I am truly amazed at the shouting down, accusations, and finger pointing around a project that has every appearance of being a last minute, half baked slap together of an untested product, with no available support from the manufacturer, even to answering a basic question like “What is it, and how does it work?” without third parties getting their knickers in a twist.
I guess what surprises me most, though, is however angry it makes Stan, that most folks are jumping to the conclusion that the device found in the new Bachmann Shay is a Tsunami. Let’s explore why folks are making what some apparently think is an unreasonable leap of logic. To start with, Soundtraxx has had what a Tsunami is for some time on their website… if you’d like to read about all the functions and special effects here’s the link:
http://www.soundtraxx.com/products/dcc/tsunamifeatures.htm .
The trouble started when there were some magazine ads a few weeks before the Chicago I-Hobby show that mentioned the new gear before Bachmann had actually announced what they were doing. After extensive searching on the Bachmann board, it seems that the “Bach Man” answered every reference to these ads with the fact that the official announcement was forthcoming, and that as soon as he could post something, that he would do so, neither confirming or denying the reports that “Tsunami” or “Tsunami Technology” was to be used in the new locomotives. When the announcement finally appeared, it said the following:
"Author: the Bach-man (—.client.stsn.net)
Date: 10-19-06 23:45
Scale: General
Dear All,
Here are the sound announcements from the I Hobby Show. Before I list the specific models, here are the features:
*16-bit sound processor
*Several versions, each containing a unique suite of sounds, including whistles, bells, chuffs, and much more
*Complete DCC functions
*Automatic dual mode operation foe use on both DC and DCC layouts
*Short, extended, and advanced consisting addressing modes
*Paged, register, direct, and operations-mode programming
*Extensive range of CVs
Now, let me list the functions of the Tsunami decoder:
- Bell
- Long whistle blast
- Short whistle blast
- Blowdown
- Generator startup
- Water into tender
- Coal into tender
- On/off"
The rest of the posting went to detail which locomotives, in each scale (HO, On30, Large) would be offered with the new device pre-installed on them, among these were the first of the Three truck Shays. (for those of you who might be tempted to suggest I’m misrepresenting something here, this is the link: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/read.php?f=1&i=171136&t=171136 )
Notice that in the announcement above, it says “Now let me list the functions of the Tsunami decoder.” It goes on to list eight functions.
Here’s how Soundtraxx defines a Tsunami:
"Tsu ·na ·mi (tsoo-nä´-mç) n. A huge wave of sound caused by SoundTraxx’s newest and slightly unpronounceable product!
The Tsunami sound system is SoundTraxx’s new high-performance, onboard locomotive sound system. Like the DSD-150 it replaces, Tsunami integrates a full-featured sound system, four Hyperlight lighting effects, a motor controller and a DCC decoder into a single, integrated package and is compatible with the NMRA DCC standards and Recommended Practices. Unlike the DSD-150, the Tsunami sound system can also be used on ‘Analog’ layouts and controlled with a conventional power pack, though it really shines on DCC controlled layouts.
At Tsunami’s core is a true 16-bit Digital Signal Processor, or DSP, capable of executing over 120 million instructions per second. With this new level of performance, SoundTraxx was able to give Tsunami 14 functions, over 22 individual sounds, and 4 special effects including the ability to alter the exhaust sound automatically in response to changes in the engine load. The motor controller received numerous enhancements as well, including the use of high frequency PWM and load compensation. To keep the size down, only components available in highly miniaturized packages were selected for use in the Tsunami resulting in a form factor that measures almost 30% shorter and 50% thinner than the DSD-150.
(see: http://www.soundtraxx.com/products/dcc/tsunamidecoders.htm for source.)
Even if the length of this post hasn’t put you to sleep yet, you’ll see quickly by comparing the two above that they’re not the same… but BOTH ARE BEING CALLED “TSUNAMI.”
Imagine opening a bottle of Budweiser only to find it full of filtered water intended for the hurricane Katrina disaster area. On complaining to your retailer, you’re told that your beverage was “made with Anheuser Busch Technology” and that you should have been more careful in your selection of a beverage. And then you point out that you were told it was Budweiser when you bought it … and everyone gets angry with you for not paying better attention.
Whether it’s watered down beer, or watered down DCC technology, this isn’t going to be good for anyone. Just as the folks at Budweiser wouldn’t want their beer being confused with filtered water, the folks at Soundtraxx ought to be horrified that whatever this thing in the Shay is, that it’s being confused and described publicly as a Tsunami. The problem is further compounded by the installation issues, and an apparent lack of testing resulting in overvoltage problems, physical mounting problems, wire strain relief, and the lack of any available support, particularly for non DCC users who, without some research won’t know that while this sound system is supposed to be a great leap forward in technology, that without purchasing hundreds of dollars worth of equipment that something as simple as changing the volume is impossible!
There are knowledgable people here who have tried to investigate exactly what this device is, what it does, how to make it work, and how to correct its inherent problems, many of which have been detailed in this thread. They have done so in the face of a wall of “no comment” from the manufacturers of the locomotive, and the manufacturer of the decoder/sound unit. They have reported their findings, and what remedies they have been able to discover thus far in the public domain, and without charge, at their own expense, and for the betterment of the hobby.
Some folks, even on this thread have immediately shouted “FOUL” as loudly as they can. If I understand correctly, they imply that there is nothing wrong with the system, and it works exactly as it was designed to. Any misunderstanding on the part of the consumer is entirely their own fault, and they should have been better educated before they made their selection, even if, previously, they had nothing to do with anything related to DCC. This smacks of a hidden “agenda” of some kind, and before ANY such people start suggesting a conflict of interest on the part of the folks who are trying to help, they might seriously consider if they’d stand up to their own scrutiny. To my knowledge, none of the folks who have posted any solutions here have families suported by the manufacture, sale, or distribution of any DCC products, nor have they been part of any national organization or standards forming committes to promote or standardize its use in the hobby.
While there is a following for DCC in large scale, the majority of us use something else to power and control our trains, and as for me I plan to continue with what I have. I’m shocked that Sierra, which works well with what many of us use, either track or battery power, is being officially declared DEAD here … and am tempted to ask Soundtraxx myself how much longer before the line is to be discontinued, as I have some engines that still need to be equipped with a sound system that has chuff contacts, a volume control, and is field programmable without installing an entirely new and different power and control system. If the new device were really a Tsunami, and not some watered down knockoff with the Tsunami name plastered on it, I might be tempted… but in the face of being told that filtered water is beer, and that I have no right to question anything, and that everything I’ve spent years building is now so old and outdated as to be “Dead” technology, and that to have any hope of a model railroad in the future I need to subscribe to something new, expensive, and altogether different from what I’ve learned, I’m tempted to dig in my feet just a bit and resist “Progress.”
