Author Topic: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder  (Read 1679 times)

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Paradise275

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ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« on: May 21, 2018, 11:40:12 AM »
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Is this a current decoder and does it have full throttle availability?
Also, is the sound file for the N&W 611 available yet? I want the decoder for an N scale Bachmann loco.

Rick

Steveruger45

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2018, 01:31:00 PM »
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Hi
The 73800 is a current decoder.  As far as your sound file goes you would have to check ESU website under downloads - sound files and do a quick search.  FT ability is related to the sound file and is stated if so.  BTW HO scale and N scale sound files can be used as far as I can remember
« Last Edit: May 21, 2018, 01:33:46 PM by Steveruger45 »
Steve

RBrodzinsky

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2018, 02:13:05 PM »
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There is no file posted for the N&W #611 4-8-4. Can't recall, did Matt from ESU say they were recording one?  There is the GS-4 file, and an early Berkshire 4-8-4, both Full Throttle; plus the standard sounds for one in the Heavy Steam collection (sort of FT).  But, of course, that is the beauty of the ESU decoders, you can use one sound project to get started, and then update later.
Rick Brodzinsky
Chief Engineer - JACALAR Railroad
Silicon Valley FreeMo-N

jdcolombo

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2018, 02:31:47 PM »
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Is this a current decoder and does it have full throttle availability?
Also, is the sound file for the N&W 611 available yet? I want the decoder for an N scale Bachmann loco.

Rick

As Steve pointed out, it's the sound file, not the decoder, that determines whether you have Full Throttle capability (and remember that Full Throttle for steam is a bit different from FT for diesels - FT for steam varies the loudness of the chuffs, and you can set it up as an "offset" - that is, you can set up FT on steam files so that when you press the FT key, the chuffs become noticeably louder and more "labored," but you still control the engine speed with the throttle knob).

The only 4-8-4 sound files available right now with the FT feature are the Southern Pacific GS4 file and the UP FEF file.  As Rick noted, there is not currently a sound file specifically for the N&W J.  The chuff sounds, bell, etc. in the UP or SP files would be fine (the J was a super-power 4-8-4 design, so the chuffs are pretty much the same for all these), but what you REALLY need is that low, lonesome whistle that characterized the J class.  The UP Hancock single chime is close, though, and until ESU gets a file specifically for the J, I'd use the UP844 file.

ESU steam sound files available here:

http://projects.esu.eu/projectoverviews/2?page=1&count=10&order=date&type=steam&cat=2

John C.

RBrodzinsky

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2018, 03:23:45 PM »
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How did I forget the UP FEF file?  :facepalm:
Rick Brodzinsky
Chief Engineer - JACALAR Railroad
Silicon Valley FreeMo-N

jdcolombo

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2018, 04:27:38 PM »
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How did I forget the UP FEF file?  :facepalm:

It's because we think of them by name, not wheel arrangement.  It's the "844" or FEF, and even though "FEF" stands for "4-8-4," we just don't focus on the wheel arrangement.  When someone talks about the "J," I never think about the wheel arrangement - I see the streamlined nose and tuscan maroon stripe in my brain, not the wheels.  It always takes me a few seconds to remember the J was a 4-8-4!

John C.

Paradise275

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2018, 09:21:55 PM »
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Thanks for the info about the decoder and FT being related to the sound file.
I talked to the ESU guys in February and they said the 611 sound file would be available in March.
I couldn't find it on their site.
I will send them an e-mail to find out what happened to it.
As I understand it, they did record the actual locomotive.

Rick

RBrodzinsky

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2018, 11:39:13 PM »
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My bet - it is stuck with the programmer in Germany. We know Matt has been very busy recording lots of locos, and not all the recordings he did last year have been released yet.
Rick Brodzinsky
Chief Engineer - JACALAR Railroad
Silicon Valley FreeMo-N

jdcolombo

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Re: ESU Loksound 73800 Micro decoder
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2018, 09:42:57 AM »
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My bet - it is stuck with the programmer in Germany. We know Matt has been very busy recording lots of locos, and not all the recordings he did last year have been released yet.

Agree.  He recorded Milwaukee 261 (another super-power 4-8-4) over a year ago and still no sound file for that one.   ESU needs to hire a couple of additional sound programmers.  Sound editing alone is time-consuming; taking the edited bits and reassembling them into a working sound file for an ESU decoder is an order of magnitude more difficult.  There's a lot of stuff in the pipeline that US prototype modelers need, however, and it would be nice if ESU could get these files out in a reasonable amount of time.

John C.