With some luck, I may be getting a EM1! [:D] On my layout, steam must have sound. I have heard the Bachmann EM 1 sound decoder on U Tube and sound is very lacking.
From what I have read, in the stock EM 1 tender there is only one 1 inch speaker, sure that is the reason the sound is so lack luster.
Does the Bachmann Tsunami sound decoder us a 8 OHM speaker? I have all so read there is room for two speakers. I have forgotten the sizes it’s tender will handle off the top of my head. So will a Bachmann Tsunami handle two speakers and if so, do I wire in parallel or series?
Reason I want to stay with the Bachmann EM 1 Tsunami is cost and simpler install.
Very nice ken, congrats hope you get it the EM1. Its badass.
When I got mine last year when they first came out. I actually sent mine to my DCC installer guy. He does all my DCC work.
Anyways, he installed the new Titan decoder. And he also installed two speakers in the tender. I’m pretty sure they were 1" speakers. By QSI. with the baffles and all.
I remember him telling me he had to do some work to give room for these two speakers and the decoder. It wasn’t too hard for him, he had to grind some parts to make them fit.
Not sure about the bachmann decoder being able to handle two speakers. I would call bachmann up and see what they say.
Ken, Others have found the Bachman el cheapo Tsunnami to be rather a poor option, the main gripe is the lack of the B&O “Hooter” in any of the whistle/ horn selection. Others have used the Tsunami 1000 heavy steam and are quite satisfied w/ the results. I don’t know that changing the speaker is nec. I still need to do some more research on this before I add sound to my EM-1.
It is a remarkable loco, details are rather fragile and need to use care w/ the 2 mini plugs from the tender. I have to use needle nose and carefully work the plug(s) into their sockets. Extremely smooth runner and has decent pull. Can start on a 2% grade w/ 30 loaded hoppers w/ barely a wheel slip.
A good choice, you need to use care in placing the drawbar and double wiring when running on tighter turns, the drawbar can interfere w/ the harness/ wiring. Of coarse you will need the outermost hole for greater spacing.
Those plugs can be stinkers. What I do is to take a sharp knife, and cut the little “knobs” off of the plugs. This is suppose to be a locking device to keep the plugs together, but they cause more problems than they solve. By cutting them off, it is easier to plug and unplug them. The plugs do provide enough friction that they stay connected through anything.
I’ve been doing this to all my Spectrums, since I got my first connie, back in the nineties. Without the knobs or nubs or what ever you wanna call them, the plugs can be plugged together using your fingers, or if you’ve got really fat fingers, a pair of tweezers.
The EM-1 comes with a non sound “decoder” in the tender. You buy the sound “module” and plug it in on top of the decoder. All explained in the Bachmann forums by some users of the loco. There are loco diagrams there also with photos of what the tender looks like inside.
A few buy the basic EM-1 and rip out and install a decoder of their own that has the proper sound.
Mike, any chances of making a video of the Titan EM 1?
If I where to install a new decoder, it will more than likely be a Loksound 3.5 or the 4.0. I have 2 PCM engines (Y6 b and a Big Boy) with the 3.5 gold standers as far as speed control and sound quality. Both have two 1.8 or larger PCM speakers. I believe they are 100 OHM.
Yep Ken, I made a video when I got it installed. The Titan decoder sounds great, but the motor control was a pain in the rear trying to get it programmed correctly. As you can see in the video, it doesn’t start out slow and smooth.
I think the new loksound decoders are a good choice.
I just recieved my second EM1 today, and I have the Tsunami large steam sound decoder ready to install. It comes with the N&W 1218 whistle which is more appropriate for the EM1 than the plug and play decoder offered. These were Nathan single chime whistles referred to as “hooters”. Unfortunately, Bachmann and Soundtraxx must have not consulted the B&O H.S. about the sound and went on their own. They do have a B&O 3 chime sound in their catalog, but while it would work in many B&O steamers, Q4, EL5, etc, it doesn’t fit the EM1. Someone at the manufacturer must have seen “B&O” in the catalog, and thought, that’s good enough. I’d rather spend an extra $20.00 for the proper sound.
Loksound Select and Loksound V4 use 4 ohm speakers. Loksound 3.5 uses 100 ohm speakers. For a Loksound V4, a pair of 8 ohm speakers in parallel is just the thing - as long as you phase them right. Or one of their large oval 4 ohm speakers - 2 round ones should result in greater total cone area though.