I have a 3-truck Shay that I bought a couple years ago with factory installed DCC/sound. I run a LGB central station type III with both LGB and Massoth wireless throttles. To be able to run the shay at all I had to lower the voltage to below 20 v. because of the Tsunami’s cutoff limit. In order to avoid lowering the voltage to my other engines, I installed bridge rectifiers in the track pickup wires. Three trucks=six wires=six rectifiers? WRONG! It took two rectifiers, wired in series to lower the voltage enough. So much for the warranty. I’ve had trouble with the pick-up rollers so I will replace them with LGB units. I’ve had bad luck with power transfer from the front truck and to the motor in the front truck. I’ve replaced the small, round pcb where the truck mounts to the chassis once and I believe it needs it again, so I’m just going to hardwire all three trucks to eliminate that problem. I plan to remove the sound system and replace it with a Phoenix system. I would like some suggestions as to what decoder to use, preferably one with screw terminals.
Ben,
I have exactly the same LGB DCC system with the Massoth wireless throttle. I bought my Three truck Shay without sound or decoder. I installed the Phoenix PB8 sound with the Digitrax 583S decoder. This set-up has worked seamlessly and very reliably. Phoenix is a great system, be sure to get the Computer interface. You can then tweak all of the sounds to you personal preference. You can even change the type of loco on the Phoenix card. The digitrax decoder will more that handle the Shays power needs.
Welcome Ben!
Ben don’t feel bad, your experience is pretty much the norm. Many people hardwire the trucks, good idea.
I echo Dan’s suggestion, though I would also consider an all in one decoder (motor and sound)… The Zimo 695 has 8 watts (I believe), and all the motor sounds are tied to the load on the loco, so you get the heavy load and the drifting effects only possible when the motor decoder is “mentally connected” to the sound decoder.
The QSI, if you can find one, does the same job, at a bit less money.
Regards, Greg
Why not install a Zimo decoder/sound decoder? The MX695 has 5 amp no heat sink rating with 13 watts audio power to 4 ohm speaker. Also, has smoke heater element control and cost is under $200.00
Plus can be set up for MTS 14 speed step if needed, serial or parallel.
Thanks for the info and support/motivation, guys. At least now I know I’m not the only one experiencing problems with the Shay.
Welcome Aboard, Ben.
My two truck Shay runs great.
After I bought it from Greg I had battery put in along with Phoenix sound.
I’m happy to hear it’s running great for you Doug… you always worry that there could be a problem that you did not know about.
The all metal trucks are the key thing to have…
Regards, Greg
I had a few problems with pick up wires on my two truck, and did exactly the same thing: rewired it entirely. Not a fun project to be sure, but the end result is definitely worth it…