Bachmann DCC Sound Charts
#1
For those that might be interested I found the following Soundtrax Tsunami default fact sheets for Bachmann DCC/Sound equipped locomotives..

For the Alcos:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/bachmann/ho_fa2_sv.pdf">http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%2 ... fa2_sv.pdf</a><!-- m -->

For the Steam engines:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/bachmann/ho_2-6-0_sv.pdf">http://soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pag ... 6-0_sv.pdf</a><!-- m -->


I used CV115 and selected chime horns for my Alco S4 and CV 114 to increase the bell rate.
I used CV128 to lower the overall sound..

I decided any future Bachmann DCC or DCC/Sound equipped locomotives will be used in the DCC mode.

I will add my happy experience.

First and foremost I like the ease of programing using my MRC Tech 6.

As far as the S4..All I can say is Bachmann seems to be stepping up to the plate.Great DCC/Sound equipped locomotive and the price was right..$99.00 plus $5.95 shipping.
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#2
The link takes you to Bachmann FA2. Are all Bachmann Soundtraxx decoders the same? Have their S-2/S-4 & GP9.
Andy Jackson
Santa Fe Springs CA
ATSF/LAJ Ry Fan & Modeler
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#3
lajry Wrote:The link takes you to Bachmann FA2. Are all Bachmann Soundtraxx decoders the same? Have their S-2/S-4 & GP9.

That link works for the S4 so,it should work for the S2.

I didn't know Bachmann released a sound equipped GP9..
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#4
Brakie Wrote:As far as the S4..All I can say is Bachmann seems to be stepping up to the plate.Great DCC/Sound equipped locomotive and the price was right..$99.00 plus $5.95 shipping.
Larry, I certainly agree with you about the Bachmann S-4. Not only does it sound right with the turbo-charger whistling and ALCo engine sound, it runs smooth as silk. However, I can't say the same about their ALCo RS-3. I ordered the L&N model in the lovely black/cream paint scheme, based on the fact that the S-4 ran so good and am not at all pleased with its performance. The sound is about right, but the speed control is terrible. At 28 speed steps, it runs like a jackrabbit, no matter how you adjust the CV's. At 128 speed steps it operates okay, but nothing like my other DCC engines. Guess it will end up being a display model.

As for the basic CV settings you linked to, they seem to be valid for all the Bachmann DCC equipped engines which all have the "Sound Value" decoders. I made some of the same settings you mentioned for my S-4, based on those settings and it works fine.
Ed
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"
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#5
Ed,If you haven't already try resetting the start volt CV and you may want to try using momentum as well..That might help tame that RS3.
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#6
Brakie Wrote:Ed,If you haven't already try resetting the start volt CV and you may want to try using momentum as well..That might help tame that RS3.
Already done all that and it didn't help at all. Even excessive start momentum does not help. It's just a poor runner and nothing like the S-4.
Ed
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"
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#7
FCIN Wrote:...Already done all that and it didn't help at all....
I suggest you have a look at the bare hardware. Disassemble the engine, run the trucks solo on the table. They should run like a car. Run the motor only at all speed. Than put it together and see where the problems comes up. Put temporary wires to the motor and run the engine with pure DC. It must run fine before you add DCC again.
Reinhard
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#8
Here's a partial repost from my TSE Blog...

Tweaking the Bachmann SoundValue ALCo S-2...

"I reviewed the NCE Power Cab manual and downloaded a copy of the Bachmann Sound Value ALCO S-2 CV’s. Since I had already changed the locomotive address to match the road number, I used the “PROGRAMMING ON THE MAIN” mode. First thing I wanted to change was the bell ring rate. Several videos I’ve seen of actual S-2’s, the bell rang at a faster rate than the model did. Easy enough; select the proper CV - CV114 and changed it from default of 04 to new value of 03 . I also lowered the bell volume by changing CV130 from default of 60 to 50. Next, I changed the horn from the default WABCO E-2 to a Nathan P3 by selecting CV115 and changing it from default 00 to 03. So far, so good…

As we all know, ALCO’s with the 539 Turbo prime mover had a very distinctive sound, due mostly to the turbocharger. In the default setting, the turbo revs increased at Speed Steps 1, 7, 14, 21, etc. Since the locomotive will be run a switching speeds, I wanted the turbo sounds to rev up a bit sooner in reference to the Speed Step. With a little help from bapguy on the Bachmann forums, I reset CV116 from its default of 39 a number of times to different values, eventually settling on a value of 03. This resulted in turbo sound windup at Speed Steps 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, etc. Just what I was looking for. You can also set it for manual notching by resetting CV116 to 00 and using function key F1 to rev up and F0 to notch down, but for now we’re going to leave it on auto.

The last thing I did was to run a speed vs. Speed Step test. I did this by timing the locomotive as it ran through a 36” long “speed trap.” Increasing Speed Step from 0 to 1 has the locomotive creeping along at a scale 2.5mph. Step 2 brought the loco up to 4mph and step 3, to about 5.5mph; step 6 equaled 10mph; step 10, 15mph; step 13, 20mph and step 20, 30mph. As the TSE is an industrial switching layout, I don’t see the need to run any faster than that."

This is the link to the downloadable PDF for the ALCo S-2 SoundValue decoder CV's
http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20..._s2_sv.pdf
Len Turner
Texas South East RR
http://tserr.blogspot.com/
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#9
Thanks Len; I'll be resetting the CV values to get the engine rev's to suitable values for switching operations. Having worked on ALCo S-2 and S-4's I found the Bachmann sound model to be very well done. I had switched the horn but not the bell ring rate or volume. I find that most sound-equipped models have default settings that are much too loud. If you can hear it at more than a scale 100 yards, it's too loud.
Ed
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"
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#10
There is an other little trick:
When you are the opinion you loco starts too erratically when it went from stillstand into motion, then try CV216.
The default value is 140. This is according to a voltage of 14V on your DCC system.
Set the value of CV216 higher, i did setting the value here to 220 and the loco will start much smoother.

[Image: dsc05662wrsaf.jpg]
Also Bachmann made changes in the seize of the speaker camber. The newer S-2 model have an enlarged one.

And a further trick:
On both locos the motor made growling noises at higher speeds. Oiling the motor bearings solved this problem and the motors kept quiet then.

My 2 cents

Lutz
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