Thanks very much! More videos definitely on the horizon

Most of these have Tang Band speakers in custom built enclosures, but I’ve recently been using Scale Sound Speakers as a bit of a standard for customer installs. Their rectangular speaker is quite useful in a lot of applications, but for a G2A the tender is quite low so their will not be much space. I’d suggest that you start off with the ESU sugar cube speaker that comes with many of their decoders as you can increase or decrease the size of the speaker enclosure as needed and they don’t sound too bad. For the G2A, Locoman’s website is saying that a 4F file is coming soon, that would probably be a much closer sound file for your loco.

@@trw1089 Ah, thank you! I live in Canada so all the people I know doing sound installs also use Scale Sound speakers. I'll take apart the tender and see what kind of space I have in the back. AFAIK, there is decent room length/xwidth, but not much for height.

I get mine from Amazon or some specialist audio stores

Yes, pretty much exactly Richard

No sorry, I didn’t get a copy

@@trw1089 aww thank you for replying back,do u know where I could find one?

@@christinleeox8996 perhaps contact the QT directly? Not sure if they still have an online presence

@@trw1089 Thank you so much,will don

Always happy for you to ask any questions before you next buy a decoder. Zimo are very good for motor control and there are some good sound files available, but I find them just a bit less configurable in the sound department and I can’t get them to behave in the way that I would like for operational purposes.

@@trw1089 I have a fleet of Zimo decoders in my mostly NSWGR steam fleet. They can do most if not all features you find in ESU decoders. I do my own sound projects, so I have no problem setting them up the way I like and can upgrade the software so my old Zimo decoders purchased 8 years ago are up to date with features.

@@terryflynn8830 I have quite a lot of Zimo decoder with sound files from Digitrains. Rather good but ESU Loksound is easier to adjust with the Lokprogrammer. I have adjustedsome parameters of Zimo but the manual is not an easy read! Do you use any software / kit to easily adjust the Zimo?

Yes it will be interesting to see how the HM7000 and TXS compares.

Thanks Peter. Yes, the TTS sound is really at the bottom end of what’s possible in steam sound. I tried to be as positive as I could about it, but you definitely get what you pay for with them.

I don't agree. I have installed about 15 TTS decoders in different steamers and the sound difference from one class to another is reality. The only draw back is the non sync to the chuff - except the J36 TTS that is spot on. Otherwise control is excellent and the sounds are quite decent. Btw How many did you install ?

@@phil36310 thanks for the comment. I’ve installed quite a few, probably upwards of around 30 or so over the last few years. While they might make noise that is similar to the prototype, as a decoder they are not very configurable, especially with sound elements, and the sound is generic except for the whistles and it is of poor quality both in bit rate and associated artifacts. I stand by my comment that they are at the low end of what is possible with DCC sound.

Hi Gregg, thanks for the comment. I’ve watched your great video on INOX and have looked into it and a couple of other products like No-OxID etc. I never have cleaned the wheels on my locos either, but I have read up on the analysis done by Joe Fugate at MRH and also have done some experiments myself. The black gunk is definitely a non-organic compound mixed together with fluff, lint, hairs etc to form the build up. Adding a solvent to the gunk sees it quickly lose cohesiveness into very fine particles and the fibers, with no oils etc seeming to be present. The nickel silver track doesn’t wear out in the same way that using an abrasive track rubber all the time doesn’t wear out the track, it is only a very fine amount that is ablated from the rail surface by arcing but when that combines with fibers it quickly builds up. While I don’t run 8m long trains, my UK stuff is still lots of four wheel wagons and steam locos so traction is a bit of an issue on my 1-1.5% grade and they are quite sensitive to anything that reduces adhesiveness. I completely agree regarding the conductivity and oxidation, they’re the big issues we want to avoid and perhaps the easiest solution to all that is to run trains regularly. The contact cleaner I use is CRC 2-26 when I can get it and also the WD40 brand contact cleaner, both of which seem to work very well like what you are experiencing with INOX. If you are ever in Brisvegas and want to catch up to chat about it, just sing out. Happy to talk about this some more.

@@trw1089 Hi Tony , thanks for watching my video and I'm glad you enjoyed it. We have had issues with contact cleaner at work , in some cases on our turnouts, the detection contacts fail after being cleaned. The contact cleaner does clean them , but in harsh environments, it leaves them sterile, and open to oxidation. I've heard that CRC make a cleaner and protector in one? I've had visiting steam on the layout, and initially , the Inox was not an issue, but the traction tyres seem to "soak" it up and become useless! Also we found that the wheels with the tyres on , were slightly larger than the other drivers, thus lifting weight off the other drivers, placing more on the tyers...fine until they don't work , then you only have the front axle on the ground! All very interesting I'm actually in Brisbane, so if you want to visit the Sub' , let me know. Cheers Gregg

Thank you good sir. I noticed the depth of field in the first shot was pretty limited and that was shot with no zoom. I did the subsequent shots with around 1.7-2.4x zoom and that seemed to get a better depth of field, but I can also go further in the professional settings which I have yet to muck about with, so it shows some promise but more to play with.

@@trw1089 most welcome! The depth of field varied across the captures, was only really noticeable in a couple of scenes . Is promising to know there is opportunity for further play - think you are on a winner.

Thanks very much!

Thank you, it does seem to work well for filming the layout

Hi Train Handler 95 - does it say it is DCC ready or DCC fitted? If DCC fitted it will need not just track power but DCC signal as well from a DCC system.

The motors are in parallel otherwise they won’t run well together. Track pickups were taken straight off the bogie and into the Loksound XL. You do have to be careful about polarity on the bogie wiring though as I think they are wired opposite to each other if I remember rightly.

They are mostly ESU Loksound with occasional Doehler and Haas or Zimo. The sound files used are either Locoman Sounds or my own creations using Loksound templates with sound clips I create for things like whistles etc. The deep throaty sounds are mostly through the choice of speaker which is something I like to experiment with. I also now try to install firebox flicker LEDs on any new sound additions as it adds a bit more action. All of these locos were installed by myself. If you want a guide on how to do it I have a couple of installation videos on my channel that may help or feel free to ask away.

Thank you good sir. Perhaps not as immersive as the Border District, but I do like the layout to tell a story.

@@trw1089 From my experience, I found Wakefield West to be every bit immersive ... look, sound, feel and touch (well ... the touch required to master the brake function, but once done it does have the sense of driving like a real engine/train ...).

Thanks very much William

I’m never sure how long to make them, but am hoping to feature a swathe of some of your well crafted sound files in the very near future which will need a considerably longer video!

Totally agree…

Thanks very much Richard!

Yes David, first thing to try is set CV53 to 130 (top speed voltage), and CV54 to 20-30. Failing that, you may want to use the ESU autotune. Make sure you have 10-15 feet of clear track, then set CV54 to 0. Press F1 and the loco will run at high speed for a couple of seconds and it should improve the running at low speed.

@@trw1089 Many thanks for the reply and advice. Will keep a note and try when our system is working properly again. Have been having issues with the Gaugemaster Prodigy Advance 2 system we purchased in early 2019. Was thinking that this may have been why the settings I'd tried had worked. Currently running the layout using our old Hornby Elite at the moment.

Thanks Dave, yes, my good friend John Rice passed away. We both had a mutual love of all things Mike Oldfield and model railways. I did this video up for his family as I ran his layout while his funeral service was being held at their request. I’ve only now made the video public, so I should update the description a bit better. If you want to see more of the layout, John’s KZbin channel was under the name Australia1957T

@@trw1089 Thank you for your reply, and the story behind the video. I liked the bit about running the railway at the funeral, how fitting. It was only after commenting yesterday and looking through the video I realised I followed his channel anyway. Thanks again all the best Dave.