I purchased an analog version of the FEF with hopes that somebody like ESU would come out with a sound decoder with a new sound file for the FEF. My patience is not the greatest so I got my hands on the ZIMO and installed it today. The thing I like is the decoder is small enough to put in the boiler, so no wires running to the tender. I will pull this ZIMO out when the good sound decoder comes along. Giddy-up ESU, please. The step one start is pretty smooth, but as the speed comes up it looks a little herky jerky but that may be because of the test stand that I am using to test it OR I may have bent a rod or something while working on it. I don't even know what speed table or anything else may be set in the cv's but I will find out. I just thought I would share my experience with this install. Thanks for looking and I hope it has some value for you. Carl [video=youtube_share;uj0nCfRgrJ8]http://youtu.be/uj0nCfRgrJ8[/video]
I think it is the test stand Carl. I use the same setup for my diesels and steam locomotives, and they all are a little jerky, steam more so than diesels. I have Zimo decoders in all sorts of locomotives and they are they best in motion only decoders. That said I also have lots of ESU decoders, both with and without sound that are darn near as good as the Zimo when it comes to motion control. So the choice between one or the other is a win regardless of the choice. You may just want to get a sound only decoder now that the Zimo is in place. Depending on which one you get, the Zimo has the SUSI sound decoder interface that will work with the sound decoder and after being setup, the Zimo will communicate the proper chuff rate to the sound decoder. It can be any sound decoder that has a SUSI interface. Not sure if you realized but it also has 4 outputs for lighting effects. They are very powerful decoders. They can even recalculate their speed tables to set the top end speed without setting any CV values. You may just want to keep the Zimo. Put it on the track and run it for a while. I had one installed into an Atlas SD60 replacing a Digitrax board, and the locomotive just glided on the rails. Never seen a SD60 run so smoothly.
Nice work Carl: I ordered a Zimo MX621 decoder as well and hope to install the Zimo decoder in my second FEF. This FEF has the TCS decoder factory installed by Kobo. I also had to order a light board from Kato for $5.00 as Kobo didn't enclose the original light board when they installed the TCS decoder. I'll hard wire the new Zimo decoder to the light board on my bench top and then install both the light board and decoder in the FEF frame. Then I'll install a Soundtraxx heavy steam decoder made for the FEF in the tender with two Zimo cube speakers. Again I want to thank you for the video on the installation. You did a great job working with the Zimo decoder and the UP FEF. Unfortunately the corrected version of the new TCS decoder won't be available until the end of February according to TCS when I called them this past Thursday. The Springfield Show next week in Massachusetts interferes with the re-programming of the TCS decoders. Also the final fix has been established yet. So if folks want to order a new TCS decoder on their website, they won't get the new re-programmed decoder. You'll get the original version that has problems with the coreless motors. If folks send in their decoders now for the fix, you must figure to possibly get the re-programmed decoder back by the end of February or the beginning of March. Shades
Carl, You might want to get the rollers of the test stand under all of the drivers. With one or more of the drivers free hanging, it might put a bind on the drive rods.
Here is my FEF with the Zimo for motor control, a Tsunami Heavy Steam in the tender for sound, coupled to a Knowles "Dumbo" 13x18mm speaker (now replaced by the "Grand" - same size) in a custom sealed enclosure in tender: <br>[video=youtube_share;120u0rk25Ww]http://youtu.be/120u0rk25Ww[/video] I got the best results with the Zimo using values of 51 in CV9 and 154 in CV56. I then programmed a speed table for the Zimo to match the driver rotation to the chuff rate from the Tsunami. John C.
Thanks to all of you for the comments. They bring up a couple of questions. David, you said "sound only" decoder. Does somebody actually make sound only or do you mean to wire a Tsunami, as an example, to put out sound and not motor control. IMHO the Tsunami motor control is quite lacking and I speak from experience with one in an AC-12. It ran almost flawlessly in analog but as soon as I put the Tsunami in it stops/starts, bucks, snorts and almost falls by the wayside. The sound is pretty good however but I am going to hold out for ESU unit. So, how do you wire a Tsunami for sound only. I thought the decoder had to sense a motor load in order to work right. Do you need a resistor wired to orange/grey leads ? John, I just put a Tsunami "car sound" decoder in my power car for the heritage train and I used one of my Knowles "Fox" speakers. It sounds real nice as I set the flange squeal, and clikity clack sound levels real low and then turned the generator on with a very low sound level. Rather subtle which I think is good. Carl
I not sure who makes a sound only decoder anymore but they may still be around. I have never been very impressed with the Soundtraxx motion control. That led me straight to ESU. So I am pretty much a Loksound Micro guy. I have it in my IM AC-12. Zimo does have a really good Sound and motion decoder too, it is just lacking the sound files for many American prototypes.
Hi Carl. My Tsunami in the tender of my FEF isn't hooked to the motor, and I don't use a resistor or other load across its motor leads. If you want to program the TSU on a programming track, then you WILL need a load, and a 100-ohm 1/2watt resistor will do the trick - although if you do that, then another trick is to select a custom speed table and set all the values at zero so that the TSU isn't using power output into the resistor, which just makes it heat up more. But I do all my sound programming via ops mode (programming on the main). That doesn't require any kind of motor load, and the TSU makes a heck of a "sound only" decoder. You do lose a bit of functionality: if the TSU is hooked to the motor, then it senses motor load and adjusts the sounds accordingly - for example, chuffs get louder going upgrade, and then the engine is almost silent if it is coasting downgrade. I don't miss these effects, but some folks do. Here's a photo of the TSU-750, speaker, and a 3mm LED I added on top of the TSU, all in the tender (the power wires for the TSU are soldered to the phosophor bronze power strips that run the length of the tender underneath the plastic "top floor" which simply unclips for access to the real "bottom floor"): The two yellow things sitting on top of the TSU behind the speaker are two 220uf, 16v tantalum chip capacitors, which I use in place of the round "keeper" cap that comes with the TSU 750. John C.
David, John Thanks for your input. David, I too gave up on the TSU after installing one in my GS-4 when it first came out and then into my IM AC-12. I am thinking ( oops, smell the sawdust burning ? ) about replacing the TSU in the AC-12 with a Loksound micro. I put an ESU with cabforward file into my EM-1 / AC-9 creation and it runs like a swiiss watch. Sound is good as well. I am wondering, if ESU gets the better sound file done for the FEF, if that wouldn't be a better choice for the GS-4 ? The little ZIMO may find its way into several old diesels that I have. David, you mention an SD-60 you have and I have an Atlas SD-50 & 60 that I bought new a few years ago that I put NCE decoders into and they run like crap after running awhile. To be fair about it I must add that the decoders are several years old and I am sure NCE decoders have improved. I was not / am not happy with these two. I may try a ZIMO in them. Carl
