# New SoundTraxx DCC product announcement



## GrapevineFlyer (Sep 7, 2015)

SoundTraxx is unveiling a new DCC product on a facebook live stream on Tues Aug 2 10AM MST. A lot of buzz going on about it.









New Product Announcement


We are excited to announce a revolutionary new product and give a full demonstration of it on our Facebook channel (8/2/22)!




www.facebook.com


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

I wonder if it’s going to be a new uploadable decoder to compete with LokSound? 
Or a caboose sound decoder maybe?


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

I'm all ears...


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Well I dunno if it’s just me but the live feed never loads. 
I guess I’ll have to check youtube for it later.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

I think this works.



https://m.facebook.com/SoundTraxxDCC/posts/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0



I didn't watch all of it but it's tsunami2 + blue tooth which is fantastic!

Now besides control which is very good if it would also allows cv programming I'd say home run.


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## Raege (Jan 7, 2022)

I was a bit intimidated by setting cv’s to change sounds volumes etc so this Bluetooth interface is awesome. Will be very interested in making it part of future plans


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Someone else pointed it is iOS only at the moment. It was done in a partnership with another company called BlueRail which has a similar product although I'm not familiar with it directly. Anyway I think it's disappointing there's no android support. Also I would just ask these companies to publish the dang interface specs so you know the kiddies can play...!

But yeah overall, if you provide another interface "into" the decoder such as bluetooth or even a USB plug (which I think would be super cheap and easy)... then to me it should be pretty easy to provide for the setting of CVs outside of the DCC rail system and this would be welcome.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Ah. Well bluetooth will be great for many folks.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Not exactly clear on how it works. Does the Bluetooth control the loco or just the sound? How does it integrate into your existing control system? Can you use another controller as well or can it only be by Bluetooth on your phone?


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

Think of it like this. In the middle is the "sound and loco control". On one side if you will is the traditional dcc interface. And on the other side is Bluetooth interface. Well that's the way I think of it at least. But yeah the Bluetooth side give you total control.

So I put myself on both the soundtrack and bluerail mailing lists about this thing.

And even though I still want them to put that spec on GitHub ... And I understand the need to actually make money...

But even though I still want that I may get one anyway and suck it up and buy a cheap iPad if I can find it to give it a go, just to experiment with it.


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## Ron045 (Feb 11, 2016)

I have been running BlueRail track and battery power for a few years. BlueRail did not have sound. You could buy any sound decoder and add it. This was simply a marriage of BlueRail and Tsunami into one simple board that does it all. The app was upgraded, mostly behind the scenes. The look of the Bluenami app looks very similar to the BlueRail app. The wonderful thing they programed in was the ease for changing settings without having to do math to calculate your CV settings.

George at Soundtraxx did a pretty good job explaining it, but you can tell he seemed rushed in his live event. Here is the other side of the house, Dave at BlueRail explaining it.






Ron


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## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

GrapevineFlyer said:


> SoundTraxx is unveiling a new DCC product on a facebook live stream on Tues Aug 2 10AM MST. A lot of buzz going on about it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Its not really DCC, as the rails do not send codes to the card. Its the exact same technology as Bluerail and Bachmann EZ. Soundtraxx has integrated their sound with Bluerail. The best part is the CV read and write, now that is nice. All the card requires is track or battery power, and the free Bluerail Bluetooth app.


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## GrapevineFlyer (Sep 7, 2015)

DrawsOnCad said:


> Its not really DCC, as the rails do not send codes to the card. Its the exact same technology as Bluerail and Bachmann EZ. Soundtraxx has integrated their sound with Bluerail. The best part is the CV read and write, now that is nice. All the card requires is track or battery power, and the free Bluerail Bluetooth app.


The Blunami can either be controlled with through-the-rails DCC or via the Blunami app. The Bluerail app has been renamed Blunami (it is still compatible with Bachmann EZ App).


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## Ron045 (Feb 11, 2016)

DrawsOnCad said:


> Its not really DCC, as the rails do not send codes to the card.


So, what is it, Analog Command Control? A digital signal is being transmitted. Where is it written the signal needs to go through the rails?

Oh by the way... It does do DCC if you want it to. Try watching the video from Sountraxx posted in the very first entry above. I'll give you a hint... it's at the 11:00 mark.


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## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

Ron045 said:


> So, what is it, Analog Command Control? A digital signal is being transmitted. Where is it written the signal needs to go through the rails?
> 
> Oh by the way... It does do DCC if you want it to. Try watching the video from Sountraxx posted in the very first entry above. I'll give you a hint... it's at the 11:00 mark.


Ron, we are on the same team..
I was trying to help others understand that Bluerail, Bachmann EZ, and Blunami are all related.
Comms do not come from the track, and power does not have to either.
It is not the traditional DCC that people know, let me put it that way.


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## Ron045 (Feb 11, 2016)

DrawsOnCad said:


> Ron, we are on the same team..


Copy that. I'll tone it down. Sorry if I came across badly.


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## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

Ron045 said:


> Copy that. I'll tone it down. Sorry if I came across badly.


You did prompt me to look at this though...

C 1115
Transmission Packets sent to Digital Decoders should be repeated as frequently as possible, as a packet may have been lost due to noise or poor electrical conductivity between wheels and rails.

Digital Command Control
Communications Standards
All Scales


https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/s-92-2004-07.pdf



As a side note, you may be able to help me out, please have a look at some of my other posts about Wireless Throttle. I'm thinking about vintage trains, "replacing the traditional transformer" and driving the track directly with BLE. My day job is running a PCB manufacturer, and I have some ideas for home projects. I do not want to hijack this post by going off on a tangent. Cheers.


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## TimLong73 (16 d ago)

I just installed my first Blunami (HO EMD CBQ E5). I'm very happy with the app on my iPhone. I programed an aux light to be a MARS light and then labelled it MARS instead of leaving it as FX3.

The one issue I have is that once you start controlling a loco from the app, you can't go back to using a handheld such as a Cab06 unless you remove power from the loco. That might be a problem in an ops session when you do a handoff to another user.


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## TimLong73 (16 d ago)

Oh yeah, I forgot one other thing. I emailed Support at SoundTraxx and I got a reply from Norman. He confirmed that if you control the loco from the Blunami app, you'll need to remove power from the loco to use a different controller such as a Cab06.


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## Severn (May 13, 2016)

In a way I'm surprised it doesn't allow both... I mean the two "sides" are there all the time anyway...


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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Severn said:


> In a way I'm surprised it doesn't allow both... I mean the two "sides" are there all the time anyway...


MRCs loco genie allows command via aDCC controller or their wireless remote and I have used them both in the same session with no problem, so I am also surprised this isn't a feature for this system. 

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk


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