Just got my new Athearn Santa Fe F3 with dcc/dc sounds home, The sounds are correct for a F unit with the 567 prime mover, preset horn is great but not the correct Blat horn, but there are 11 choices for horns and that will get programed, Mars light is functional in DC mode right from the factory. The small remote for sound activation while in DC mode is terrific for those of us that dont have DCC yet. The sound/dcc system IS by MRC for Athearn, says so right in the directions. Locomotive does not have the read back ability on DCC mode due to being a duel mode decoder. I am more than impressed, the details rival the best brass I have owned over the years, running qualities is at or above Kato smoothness and quietness. I plan to get the matching A-B set and then a nice super chief passenger train for them to pull, any suggestions on a nice set of passenger coaches without breaking the bank??? If anybody has any questions about the new athearn genesis F units let me know and I will try to look at mine and answer them. Cheers Mike
Can the start up sound be changed? Thats my big beef with these, it sounds like a phaser going off.
I dont see how, it seems to be copied from Lionel’s F 3 startup sounds. Send athearn an email and let them know, that way they can improve it even more for the next models, I am still happy with it though.
What year Super Chief do want to model? If you want to model a correct Super, you aren’t going to get off cheap. If you want to model an all coach train, you could model a late 40s or early 50s El Capitan. It would be cheaper and easier to model than the Super Chief of the same era.
sounds good lol glad to here you got one
I too have a Santa Fe A/B, and I love it. Super locos.
I see many posts about the sound level and other features that need to be reprogramed. It took some time to figure out the best horn type, bell type, ring rate, and volume levels but I’m very happy with the numbers I now use. For those interested, here’s how I reprogramed my A and B units:
A unit Santa Fe 32L
CV Number
50
What it Controls
Horn Type
Default Number
4
Reprogramed Number
10
CV Number
51
What it Controls
Horn Volume
Default Number
3
Reprogramed Number
1
CV Number
52
What it Controls
Bell Type
Default Number
3
Reprogramed Number
1
CV Number
53
What it Controls
Bell Volume
Default Number
3
Reprogramed Number
0
CV Number
54
What it Controls
Bell Ring Rate
Default Number
3
Reprogramed Number
0
CV Number
55
What it Controls
Diesel Volume
Default Number
3
Reprogramed Number
I plan to fudge the train, make it look good without spending a bunch to do it. I need to reprogram the mars light, it looks to be set as a gyralite from the factory by its flash pattern, From what I can find online the F3’s originaly had mars lights before SF changed them to the rotating lights, I wonder what they looked like when they were rotating? Any good videos or DVD’s out there that show the warbonnet F units with their rotating lights running? I looks like I have to be in DCC mode to change themars light function, If so I will have to do it next week at club as I dont have dcc yet.
I have the B&M set and have pretty much the same sound settins as Matt posted which works ok.
My problem is that the speed control is very bad. There is absolutely no ‘creep’ at low speeds. CV5 and CV6 which should set top speed and mid range do not have any effect. I cannot mu these with any other of my 60+ engines because there is no way to do speed matching.
I plan on instlling a seperate decoder for motor control. Athearn has not responded to my questions.
Gale
I can’t think of any films/movies off the top of my head that shows the Santa Fe rotating headlight. But I know of this resource:
http://www.trainweb.org/gyra/sf.htm
Actually I think the Mars light that comes with the Athearn F’s seems to duplicate the rotating light more so than a Mars light, but I’m not 100% sure
But if you do figure out how to reprogram it let us know. The book that comes along with the Athearn F’s is very poor on what the CV’s control. Basically all they tell us is how to alter sounds. Perhaps they follow NMRA standards for some of the main CV’s but I sure don’t want to mess around with it unless I know for sure what the default number is and what the CV actually controls.
I also thought the book could have been a little more complete on programing the CV’s. I agree the light as set from Athearn is more of a gyralite/rotating head light. I have been on that light site and from the design on the SF rotating light it was probably a close duplication of the pyle national gyralight from a distance. But from what I have read the SF F3’s had actual Mars lights from EMD when they arrived, the rotating lights came later, but I could be wrong on that. I just like the mars’s double flash better than the gyralight single flash. I have great slow speed performance on DC, havent tried DCC yet, I am using an old Troller Autopulse 1 transformer and she will just creep with the automatic pulse, the pulse fades out as I speed up the throttle. It is probably just a matter of fine tunning the CV’s to get the speed good.
What is the range of the Athearn radio controler for the sound in analog mode. A friend has a pair but the sound control only works within 10 feet of the controler. Is that normal or did he get a lemon?
Hello LGBF7,…guys,
It’s not my intent to pour oil in a clean pond…
Don’t take this negatively but I carefully listened to an Athearn Genesis HO F3 at my LHS. The sounds were loud and clear…but I have to respectfully disagree here. To me, the prime mover did not sound at all like the baritone chant of an EMD 567 series diesel. As a teen I spent time around prototype GP7s which also had the 567 engine . I also tape recorded a few units. The sound in the Athearn is just not the same, even when taking into account that speaker limitations don’t allow 100% reproduction…yet the older Soundtraxx decoders featuring the EMD 567 (early, non-turbo) are right on the mark, as well as the BLI early EMDs (E units, F7, switcher - listen to the sound samples).
I don’t know how accurate this is, but I’ve been told that the sounds on this MRC decoder were synthesized. If this is true than perhaps that’s why these Genesis F units sound “different” to me.
Forgive me for sounding like a rivet counter. The units are beautiful but I felt that some of the modelers that are really into sound should be aware.
If I am mistaken, then I offer my apologies.
Peace and High Greens.
I believe you are right. I’ve heard a few EMD 567’s and these don’t sound right. There is just something off, and maybe it is because the sounds have been synthesized. But no one that has seen my set in action has mentioned this….so only the most hardcore train nuts, like myself, will likely ever notice this.
What bugs me the most about the sound is the default horn. Sounds like a three chime to me, but of course the Santa Fe F3 they made has two single chime horns. So this needed to be changed (thankfully there are several horns to chose from. But if I’m going to pay so much for these you think they could at least program the horn to fit what’s on the model.
Funny thing is the default horn is close to a horn the Santa Fe later put on their F units.
Hello Southwest.
On the units I heard at the LHS, the horn was set on what sounded like an “off-key” Leslie 3 chimer. Didn’t sound bad, thouigh the “trail-off” was disjointed and sudden rather than smooth like prototype horns. I should have asked Kevin to let me hear the other horn settings.
From what I understand, the early Santa Fe E and F units had Leslie honkers (same sound as the BLI E8). I think this is one of the horn options offered on this model.
Again guys, don’t take this negatively. The only ones that may complain are the “Train nuts” like me and Southwest. I’m still very gratfeul that we’re able to have sound in HO units. My only complaint is that if Soundtraxx and QSI were able to use authentic recordings then MRC, which has been around for years and in a decent financial position, should have gone that extra mile as well!
IMHO, the only prime mover sounds that seem to be “reasonbaly” duplicated with a quality synthesizer are electric locomotives. Especially since most of them, like the GG1 and E60CP, basically sounded like giant refrigerators. The NH EP-5s screamed like jets when at high throttle.
I realize that many modelers today, especially the younger ones, seldom have the opportunity to hear prototype trains up close and personal. So, if MRC is thinking along these lines then they’re probably assuming that most customers will not complain about the discrepancies in synthesized sound and be satisfied since they are very clear and dynamic.
10-4!
LBGF7
Information I have suggest’s Santa Fe’s dual beam Oscillating headlamp was home grown, and beam that scribed a CIRCLE. Earlier unit’s were Pyle National. and early photos of the 51 class PA show these. Not Mars.
I will share what I have:
That is what I wondered, what came originaly. From what I have read, the home grown rotating light from a distance would have looked similar to a Pyle Gyralite, as both would have a cicular pattern to them. Up close there would have been a big difference. Yes the locomotive as it comes from Athearn is set to a rotating/gyralite and not a mars. I have also been around both GP7’s and F units and run both. The F units from the outside have a slightly different sound due to the carbody construction over the switcher style hood on a GP unit. Condition of mufflers will also vary the sound. MRC might have run the sound thru a digitizer and some of the sound was lost, but when it sits here Idling next to me light right now, it sounds correct to my ear. The start up sounds are not correct but I can live with that. I wi***he horn was set correctly from the factory to the Blat honker style horn and not the chime. I will change some stuff down at the club tomorrrow night as they have digitrax and I can lowe the volumes a bit and change the horn. As with all things sound and electronic, they will get better as more advances in electronices allow. I think the major loss is the lack of bass sound in small speakers and there is lots of that in a EMD 567 diesel. For reference the F units I have spent time with are Indiana Transportion Museum’s Ex-Milw “Monon” units 83A and the 96. They spent a couple of years leased the the Central RR of Indianapolis based out of Kokomo IN where I lived and I spend many hours in them, working on them and learning to run them on weekends. Cheers Mike PS now I need Athearn to re release the Monon F3’s with sound!!!
LGBF7, this piece of information might be useful:
http://www.trainweb.org/gyra/photo/sf_lts.htm
Also, this site will have more Santa Fe modeling info:
http://www.qstation.org/atsfresource.html
Take care,
Russell