Large Scale Central

New Soundtraxx Decoders

Electronics Power and Sound
#1

I didnt see any mention of this on the site, Soundtraxx is releasing a few new budget Econami™ Digital Sound Decoders, one of them is able to handle up to 4 AMPS which could be usful for many large scale locomotives.

ECO-400

This 4-amp, universal-style digital sound decoder is suitable for a variety of scales, and includes a connector to easily add a CurrentKeeper (P.N. 810140) to maintain performance over dirty track and switches.

Dimensions: 69 x 30.5 x 14mm
Max. Motor Stall Current: 4A
Function Outputs: 6
Max. Function Current: 100mA (each output)
Audio Amplifier: 3W, 8-Ohm Load
DCC Track Voltage: 10V – 26V
#2

Note the 4 amps is max stall, which means that the continuous is probable no more than 3 amps and probably less, like 2…

I suspect this is not enough for general use on G scale.

Greg

#3

Greg, it would depend on the locomotive. Some of mine draw an amp going up the grade, some draw close to 2. But then I don’t run them big diesels neither.

#4

Judging from the railroads on tour this year during the national convention, the vast majority of the ones I saw ran trains led by one loco with 6 - 10 cars in tow. That’s typically the kind of train I run on my line. I think even if the “continuous” rating is half of its maximum, this decoder would be very well suited for those environments. Based on battery life, my trains average an amp or less during regular running. (2200mAh battery, 2 - 4 hour run times per charge.)

My only “concern” with the specs for this decoder lies in the lack of an external chuff trigger. I’m old fashioned, I guess. I’ve used older decoders with this technology, and they’ve been woefully short of accurate. Folks who have used newer, “latest generation” versions of this technology on other brands say the technology is now pretty good. Hopefully this one falls into that camp.

I like having all the available steam or diesel sounds loaded onto the board, so there’s no need to sort through a dozen or so different boards to hope you get one that sounds like what you want. That, and if you find you don’t like a specific sound (as is often the case when you hear the sounds through the loco’s speakers as opposed to your computer’s speakers), you can try other sounds simply by changing the CVs–no need to swap out the board or reprogram it.

If nothing else, the lower price will maybe convince more folks to dip their toes into the DCC pool. We had a half-dozen or more track-powered DCC railroads on tour this year, and when you factor in those using Airwire, that number grows substantially. This decoder would be a great one to pair with Airwire’s “Convertr” or Tam Valley Depot’s receiver.

Later,

K

#5

Kevin Strong said:

This decoder would be a great one to pair with Airwire’s “Convertr” or Tam Valley Depot’s receiver.

Later,

K

Yes, I am aware I am reviving a thread that is a year old! :wink: but considering Kevin just reviewed this receiver, I believe the thread is worthy of revival. (Soundtraxx Econami decoder, ECO-400, review in the August 2016 issue of Garden Railways magazine)

Kevin,

thanks for the review! and the video, I enjoyed them both…I have a question about your comment above…you said "This decoder would be a great one to pair with Airwire’s “Convertr”…I thought the Soundtraxx board was a reciever and sound board in one unit? So why is the “Convertr” necessary then? in my mind, that would make two recievers…obviously im missing something! :wink: but I dont know what im missing…

I would like to try (starting with owning nothing)

  1. Airwire T5000 throttle
  2. Soundtraxx Econami decoder ECO-400
  3. Battery
  4. speaker
  5. charger

With a Bachmann “Connie”…I assumed that would be everything I would need to get running…am I wrong?

thanks,

Scot

#6

When I read the spec, I did not see all the ratings such a is the 4 amps combined motor/light/sound? what is the max for surge voltage and current? These are important specs for me. It may be confusing for some, but look at the Zimo decoder specs and there is a lot of meaningful info there.

I run 24 volts on my track (power source input is 30 volts like Gregs) and a 26 volt decoder is not what I would use. My decoders are 30 volts with a 35 volt surge spec.

#7

Scott, you would need the converter if you wanted your locomotive to be wireless, the soundtraxx board by itself would\could be used by track powered DCC. The Converter adds the wireless component. So in your example above, you would need the converter.

  1. Airwire T5000 throttle
  2. Soundtraxx Econami decoder ECO-400
  3. Battery
  4. speaker
  5. charger

6. Converter

#8

Ah! thanks Dave, that makes sense now…

the “Convertr” acts as the “command station”…got it!

thanks for the explanation…

Scot

#9

The convertr is only 2 amps for dcc, I venture to guess that this is for a single motor engine. The convertx is for larger engines/dual motors.

Remember that a 4 amp DCC decoder will pulse 4 amps to get a motor to start turning. This could overload a 2 amp unit.

Of course the average would be much less than 4 amps but what is the tolerance of the driver IC and circuits.

#10

Note

I saw a spec where the convertr is 2.3 amps and the addendum states 2.5 amps but a start up high current can create a shutdown and the fix is to add a resistor in series from the output to the decoder. Shutdown recovery is to do a powerdown to reset the convertr.

#11

Dan Pierce said:

The convertr is only 2 amps for dcc, I venture to guess that this is for a single motor engine. The convertx is for larger engines/dual motors.

Remember that a 4 amp DCC decoder will pulse 4 amps to get a motor to start turning. This could overload a 2 amp unit.

Of course the average would be much less than 4 amps but what is the tolerance of the driver IC and circuits.

Thanks for the additional info Dan…

I cant find (on-line) any product called the Airwire “convertx”…do you have a model number?

Here is what im planning to do:

I want to build a battery car, that can be used with multiple locomotives, my steam locomotives…my steam roster consists of:

One Bachmann 2-8-0 “connie”
Two Bachmann spectrum moguls.
Three Bachmann 4-6-0 “Annie” Big Haulers

The one power car will be used to power any one of the six locomotives, only one at a time…the current configuration (subject to change! :wink: is:

  1. Airwire T5000 throttle
  2. battery charger

Inside the trailing battery car:
3. Soundtraxx Econami decoder ECO-400
4. Battery
5. Airwire “Convertr” (that is the correct spelling)

either also in the car, or in the locomotive tender:
6. speaker

I haven’t decided yet if there will be one speaker in the power car, or if I will mount an individual speaker in each tender…either way, the system will be the same, only the wiring harness between the car and the tender will be different. So based on those locomotives will the “convertr” be ok? or should I look for this more robust “convertx”?

thanks,

Scot

#12

If I was building a battery/trailing car, I surely would not make it marginal for certain locos. Make it robust. After all you are only making one.

Cutting corners will affect all your locos, so the logic should be pretty clear.

Put the speaker in the loco, sound coming from the tender is unrealistic enough, it should be coming from the stack, further back from a box car. I recommend this because most locos come with a speaker already.

Greg

#13

thanks Greg, I get your point, and its a good point…I will definately keep it in mind.

but is it actually marginal? I dont yet know if it is or isnt…this battery car will only be used for the steamers i listed, and any future locos of the same catagory, (perhaps an LGB mogul, etc.) there will be a different power solution for the diesels, optomized for them…but the power car im talking about now will only be used for single- motor steam locos…zero grades, 12 foot diameter curves, six to eight cars.

thanks,

scot

#14

Hey everyone, im going to give this thread a bump, because there is still one question unresolved about a potential method of using this Soundtraxx decoder…I’ll put the relevant info back in this post for easy referece…I am considering using:

  1. Airwire T5000 throttle
  2. battery charger

Inside the trailing battery car:
3. Soundtraxx Econami decoder ECO-400
4. Battery
5. Airwire “Convertr” (that is the correct spelling)

either also in the car, or in the locomotive tender:
6. speaker

With single-motor Bachmann steam locomotives: Connie, Spectrum mogul, Annie, etc. zero grades, 12 foot diameter curves, six to eight cars.

There has been some uncertaintly about the useability of the Airwire “Convertr” with this setup…it might or might not be able to handle the load…So, can anyone confirm if the Airwire “Convertr” is ok to use or not in this scenario?

thanks,

Scot

#15

I’ve not used just the Convertr on anything larger than a small 0-4-0 style locomotive (in which it works beautifully!). The Convertr is rated at 2.5 amps continuous, 16 amps (!) peak. With what you’re looking to do, I’d say you’re not going to tax the system. If you’re concerned about current draw through the Convertr, you can pair the Convertr with a Tam Valley Depot Booster. That will give you 3 amps continuous, 5 amps peak output to the decoder. (The booster has a circuit breaker that trips at 5.6 amps. I fuse all my installations at 5 amps as a matter of practice.) Early documentation on the Convertr didn’t list the 16 amp peak capacity, so I tended to err on the conservative side pairing it with the booster (or using Tam Valley’s DRS1 Hi-Power receiver). Knowing that now, I’d be more comfortable going with just the Convertr on installs such as you’re looking to do.

The Tam Valley DRS1 receiver gives you the same 3 amp continuous/5 amp peak that the Convertr/Booster would give you, for the same money as just the Convertr. (I just looked–they’re now selling for $89.95–cheaper than the Convertr!) The drawback to the DRS1 is that it’s limited to Airwire channel 16.

I’ve put the Convertr or Tam Valley Depot boards in 8 or 9 locos at this point, driving Tsunami, Econami, QSI, TCS, Massoth (LGB) and Zimo decoders. I’ve been very happy with how they work. (The K-27 in the video has the Tam Valley Depot board driving the Econami.)

One other option to think about… In one install I did for a friend, I put the battery, Convertr, and booster in the box car, and ran the output of the booster forward to the locomotive. He’s got a fleet of DCC-equipped LGB locos. On the locos, all I have to do is remove the track pick-ups and instead run a pigtail out the back of the loco to the box car. All he’s got to do is program the Convertr to the address of the locomotive (cab number), plug into the locomotive, and he’s off and running using the decoder already installed in the loco. I know you don’t have decoders in each of your locos, but it’s an arrangement to think about down the road.

One other thought. Since you’re using one decoder for multiple locomotives, you may want to consider the TCS WowSound decoder. They’re releasing a 5-amp version “shortly,” but I really like the 1.5-amp version I have in my 0-4-0. The advantage of this board is that it lets you save multiple presets on the board for different locomotives. I don’t remember if the presets cover motor and sound controls or just sound, but you can call up a given preset for each locomotive so not all locos sound the same. (With the Econami, you can also easily change the whistle and bell sounds, so it’s similar.)

Later,

K

#16

thanks Kevin! that all sounds good…I will do some research on those other options you listed…

thanks for the info!

Scot

#17

Small clarification on the “convrtr”, the 16 amps is surge, normally a shorter time than peak, it’s to allow charging the keep alive caps in the DCC decoder.

So, I would stick to the 2.5 amp advertised rating, although I heard it was closer to 2 amps continuous.

Greg