Soundchipped Geeps - video clips

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I added a Soundtraxx LC diesel decoder and 3/4" speaker/baffle to each of these Geeps yesterday and decided to make them layout-ready with a bit of weathering.

Unfortunately you can’t hear them in these photos, but I have the video camera at the moment, so I will take some short clips to post here.

First the Santa Fe GP9 (Proto 2000)

Next the C&EI GP7 (Atlas), with additional decals on the pilots.

I still have the sunshades to add - I intend making them work, ie fold down - to prevent damage in transit.

Jon

2

Looking good! can’t wait to hear 'em

3

Hay, those look great. Can’t wait to hear um.

4

Ditto they look great now lets hear um.

5

Here’s the first video clip, showing the C&EI GP7. I had to split it into two parts to upload it to Railimages.

Just click on each thumbnail to play.

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/843

Here is an old video showing a QSI-chipped GP7, to compare sounds

http://www.railimages.com/gallery/album508/aai

Now for the Santa Fe clip

Jon

6

The Santa Fe GP9 video clips have been added. Remember to play part 1 first.

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=843

Jon

7

Here’s how I fitted the decoder into the Proto 2000 GP frame.

I sawed away the centre part of the weight and filed down some of the metal in the cab area. This allowed room for the speaker and created a shelf for it to sit on

The LC decoder

The speaker unit

The part of the weight that was removed

Jon

8

You do some nice work. One question though. Why didn’t you face the speakers up? It looks like they are facing down. I would think they would be even louder if faced up. They still sound good, though.

9

Thanks for the tip Robert. I’ll give it a try.

Jon

10

Well, after hearing both the SoundTraxx and QSI sound decoders beside each other, there is no doubt which one I’ll always spend my money on: SoundTraxx![8D]

Thanks for sharing that…

11

Jon, I’ve done a lot of these installations using the LC decoders. One thing that stands out about your installations (I do the same) is the fact that you actually USED the speaker enclosure. This enhances both speaker volume AND quality. It’s gratifying to get that good of a sound from a 3/4" speaker, isn’t it?

12

If you notice the setups of QSI and other factory installations, downward firing speakers give you more depth and volume than upward firing speakers. Upward firing tends to sound tinnier or “thinner”; firing toward the hard surface of the track increases the output by 2-3 db.

13

I know exactly what you mean Carl - my best sounding Tsunami equipped steamer has the speaker facing down towards the track.

However Robert is also right in this case with the Geep.

Because the shell is an enclosed space, the sound still exits the loco towards the track, through the holes where the trucks fit. Pointing the speaker upwards into the enclosed space has actually improved the sound of the Geeps.

Jon

14

Amplified through double hard surface reflection! Cool! Good call Robert!

Jon - excellent work! Once you go with sound, there is no turning back. [:)]