installing sound in a 70 ton

[GRZ]

 YARDMASTER, I HAVE A BACH-MAN 70 TON SHITCHER,IT HAS DCC INSTALLED,I WOULD LIKE TO INSTALL THE CORRECT SOUND,WHAT WOULD YOUR RECOMEDATION BE.FOR THIS PART,THANK YOU Greg.

[Doneldon]

GRZ-

That will be a really tough installation because there is virtually no place for a speaker. You could try a small one under the cab's roof but I think it would be pretty visible.

Incidentally, all caps represents yelling, which I'm pretty sure wasn't your intent.
                                                                                                                        -- D

[NMWTRR]

Interesting article in the January Model Railroader where an individual installs a sound decoder with the correct sounds in a 44 Tonner.

I think on this site there has been discussion on installing sound in a 44 Tonner. So might be able to search for that here too.

[Jerrys HO]

NMWTRR/GRZ

richg is the one who posted that.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,18743.0.html

Jerry

[Jim Banner]

Greg,
I have been doing a bit of research on the GE 70 ton switcher and found that it was powered by a Cooper-Bessemer FWL-6T  6 cylinder diesel engine.  see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_70-ton_switcher
I don't know if anyone makes a sound decoder representing this engine.  Others might, and I hope they chime in.

It seems the FWL-6T morphed into the 16 cylinder GE FDL-16.  see http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42450 for more detail.  I do not know how much the sound of a GE FDL-16 resembles a FWL-6T but Soundtraxx makes a Tsunami #827107 sound and motor decoder with sounds from an FDL-16.  see near the bottom of this page: http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/tsunami/1000.php.

While the discussion on the installation of sound in a GE 44 ton switcher is interesting, I believe it is not very pertinent to this discussion.  For one thing, it did not use the same C-B prime mover as the 70 Ton Switcher.  I believe it used a Caterpillar engine.

It seems the GE U9b was the only other locomotive to use the FWL-6 prime mover.  However, I have been unable to find a sound decoder or sound file for that locomotive either.

Bottom line, if you are a purist, you may have to use a decoder that allows installing your own sound files and then trying to locate a suitable file.  Personally, I would take the easy way out and install the Sountraxx Tsunami.  In addition to sound, it has excellent motor control including at low and very low speeds where you need it for switching.

Jim

[richg]

I did the 70 ton with the same stuff as the 44 ton. Piece of cake.
Remove everything including the capacitors. Remove front and rear lights from the PC board.





Nest step. Styrene shelf with a piece of PC board for connections.
Modify ends of styrene for the head light and pieces light pieces.

Nest step.



Speaker comes with the decoder. Make a styrene baffle. Make sure there is a back to the speaker baffle.





Make weights since you removed the top frame weight. I have a digital scale off of ebay for a few dollars to measure.

I use a metal that melts at the boiling point of water. Plastic Legos make a good form.



Weights and speaker in place.



Rich

[richg]

Litchfield Station did the decoder for me. They program them with the proper or closest sound.
I have found them to have the best price but that was about three years ago
LokSound now has the v4.0 version decoders.
My decoders for the 44 ton and 70 to are older v3.5 versions and are 100 ohm speakers. I don't know what ohm speakers are used with the v 4.0
They recommended the sound. You can email them and ask. That is what I did.
If you search out the decoder part number from the photo, you will get links to sound samples for that particular decoder sound.
SoundTraxx might have a Tsunami Micro with the correct sound and cost a little less. They use 8 ohm speakers.
You want to do this right, contact Litchfield Station. Better than opinions.

http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php

By the way, I had to use a sanding block to narrow the plastic speaker frame to fit in the shell. I have four wooden sanding blocks with different grades of grit.

Rich

[richg]

My 44 ton has the two engine sound at start up. Litchfield  Station suggested that sound also.
Both with LokSound start at almost 1 mph using the 128 mode.
I have the 44 ton at 20 mph max.
The 70 ton, 40 mph max.
I did a lot  of research before attempting either project.
I use the Tsunami and Tsunami Micro in other locos also and are very good.
I have a Tsunami Micro in a old upgraded MDC Climax.
You will not be able to squeeze a standard Tsunami in a 70 ton.

Rich

[the Bach-man]

Dear Greg,
We always favor SoundTraxx decoders, which is why we use them in our sound locos.
It's really not a bad idea to have an installer do a challenging install, especially if it's your first.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[richg]

To be fair to Bachmann, I would suggest the Tsunami Micro. It has 750ma max current whereas, the LokSound has 500 ma max current. Both decoders are about the same size.
The GE Cummins diesel switcher, 678-827014 would be the one to use.
You can modify the sound CV's quite a lot with the Tsunami.
Go to the below link and click on the product number to see the specs.

http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/tsunami/750.php

Rich

[Jim Banner]

Way to go Rich.  Nothing like getting the straight goods from someone who has done it, and complete with photos too.

Never having heard a 70 ton, I don't know how close the Cummins sound is.  But I do like the way you can hear the individual cylinders fire as opposed to the blurring together with the 16 cylinder GE engine.

Jim

[richg]

well here i go again! evan the wife cant help with this one, we found the sound page ok but we cant get the souns to work weve tried over 1/2 hr, things move like they are going to ,when clicked on tsu-50, nuthing.... tried others same thing.. and on other lists tsu 50 arnt listed , where did i go wrong? Grz

I just went to the sound sample page below.

http://www.soundtraxx.com/dsd/tsunami/tsunamisound.php

I clicked on the Cummins diesel option. I get another page and right below the words,  Sound Title: GE Cummins Diesel Switcher, I click on the section right under those words and the sounds start up. Some sites, it can be a little diificult to identify a Hyperlink.

Rich

[richg]

Rich, i dont know where i took the wrong turn but i did,i guess it was the ge befor cummings that confuzed me any how thats a super sound! would any one have a cost at todays prices for thease parts. or where i can buy them? thank you for your kindness,  i think.thank you all again grz.

Litchfield Station. The link I provide not  too long ago. This time, store the link in Favorites right now.

http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php
Next, store the below link and do a lot of reading. The Curriculum link has a lot of info. Look in the SoundTraxx link for a lot of info about the SoundTraxx stuff.

http://www.mrdccu.com/

I find some people do not store the links or read much info and just depend on what someone tells them. With the links, you have a lot of info at your finger tips.
Store the below link. Use it to search out the Internet. You can find tons of info you can store in Favorites and become valuable to others who do not know how to search out info.

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=nw

Get a digital camera to take pictures and post them here with a question or maybe a way to help someone.

Look at Jonathan's thread about the EM-1 2-8-8-4. Imagine Jonathan trying to explain what we see in his photos if there where no photos?

Remember many years ago trying to get model railroad info about a magazine article?

Yes, I realize the challenges as I am over 70.

Rich