vitrains

[pheaton]

So....where shall we start,

 

I have had courtesy of another rmwebber in one of the many "dodgy" deals we do in toddington yard a couple of VITRAINS 47s, neither 47s have ever ran and I haven't done anything with them until now.

So after selling a number of items on the forum I decided that I would purchase the rail exclusives ZIMO chip for the vitrains 47, my main reason behind the purchase was that it was very cost effective and came with a matched speaker and stay alive capacitor, and also the speaker was in a specially designed surround making installation a doddle.... Plus to boast it came with a custom designed soundset.

 

For those not familiar with the ZIMO its an alternantive to the commonly found LOKSOUND, much information and videos of this decoder are available on the forum, this isn't the first sound decoder I have by ZIMO I also have 2 class 20s and a class 37 but the majority of my sound fitted fleet (40+ locomotives are LOKSOUND).

 

So after placing an order with rail 2 days later my ZIMO chips arrive by post.

 

Whats in the box......

 

 

Ok so inside the package is a nice metal container containing the decoder (I wont bore you with a picture of a small chip and some wires im sure you all know what they look like )

 

and included in the package is this

 

 

A manual explaining the operation of the decoder and a few troubleshooting tips, this isn't a small manual its a fair few pages, and its all in English, all styled to look like a BR train crew manual.....now some might shout GIMMICK, and ok yes it does look like it but im all for it, remember ive just handed over short of £100 and when you buy a sound decoder for £100 what do you get.....well not a lot really, im sure im not alone when I hear my inner conscience saying "is this really worth it" so the fact that rail express has gone some way to making your purchase more worth while is to be commended really.  

 

Included in the metal box is the decoder a stay alive cap and a matched speaker in custom designed enclosure, with the fans attached so you stll have a set of roof fans when the sound is installed in the loco. The speaker is hidden by a foam covering and this cannot be seen when installed in the loco, essentially making the loco look as it did before sound was installed.

 

I haven't taken pics of the installation process for 2 reasons one I didn't have a camera to hand and 2 its very straight forward, so I will try and describe it.

 

Once you have the body off your Vitrains 47 you will note 2 identical black parts at either end of the bodyshell the fans are the one you need to remove, its held in by a little superglue so you will need to carefully prise it away from the inside of the bodyshell. the amount of glue varies between models some only have a little glue making removal easy some have a lot making it near impossible but both of mine came out fairly easily. Once removed replace with with custom enclosure which matches the roof profile and curvature very easily and also has a tiny tab to make positioning perfect so theres no mistakes and you get the roof fans to line up without having to turn the bodyshell over to check. A couple of blobs of superglue and 30 seconds later its fixed in!

Next the decoder can be placed under the engine room door moulding and fixed in place using the double sided tab included with the set.

 

Finally the stay alive cap can be glued with a little superglue at the other end of the loco.

 

Then the decoder can be plugged in after removing the blanking plugs of course

 

Body back on and because its all perfectly designed for the vitrains 47 everything fits perfectly.

 

So.....what does it sound like....this is where I stop blabbing and ill give you my opinion at the end of the videos. Note ive only filmed it on my depot at the moment im doing work on the layout so I cant run round and round Ive filmed the loco in comparison with 2 other LOKSOUND chips, in Bachmann locomotives one fitted with howes sounds, and one with the default Bachmann soundset. All the locos cover similar distances. 

 

First video the loco on its own

 

 

Second Video the Bachmann default sound set

 

 

Third Video Howes Sound Set

 

 

Finally the 4th video all 3 together, I took this one so you can see how it "blends in" with the other sound sets

 

 

You can see on that video my petroleum 47 stalls, that's not deliberate but note the vitrains one didn't even flinch or lights didn't flicker at all, the stay alive cap really does its job!!!

 

So in my opinion and this is mine alone the sound set has some very nice features, the triple pump is controlled separately on a function and the recordings are very clear and crisp. my only two faults is it lacks the "grunt factor" which the other 47s have and a lot of it depends on the person driving it when the recordings were taken. My biggest issue is im yet to hear the turbo on the zimo chip.....turbo you ask??? a class 47 turbo with the air intake filters is about the size of an Austin mini, and when under full power is actually prominent and on both the howes and the Bachmann default sound sets you can hear the turbo spool down. I haven't heard it on my zimo chip on the rolling road.  

 

So a few of my opinionated minor niggles,

 

But the highlights

 

Stay Alive cap - fantastic helps it cope with reasonably dirty track

Sound enclosure - fantastic, the fact that you need to do no work with the speaker side other than mount it in the loco is very good!

recordings - excellent quality no distortion.

functions - many functions all the usual sounds but the ability to control the triple pump is a big plus for me!

ease of installation - couldn't fault it makes it a doddle for all modellers with very very few tools required other manufacturers or suppliers should take note!

value for money at £99.99 with a matched speaker and stay alive cap pre-wired is very good value

 

The "lowlights"

 

Installation instructions - would be good....reason being Installed it to start with, with the speakers wrong way round as it seemed logical to me to have the connectors facing the decoder as the wires were longer in that scenario but if its on the wrong way round the body wont go back on and if you have glued then your in a bit of trouble if its set!

Cant hear a turbo - tried to explain above....

 

What I have shown above is only a little of what the decoder is capable of and ill post more if there's an interest, but will I be buying another? Yes most likely I will but for a Bachmann 47.

 

 

Thanks

Simon

[pauliebanger]

Simon,

 

Nice comparison video and fair account of what RAIL EXCLUSIVE's Class 47 on ZIMO provides.

 

Try pressing F6 before stopping. This will force the PM to idle, so you can coast to a halt even in the short distance of your depot.

 

Is this a Version 1 or Version 2 decoder? 

 

Version 2 does not have the Manual Notching mode in either the 47 refurbished or the non-refurbished sound sets, but instead has several different engine sound/road speed manipulation controls designed to simulate any engine power/road speed combination likely to occur with the prototype.

 

We are already working towards a third version using new recordings.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

[tractor_37260]

Hi Simon

           Your review makes for interesting reading/viewing

I have both Zimo decoder versions in Vi 47's and for me the V2 is much better. Yes a few installation tips would have been helpful, but my first model came sound fitted from RE and believe it or not, it had the "speaker" fitted in the enclosure the wrong way round !  The speaker terminals should be at the cab end, with the little finger spacer on the enclosure frame touching the cab rear. As for fitting the speaker assy, for best results this has to be properly sealed all round on to the body roof, a sticky flexible gap filling type of adhesive is more suited than superglue for this. As for the foam piece under the fans, I assumed this was for protection during transit and removed prior to installation, it would foul the speaker if left in place, and may also muffle the sound a bit. Certainly the sound fitted RE  R/F 47 did not have any foam present between the speaker and the fans when supplied.

As for "turbo whine" yes I'd agree it's not very audible on the Zimo 47, but it is there at certain engine sounds, but you have to listen very carefully to hear it.

As you purchased it recently, it's likely to be the V2 decoder you have - if the F keys go up to F28 ?

 

V3 - I'm looking forward to hearing that 

 

Some nice video's 

 

Regards

Ken

[pauliebanger]

Ken,

 

Though not part of my original design, I think RE intend the foam to remain in place. Maybe this takes the edge off the turbo?

 

I agree that silcone sealant or sticky mastic would be a better option than superglue. They would have a greater 'filling' effect for a good seal and can be more easily removed if necessary.

 

Don't hold your breath for V3, it will be some way off yet as we have other loco types to produce some special sound projects for, and rather more urgently.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

[cassey jones]

I will add that this speaker fitted into the fuel tanks gives the 47 much more deeper tones.......

A bit of work needed to fit it but it is well worth it.

http://www.digitrains.co.uk/ecommerce/speakers/dss229-hi-bass-speaker-enclosed--wire-leads--rectangular--8ohm--1w--58x15x23mm.aspx

[pheaton]

Paul.....

 

37906 hint hint and you'll sell 4 right away

 

Hi Ken, yeah I believe its the V2 functions go all the way to 28. But the ease of installation is a big plus for me, because I see it as an easy way to use the decoder "as the manufacturer intended" what I mean by that is with stand alone decoders we all install speakers of our own taste and in our own locations, and it has massive variations on the output, but with this decoder rail express has tried to make it a level playing field.

[tractor_37260]

I will add that this speaker fitted into the fuel tanks gives the 47 much more deeper tones.......

A bit of work needed to fit it but it is well worth it.

http://www.digitrains.co.uk/ecommerce/speakers/dss229-hi-bass-speaker-enclosed--wire-leads--rectangular--8ohm--1w--58x15x23mm.aspx

 

Hi Cassey

                Yes I'd agree with that provided your using a Bach or Heljan 47 with long range tanks, if it's batt tanks/boxes only, it's impossible to hide the speaker and also keep the large very visible gap between the tanks.

Using a Vi 47 you'd also have to cut off the large blocks of metal from the chassis bottom that fill (all versions) of their tanks, but even so, you would again struggle to hide the speaker + keep the gap on a batt tank only chassis.

Horses for courses and all that 

Regards

Ken

[tractor_37260]

Simon,

 

 

 

Version 2 does not have the Manual Notching mode in either the 47 refurbished or the non-refurbished sound sets, but instead has several different engine sound/road speed manipulation controls designed to simulate any engine power/road speed combination likely to occur with the prototype.

 

 

Paul

Quick question Paul

                                Was that a "typo" above did you mean ETH and non ETH  perhaps ?   Does the V2 RE 47 have both these sound sets avail via CV's, if so I didn't notice that in the supplied manual, but I may well have missed it ? 

Regards

Ken

[pauliebanger]

Quick question Paul

                                Was that a "typo" above did you mean ETH and non ETH  perhaps ?   Does the V2 RE 47 have both these sound sets avail via CV's, if so I didn't notice that in the supplied manual, but I may well have missed it ? 

Regards

Ken

 

Hi Ken,

 

More of a 'senior moment' than a typo. Ha ha.

 

Yes, ETH and non ETH are the two types catered for in this sound project; refurb and non-refurb applies to the Class 37, sorry for the confusion.

 

Paul

[tractor_37260]

Hi Ken,

 

More of a 'senior moment' than a typo. Ha ha.

 

Yes, ETH and non ETH are the two types catered for in this sound project; refurb and non-refurb applies to the Class 37, sorry for the confusion.

 

Paul

Hi Paul

           Perhaps you missed my question on the above post : are both ETH and non ETH sound sets available on the RE V2 Zimo 47 project -  ie via CV changes  ? 

TIA

Ken

[pauliebanger]

Hi Ken,

 

I did miss the relevance, sorry.

 

The Scottish 47s depicted are both ETH locos, so the decoders were set up for ETH.

 

Don't tell anyone, but there might be a non-ETH loaded as well!

 

This applies only to V2 supplied with the Scottish Large Logo pair. Check out CV265. If it reads 103, then changing to 101 will operate the  non-ETH sound project instead. (Or it could be vice versa, you will need to experiment.) The difference is in the engine speed at idle.

 

If you decide to try this, DO NOT change values to 102 or 104. You will gain nothing, and some of the control features will no longer work correctly.

 

Kind regards,

 

Paul

[gridwatcher]

Interesting thread and some of the features (stay alive in particular) appeal, that said I am in agreement with Simon re the grunt factor. We operate a Heljan Duff only policy (another debate) and installation and design of the Danish Duff allow for all kinds of sound skullduggery. The Duff suits a speaker that isn't too bassy IMHO as when we tried bass enclosure ones the rattling jungle drums tended to disappear on tickover and the chatter and then turbo whine also vanish too much for me. So, for what it is worth and you can judge in ModelRail when Airthrey Park appears in new year (and at RailEx North East next summer) or at DEMU next May31st/June 1st when Tullygarth gets a run south, whether it has worked. We get more positive comments re the Duff fleet than anything else and most run Howes v4 Lok 29mm round speakers facing up! and mounted across chassis beams. All the fleet have roof fans done (thanks Bryan @ EE) most have had full/partial repaints any way. For my money the Italian Duff needs a repaint, too plasticky looking, reglazed as windows are nasty too and fans are awful so need replaced anyway. The Bachmann one? I dunno, something doesn't grab me (and not enough room for a decent sound install either) just can't put a finger on it. So the latest edition the the fleet a Heljan ScotRail blue stripe shover (bought brand new for £55) and off to Lisbon for a part repaint and to be "The Slapper' 712.