DCC Fridays Ep. #13 - Zimo sound decoders, an in depth look

[@dcctrain]

Awesome!

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

Thanks AK! I’ve been following your channel for a while, realised I should subscribe!! Your stuff is great 👍🏻

[@dcctrain]

@@buckamboolmodeltrains Thanks, man, I'm going to do more videos about ZIMO product, lately I got a lot of installation with ZIMO decoders.

[@davidzimmerman3238]

Hello from NYC. Thanks for the presentation Jared. It was very helpful for one who predominantly uses and installs ESU decoders. I've done some self-installs of Zimo decoders where sound files had been preloaded by the dealer and early in my model railroading experience had some Zimo decoders installed professionally as I don't own a Zimo programmer because of the higher cost of the device itself compared to the ESU programmer. A remaining question I have involves which Zimo sound files can be installed on which of the Zimo sound decoders. I mention this because on the Zimo sound file website, some of the sound files specified a gauge, HO for instance. I refer you to the German loco sound file below If you expand the entry by clicking the plus, you'd see the HO designation. I guess the essential question is: can any Zimo sound file be loaded on any Zimo decoder or is there a gauge restriction? I'm particularly interested in the new super small MS500 series on which I'd need the Zimo free file referenced above loaded. Thanks for whatever clarification you can provide.

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

Hi David, Thanks for your kind words on my presentation! Glad you found it helpful! I can't see which Zimo sound project in particular you are talking about sorry, but I can answer your question! If the project is designated for HO or any other scale it typically refers to a project designed specifically for a particular HO model of the specific locomotive, for instance a sound project for a Roco manufactured steam locomotive. This just means that if you have that particular model, you'd be better off using the particular sound project created for it, but you can load it to any Zimo sound decoder... So this project could definitely be loaded onto the nice new MS500 sound decoder. The MS500 are great, I've used several for some very tight sound installations already! The only restrictions with Zimo sound projects is that some will require the purchase of a load code, I can give more info on that if needed. The other restriction is that any sound projects designed for the new MS decoders in most cases can't be loaded to the older MX decoders, however all MX projects can be loaded to MS with very little issues. Hope this helps!

[@davidzimmerman3238]

@@buckamboolmodeltrains Hello again Jared. Thanks for your quick response. It's great to hear that any of the sound files will work in the MS500 series. Looks like the screenshot I included didn't make it through the paste into my previous message. The loco in question was the German BR 18-201. The Zimo sound file site has three files available. The one created by Matthias Henning ( ) is coded and would require me to purchase. The other two are free from Zimo ( I don't know the advantages of the paid v. the free so haven't decided yet which one to use. Keep up the great work, perspective and advice you provide in your videos. They are appreciated by me and I'm certain any model train hobbyist who visits your site. Dave

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

No problem, I’ve just had a look at that sound file on the Zimo website. The free Zimo sound file is slightly newer, so there’s any good chance it should be a better project than the coded one from Matthias Henning. On Matthias’ website, if he has one, you may be able to listen and compare the projects, maybe! The two Zimo free projects are identical except for how the function buttons are mapped out. The Zimo standard one is setup with F8 sound on/off, the Roco one has F1 controlling sound on/off. I myself would go for the F8 project as that’s more standard here in Australia and similarly in the US. Have fun!

[@andersgullberg]

If i think right MS decoder support also with mfx protocol? Have you tested MS sound decoder on the ac locomotive like Märklin, Roco or and Brawa for the Märklin tracks?

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

Yes the MS decoders definitely support mfx protocol! I haven't tested MS decoder on AC sorry, I generally deal with Australian prototype models, N scale in particular... I'm sure someone else has though!

[@springmillstreet]

Excellent video Jared and very well done for creating your own Zimo sound projects - it would be great to see a demo. some time. Another cool feature that might be unique to Zimo is their “smart stop management”? If you instruct a loco to stop and the decoder detects that to do so would mean a loss of track power (perhaps because the stopping point is on a dirty piece of track), it uses the stay-alive capacitor to keep the loco moving (at min. speed) until it detects good track power.

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

Thanks! Ep. #14 showcases a sound project that I have built using a Zimo sound project prime mover and some of my own custom recordings, feel free to have a look at that! Yes I have used stay alive technology with many of the Zimo decoders I have installed for customers for quite some time! :) When a loco is fitted with stay alive connected to a Zimo decoder and you set the speed back to 0, the track power will stay on, and the locomotive will stop provided it has got electrical from the track. If for example it is on a piece of dirty track, dead section etc. it will continue at its last speed step, sound function command etc. until it regains electrical pickup from the track or until the stay alive runs out!

[@springmillstreet]

I’ll definitely check out the other videos on your channel. Thanks!

[@L.J.MoBaTrains]

Very fine presentation by a decently looking young man ! Congrats ! I recently bought Roco BR 85 , steam engine . I am so amazed by the quality of its deep and sonorous sound that I started researching , and found out that it has an Zimo decoder . My question is , how and where can I hear their uploads . With ESU it is a simple game , but I m simply tired of ESU , all the loks have the same sound ! So , please could you answer where could I hear them before venturing into financial crisis !

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

Hi L.J. Thanks! The Zimo sound project for the Roco BR 85 is a very nice one! Here is a link to the list of sound projects that Zimo have: www.zimo.at/web2010/sound/tableindex_EN.htm There are a huge number of European sound projects, it is a little tough to navigate but worth persevering and having a look through! You'll notice that a number of the projects are created by people other than Zimo, often payment is required to access these files, I can help you understand that process more if you're interested. The list published by Zimo also doesn't account for all of the projects authored by other people, some digging around online will reveal other sound projects built for Zimo! All the best, Jarryd

[@clayton4115]

What do you think of the Economi Soundtraxx decoders Jarryd?

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

They’re a decent sound decoder for their price point, for American and UK prototypes they offer an affordable way to get sound into a large fleet of HO/OO locomotives, however lack the quality of ZIMO or ESU sound decoders, and the quality of the sound projects that can be custom loaded onto them. Not to say they’re bad, you get what you pay for, they’re a more generic less expensive option. They have different Econami sound decoders for different types of locomotives I believe, and on each there’s a range of various generic type sounds you can choose between. For Australian N Scale they’re not all that useful, they’d only perhaps be useful in an N scale American steam locomotive where there’s enough space in a tender to fit one in…

[@clayton4115]

@@buckamboolmodeltrains thanks Jarryd I picked up a second hand BACHMANN N GAUGE 62351 DIESEL for the first time in my life I have a sound loco and I played around it with today, was very impressed with the sound, but that's a newbie opinion, looking forward to hearing that 81 and B class on my layout !

[@buckamboolmodeltrains]

@@clayton4115 Ok yep, they’re actually quite decent for a sound fitted locomotive, that’s great!