I see the new crop of Cab Forwards are in from IM. Has anyone received one of the sound versions? How does it sound, I'm still on the fence about buying one since I still need an AC-11 in my fleet.
Ours arrived Tuesday at the shop. I picked up an AC-10 and so far I love it. I had an AC-12 from the first round which was a POS. It required half throttle on DC to even start runnning, then it was stiff and jerky. The eccentric rod broke on it the second day of testing and it went back to IM. I waited for this run before trying again and I am very happy. The sound is good. It needs a little fine tuning to get a slightly better chuff match and the chuff volume is a little soft compared to all the other sounds. Nothing some time programming won't fix.
It's good to hear the new batch is worth it. I have one from the first run and it runs OK, I had to swap out the traction tire drivers on the rear engine to get better traction. Now to talk my wife into letting me get one.
What's the top speed like. The problem I had with the first run was that even at full throttle (with DCC) the top speed was like 50mph. It took forever to get around our NTrak layout and was so slow it was boring to watch...yes, I said a cab forward was boring to watch. Top speed needed to be at least 75mph and the sound needed to be A LOT louder.
Two more quick questions: What's the pulling power like? Minimum radius curve it'll handle? Looking at getting one now, for Christmas. One of the few unusual, non Rio Grande units I'll have! And only because it's odd, and neat!
These are the first ones with factory sound so I have no clue what the one you watched had in it. I'm guessing they had the Digitrax SDN144 decoder as that was the suggested decoder from IM and there was a sound file out there for it. That decoder does seem to slow things down a bit. That said, my first one was very sluggish and seemed like it needed full throttle to really move. This one is nothing like that but it is geared for scale speed. Keep in mind a mallet was not a speed demon. It took a lot of fire and water to keep feeding all those cylinders. I'm not sure what the official top speed is on a cab forward but this feels about right at wide open. Sound is provided by Soundtraxx and volume is good. The only sound lacking in volume is the whistle. I haven't tweeked yet to see if there is room for improvement. Haven't testing pulling power yet, still breaking it in. My test loop is a 11 1/4" R Kato Unitrak loop and that is pushing it for this loco. I would suggest a minimum of 12" or larger if possible.
What are the options for adding sound to one of the earlier runs? I see Tony's mention of the Digitrax SDN144 but are there a few other options? Is the decoder IM uses for this new run available for purchase either from them or retail?
The easiest solution is the Soundtraxx Micro Tsunami 826005 - Southern Pacific Cab Forward. It comes with all the proper sounds set up already. I haven't put my on Decoder Pro yet to see if that is what IM used or it is a stripped down version of the Micro Tsunami. There is a specific spot on Soundtraxx's site for theCV's and settings for the IM cab forward so it may be the above decoder without all the other options for sound included.
I put a micro Tsunami into my first run AC12. IMHO, the Soundtraxx sound decoder is the best as far as the sound goes. I feel that the Tsunami is a bit short of best as far as motor control goes. I did not place another brand decoder in tender with the Tsunami for motor control as some guys do. I just flow with the short comings. Just my opinion. Carl
Guess I'll find out more soon. Placing an order for the 4294 tomorrow morning, when I get home from work. A quick test run on my little layout, IF it'll handle an 11" curve. Since that's currently all the room I have. I'd like to build something a bit larger than 2x4 foot. But, don't have the space downstairs for anything larger. Not sure if I can cram an HCD downstairs or not. Oh well.....Train shows maybe. And display the rest of the time.
Mine emits a strange high pitched whine when it's just sitting there with the speaker on (not talking about the intermittant "pshew pshew" sounds). Is that normal? I see they still haven't done anything about the "Code 55 wheel rumble" issue. Oh well. -Mark
I believe the high pitched sound you are hearing is the whine the turbo-generator makes while running.
My replacement 4294 showed in the mail today. 1st one had some running issues. Anyways, this new one runs extremely slow even on full throttle (running DC right now) and the front truck likes to come off of the track (alot). Is the slow running thing new here and is there any way to remedy the front truck issue? My 1st run cab fwd runs extremely well (faster) and the front truck does not derail. Thanks.
You say you're running DC, does that mean yours is not one of the sound-equipped versions? What kind of track do you have? Have you checked the pilot truck wheels for gauge and to see if they're properly mounted in the truck? Does it derail in one place more than others (curves, turnouts, grades)? -Mark
It is not DCC as of yet. It will be as I have a TCS decoder to install in it. I am running on KATO track (largest outside curve available) and I checked the front wheels and they were within gauge. What seems to be causing the problem in the curves is the spring which is supposed to keep the front truck down. It rides up on the rail and then pops it down and off. Guess I could remove the spring and see if that helps.
Got off the phone about 15 minutes ago. Have my DCC/Sound cab forward ordered from a TB advertiser. I could have mine by Saturday, or Monday. Will be able to test mine out then. And, if it arrive Saturday, I'll have something new to take to the Dr on Monday, when I go in for another blood test! Usually have something to show, as the Dr expresses his interest in the train collection whenever I see him! Strange as it may be. Anyway, mines a comin'!
Oh right, I forgot to mention checking the spring. Also make sure they didn't forget to put the little washer between the spring and the truck. -Mark
