Sound for the 48s.

I have installed sound decoders into 3 versions of 48s - early and late Powerline and just recently into my long awaited Trainorama 48s. I have a DCC sound installation page on the latest Powerline on my web site at: http://members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn1/48Select3.htm using a Loksound Select Direct decoder with the prototypical correct 251B 6 cylinder sound and a MRC 18 mm speaker. I was never able to verify whether I had a 6 cyl sound but I hated the sound as it had too much turbo. On my layout, if I don't like the sound I'm not going to install it in my models. Call me Mr "close enough" sound man. Using Loksound decoders you can change the sound file but you cannot with Soundtraxx Tsunamis making it an advantage using the upgrade-able decoders.

The era for my Main North layout is 1965 - locos from from Gosford to Newcastle/Werris Creek were mostly steam. I only have a few diesel hauled trains - a Triple 48s "wheatie" (22 BWHs) from Werris Creek and a couple of "staged" 44 hauled North Coast trains - all hardly ever run. Two of my 44s are equipped with Loksounds with in my opinion, the bloody awful  turbo 251 sound, so I thought I remove the Loksounds and put them into my recently arrived 46s. I need a few "electric" sound decoders so Loksound is the go with the 46s. Thanks to Chris Winston I have a superb V4.0 Loksound equipped 46. Now to make "electric" sound for the these older Loksounds but for now the GG1 sound will do.

The 48s will not be run much and as I'm a cheapskate I thought I'd fit my old DSD100-LC diesels into 3 of my Trainorama 48s using the original speaker - tinny sound but cheap. Two of these DSD equipped 48s are consisted with the 244 Tsunami equipped 4th 48 that'll be the "lead" loco of the with it's Horn being the one that is sounded in the Consist. Many of my locos including the Trainorama 48s have the Sugar Cube speakers from Streamlined Backshop - fantastic sound until.....

Recently I had to help a modeller with his his Loksound Select 251 equipped 48. The sound was woeful, too soft and poor performance. I reloaded the sound project and tinkered with the Speed Table etc and it still sounded woeful. He previously suggested his other 48 had too much turbo sound. I loaded a 244 and fitted a 15 x 11 x 8mm Sugar Cube speaker from SBS4DCC.

WOW!!! what a difference. I took it to another layout to "show off" the sound and one modeller said it just sounds like what I remembers the 48s sounded like.

Today I upgraded all of my Loksound Select equipped Diesels with the Loksound Alco 244 Project No 73401 and I am "seriously" thinking of getting rid of my "steamers" and move to the 80s.

Investigating the "sound" of a 48 I found a few Youtubes, where for me, they sound like the 244 sound file for both Loksound and Tsunami. I made a movie (below) where I have added the "real" sounds and the manufactured decoder sounds for the loco when it's idling and accelerating, where an easy convenient comparison of the sounds can be made.

See what you think about the "244" 48s with the Streamlined Backshop 15 x 11 x 8 Sugar Cube Speakers, sounds like compared to the "real thing".

Also see my previous Blog post and for my 48 Decoder Installation web page, see:

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn1/48T

Below video shows my Loksound equipped 4803 on my Main North layout crossing the Pages River, north of Murrurundi.

Sugar Cube Speakers from SBS4DCC - Unbelievable.

I have previously used small speakers that were advertised as Sugar Cube but these ones from Streamlined Backshop are going to revolutionize sound installations in small HO locos like in my fleet of NSWGR locos. The sound is amazing and their small size (15L x 11W x 8H mm) including Enclosure make them so easy to fit in any model.

Recently I added sound to my Trainorama 48s and the 17mm internal width of the body makes fitting a Speaker difficult, except in the wider Cabin part of the body, many including me, used the supplied speaker, resulting in a volume too low and a really" tinny" sound.

I fitted a SBS4DCC Sugar Cubes with a MASSIVE improvement in the sound quality.

Discussion on the Yahoo groups and listening to the Speakers on Laurie McLean's Cube Speaker Sound Board at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3B__iNYyNU

Not all Sugar Cube speakers are the same. Use the ones from Streamlined Backshop in the U.S. at:

http://www.sbs4dcc.com/sugarcubespeakers.html

I have experimented with a "stereo" installation, using a QSI Titan into a 22 cm (9") long HO Austrains C36, to see how the "stereo" effect sounded. The internal diameter of the C36's Smokebox is 20mm so I fitted a small QSI/Tonys round speaker that resulted in a really "tinny" Chuff and low in volume. Because of this "tinny" sound, I abandoned the idea of a "front" speaker for a stereo sound installation and went back to "mono" from the High Bass in the Tender.

Some time later I revisited the "front" speaker installation using a MRC 18 mm Round Speaker into another C36 and the sound from this speaker, compared to the previous "stereo" speaker, provided an adequate "front" speaker installation.

I fitted one of my new SBS4DCC Sugar Cubes to another C36 and compared the results using the same Tsunami Light decoders with identical "set up" CV values. The SBS Sugar Cubes sound much better and with the smaller overall size and format/footprint, makes them easier to install. These are the go for speakers in all my NSW loco fleet.

The video below compares the sound from a SBS4DCC's 15 x 11 x 8 mm Sugar Cube to Tony's 15 mm high 27 mm round High Bass, the photo below shows their relative size.

With the SBS Sugar Cubes, the Austrains C36 lends itself to an easy Smokebox speaker installation as the front is easily removed. Using my faithful form of of "re-useable" glue - Blu Tack, I "glued" the SBS Sugar Cube to the "inside" of the front of the Smokebox. I also added Blu Tack "around the Enclosure to reduce the vibrations, as shown below.

I wired up the speaker to the Tsunami Light decoder in the Tender via a changeover switch so I could switch between speakers while running the loco to demonstrate the two speakers for the video. I adjusted the volume a little louder than I usually have in my locos, to 100 out of 255 and  as usual I had adjusted the Tsunami's Equalizer to boost the higher frequencies, for the video.

The speaker did not distort when I adjusted the sound to the maximum and when the Whistle was blown, it was still clear with no distortion. I then adjusted the Tsunamis overall volume to where I normally have it for my locos (50 out of 255).

Unbelievable performance from such a small speaker.

My previous "go to" speaker due to it's great performance, was Tony's 27 x 15 mm High Bass speaker. It's size prevented it from being fitted to many locos, especially in my thin body Diesels but now with the SBS Sugar Cubes we can have great performance and volume with a much smaller package, so poor sounding sound locos are a thing of the past.

Plus these small SBS Sugar Cubes can be installed in the "front" (Smokebox/Boiler) of the Steam loco where many have wanted their sounds to come from - just like in the prototype.

What I have found, while operating with "loud/high" volumes and watching/following the loco, the "front" sound installation is very noticeable. Operating with low volumes is not so noticeable. With the loud loco sound that I witness on some of the layouts I visit and some visitors who bring their locos to the Main North, the "front" installation will be most beneficial. In any event I will be converting many of my steamers to be "front" runners.

A comparison of Sugar Cube Speakers at SBS4DCC, can be seen/heard at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZdx0kupIDc

The below video compares the sound from the SBS4DCC speaker with a Tony's 27mm High Bass speaker. While the 27mm from Tonys sounded "bassier" and slightly louder, the much smaller SBS4DCC performed admirably with just a little less bass and volume.

The below video compares the 11 x 15 SBS4DCC Sugar Cube and a TVW Miniatures 11 x 15 Cell Phone speaker in my new Auscision 45.

For lots of DCC stuff, see my Main North web site at:
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn/