# Thomas the train DCC decoder from Bachmann



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I see bachmann sells 2 locos with DCC and specialized sounds, plus a DC/DCC sound decoder separately.

Has anyone run one of these locos under DCC or tested the DCC decoder? Wondering if they will work on 24v systems, and who made the sound system.

Greg


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Bachmann usually partners with Soundtraxx and use an OEM Tsunami decoder. No chuff cam wire on the OEM's I've noticed.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yeah, you are correct Dwight, just found the manual for the separate decoder, it is made by Soundtraxx as you say. Going to try to get one, it's probably an econami, although I hear the econami is going to be short lived, and replaced by the Tsunami II

OK, no chuff inputs, but Bachmann is pretty famous for having "chuff cams" that make grown men cry.

Interestingly it has a provision for an external volume pot, that works in DC and DCC.... should be a hit with kids


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

On some of the newer On30 Bachmann locos - the Heisler, the new Climax, and the new updated DCC Mogul, Bachmann has a decoder preinstalled which has a connector for the sound board (I believe it's a 22 pin connector but don't quote me). The sound board is another $129 list but around $75.00 street price. These are obviously OEM boards.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Greg Elmassian said:


> ... I hear the econami is going to be short lived, and replaced by the Tsunami II


I know that's the case with the 4-amp boards. Soundtraxx told me the price difference between the two product lines on that specific board was so minimal that it made no sense to continue to offer the Econami. They indicated they did plan on keeping the small scale Econamis around, but I'd imagine that would be open to discussion with a few years' of comparative sales trends to look at. I think it will come down to the number of folks looking for basic sounds vs. power users. 

Later,

K


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I wonder what the delta in engineering is, i.e. the money "lost" making the LS Econami and then abandoning it for the Tsunami II.

Back to the topic, just ordered one of the Bachmann decoders from RLD, will check it out and probably do a video on the sounds.

Looks like Bachmann does not sell Thomas sets with the decoder in the loco, but you can buy Thomas and Percy with the decoder installed.

Anyway, will have some fun soon, this one will go into an Emily, which may be modified to match the prototype.

Greg


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I think the boards are identical. At least nothing jumped out at me as being different when I compared my Econami to my Tsunami2 board. The technical specs are identical. Functionally, the only differences between the two lines is the number of sounds you have and various features like reverb, load-based variable exhaust, different kinds of prototypical braking, etc. That's all software-based. I'd imagine they're not wasting a whole lot of R&D effort by concentrating on one line. (There's part of me that wonders if the "Econami" was really introduced as a test bed for the new platform while they fine-tuned the software for the Tsunami2, but that's pure speculation on my part.) 

Later,

K


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, one thing is for sure, the Tsunami II is more expensive, guess you are paying for the sounds, if the hardware is about identical.

The poor old standard Tsunami is almost half the cost.

Greg - 348


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

OK, I now have one of these decoders, and have a page showing the package, the description, the decoder front and back, and a link where you can get the manual to see what it does.

I'll try installing this into a Little Hauler to test and record the different sounds.

https://elmassian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=742&Itemid=1200

Greg


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## Blrmkr8609 (Feb 13, 2018)

I do not see any Thomas decoders available for HO scale. I realize that this is for large-scale, but would it be possible to locate this decoder in a car (Annie) behind Thomas and run wires up to Thomas and also have the sound work?

Thanks!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I neglected to measure the board, it would probably fit diagonally in a car.

Greg


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## Blrmkr8609 (Feb 13, 2018)

Would the difference in voltage of HO scale be an issue? Thanks!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

So, we are in the DCC forum. You are running DCC right? What is your DCC track voltage?


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## Blrmkr8609 (Feb 13, 2018)

I am in the planning stages for my track and cars now. I thought that the decoder would work but then also read somewhere that the voltage was higher for the larger scales. But that is probably only for DC operation? I will plan to try this decoder in the ho scale when I get all of the track put together.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

So, you are or are not going to run DCC?

I would expect you will be fine on HO track voltages, like 16v.

If I get a chance, I might be able to test it, but you are not exactly replying to the questions I'm asking.

Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Zimo for one has HO decoders with Large scale voltage ratings of 30 volts. these will work on DC and DCC.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Dan, I think the point here is the specific sounds for Thomas the train and the other "members"...

see post #9, after the thread was re-railed... note also the link to the manual.

Greg


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

Dumb question. How does a sound card time Cuff's without a trigger?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Chuffs... ok, so some do an "auto chuff", and based on the sophistication of the circuit it's done by voltage, dcc speed step, or actual motor rpm divided by the gear ratio.

On a good decoder it can be really accurate, and it's nice not to maintain a "Chuff" switch...

Greg


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