Great video! Here's hoping Soundtraxx or someone in the third party develops adapters to better suit faster decoder swaps- as we have with the Decoder Buddy in HO. I've got a few O pieces I'd like to have backups for in the event spare TMCC/Legacy boards fly even further off the marketplace. Also very based use of Hololive bgm remixes!
Fingers crossed that they take notice, and we see DCC become more mainstream in 3 rail O scale! Definitely a great upgrade candidate and my new go to for failed Legacy/TMCC boards. Super happy that someone noticed all the Hololive BGMs! Glad to see you're a fellow man of culture~!!
@@Audamus Absolutely! Haha I've been in the anime + Holo rabbit hole long enough to recognize a few memorable riffs 😂 Tried using some of the bossa-nova remixes in an O layout video I did for a friend, got copyright bonked but I left it up there! Keep up the good work!
Fantastic video Johnny! Beautifully filmed and an awesome topic. DCC truely is the future for customization in 3-Rail O and you are an excellent champion of the concept!
Johnny, This goes without saying this is one of my favorite videos you've done to date! Fantastic visuals and most importantly a break through topic for our industry! This is the most excited I've been for the hobbies future in years! Thank you and Sid for discovering this tech! Soundtraxx's has my full support and approval going forward! Keep it coming!!
Another huge benefit to Blunami is that you can run an outdoor layout DEAD RAIL with a battery car (or battery in tender). No more track cleaning, no proprietary radio system.
This needs to happen to help break up the Duo-opoly of Lionel & MTH’s systems. Are they good? Yes! But I am very bitter that Lionel abandoned the Cab2, and keeps delaying the base3. Not being able to even purchase a remote control for your trains for a year+ is a disservice to the customer. Anyway, let’s standardize on DCC!
GREAT presentation video. I was one of those who feared DCC because of CV codes. But my nephew got into HO and was showing me how DCC is easy and the CV codes are really not that bad as long as you have the CV guide. I always wondered how long it would take DCC to enter three rail market because DCC uses DC current and O Gauge AC current. I learned that DCC is just a different language of talking to trains over Legacy or DCS to put it simple. I definitely like the Blunami idea. I have to admit at first I thought Lionel putting blue tooth into locomotives was a waste. However I got hooked on blue tooth when I started to run on club layouts. It was easy, just put the train on the track and go with your phone. I have a question maybe you or Sid could answer. Can Blunami be used to create a two or three powered locomotive consist? You can't do this with Lionel blue tooth. If O Gauge went to DCC we wouldn't have to worry about people asking $2K for the 990 remote or DCS controllers.
Hey thanks so much for the kind words! Blunami puts Lionchief to shame in terms of app and bluetooth, tho to be fair they are on two completely different levels in terms of complexity. Lionchief is bare bones control while Blunami is the full-blown system. To answer your question Yes you can do multi engine lash ups tho this is limited to the IOS version of the app at this current time. There are plans to bring it to the Andriod app in a future update and judging by how fast Soundtraxx is making progress it shouldn't be much longer. The level of control you get over lash ups is crazy! There is also options for multi train control so you aren't just limited to running one train at a time while in the app. and can control a few engines at a time from one screen. Blunami really bring a lot to the table. Def recommend the video I linked in the description as SoundTraxx goes over a lot of frequently asked questions about Blunami. Thanks for watching~!!
@Audamus wow, thanks for the reply. Sounds like a amazing future alternative. Especially if you can no longer get Lionel boards in the future. I do like the Blunami option over the ERR. I like Android devices so hopefully Blunami keeps investing technology that's compatible with that system.
I have thought about dcc as a three rail system but it's for HO. Well this is what I want. I like the idea and can see this going somewhere! Slap some Lionel features on that thing and make it like 500 bucks.... best seller of the year! Awesome video!
As a guy who regularly buys Visionline, I’d pay a grand for a Visionline style remote with sliders and buttons… whoever makes it. Tie in with the phone as you’ve noted here but we gotta have buttons.
Love your enthusiasm, Love the idea of putting heat on Lionel to be better. Love the customization. Hate that it seems to be run on a smartphone. YUK. We need a hardware remote, a new one, not the ancient Cab1L.
Nice job bro. I’ve actually been working on one of these conversions for several months now (converting an old Williams brass K4 to bluenami). It’s temporarily on hold due to having to re-motor the engine due to the old one drawing a metric crap ton of current (more than the bluenami is rated for)
You kinda answered my question as I have tons of Williams engines that I would like attempt a conversation. Have no Williams Brass but have Bachmann and older pre Bachmann Williams especially in the older red boxes.
You could also run your modern O scale 3 rail trains on DC, since the motors are all DC anyway! You could also run a battery pack with the Blunami system, run it deadrail style without ever pulling power from the track
What a fantastic review and the footage at the end is really the cherry on top for enthusiasts like me. My son and I have actually just rewatched the last half just to get more glimpses of the sights and sounds of your amazing layout. Are these sounds from the new system?
Hey thanks so much for checking out my video!! I'm so glad you and your son enjoyed it~!! All the sounds featured in the running session are all from the Blunami decoders, the amount of variety and fun sounds that come with this system are amazing!
From what I heard, in "ye olden days", TMCC was developed due to DCC being unreliable in the electrically rough-and-tumble world of 3-rail layouts of the time, what with open-frame AC motors, solenoid-operated accessories and the like. All kinds of electrical noise, spikes and surges played havoc with DCC signalling. Yes, Lionel did eventually offer to license TMCC to other companies, but (incoming conjecture) the idea of them licensing TMCC to their biggest competitor (MTH) was probably a non-starter. Add to that the problem of a TMCC licensee being captive to whatever sound sets Lionel chose to make for TMCC (for example, my 3rd Rail Electroliner and NYC T3 electric both have TMCC diesel sounds). I could see MTH at the time producing a bunch of locos that Lionel didn't and not wanting to be beholden to Lionel, went it's own way so far as sound+command control. I see it less as monopoly-induced resistance to change (even as much as it looks that way) so much as unique circumstances of the 3-rail world limiting everyone's options at the time (mid-late 1990's) and the ramifications of years later attempting to switch to DCC after large numbers of their customer base had accumulated sizable fleets of locomotives using their respective systems (not to mention the R&D money that went into developing them). Also, until the recent advent of Bluetooth-controlled DCC, one would've had to contend with on-track DCC signalling being incompatible with TMCC/Legacy and DCS signals if you wanted to add it to an existing setup. By the way, at 11:20 , are those Lima British Rail Mark-1 coaches? and if so: (1) how long did you have to search to find them, and (2) I've seen these equipped with Rivarossi-style hook couplers, and became aware that AHM had made retrofit kits to change the hook couplers to an 1970's Atlas-style dummy coupler that mates with 3-rail O couplers. I found an Ebay seller that still carries them and bought a bunch to retrofit my mini-collection of AHM (Rivarossi) freight cars.
Came here from Sid's video on the topic, and have also been watching the Soundtraxx videos on the topic. To me, this is a very welcome development in 3-rail O scale! (Also welcome - hey, there are young people doing O scale! 😂) There's one other issue I have with Legacy and DCS, and that is that upgrading an older loco. With Legacy is basically impossible as far as I can tell. MTH does make DCS upgrade kits available, but my experience with them was not good. (They're _very_ static sensitive, unlike DCC decoders, and I destroyed one despite having successfully hardwired a few dozen DCC locomotives! Had to buy another kit and pay a pro to install it. Ugh.) I do like physical remotes, and enjoy using both the DCS and Legacy ones. (Quillable whistles FTW!) However, the ability to add command control easily to my PS1 and Atlas 3R locomotives with DC motors is a game changer, and I'll be happy to use my phone/tablet to control them. I've got a PS1 UP turbine that I'm dying to run with command control! From what I can hear, the sounds with Blunami really are better than what Lionel and MTH offer. Congratulations to you and the community for sorting this all out and giving us some options in what has until now been a closed market!
Fantastic video Johnny, its nice there is a universal system like HO now being implemented in 3 Rail O gauge, as nice as lionel and MTH systems are, it is sometimes annoying they are proprietary. I'm planning an install myself 😊
Wow! Beautiful train! Gorgeous layout! Amazing sounds! I have been waiting for this for about 12 years! I used to work at a model train store down here in Texas called the Collectible Caboose and got to play with the NCE DCC system some. I knew it was just a matter of time before they would catch up to the O Scale 3 Rail world. Thank you for doing this great video Johnny! Thank you Sid for helping Johnny with this endeavor. I hope Lionel and MTH are listening because Soundtraxx is coming for them! - Ricky
Kick ass video Johnny, I have a question for you, Will this system work with conventional? That is all I have and it is the lionel transformer that came with the 0 27 polar express set.
As long as you have a constant 18 Volts of power and a smart phone it should work fine. All the command control aspects are self contained in the decoder and app so there's no need for additional hardware besides track power. Hope this helps~!!
Great job. I use Blunami in O also. I used a battery and go Deadrail. Then I do not have any issues running Blunami engines at the same time as DCS or Legacy. No bridge rectifier required since batteries are DC. Try one. You'll be hooked.
I’ve got a few engines I’d love to install this in. Looks to be the absolute easiest system to install and gives you so many custom options. And the best part is, it’s actually affordable
It's just a monopoly all controlled by Lionel not saying there isn't Atlas and MTH but they don't do anything on the scale that Lionel does because ever since Mike Wolf retired from MTH Lionel's prices have gotten out of hand Lionel was never cheap but these prices were seeing from Lionel now are the direct result of monopolistic practices and this is why prices on the second hand market have been getting and have gotten out of hand also because of Lionel's monopolistic practices because everybody has turned to the second hand market as a cheaper alternative which has resulted in sellers on the second hand market with crazy prices
Would this work if put into an original premiere ps1 challenger from the mid 90s? I really don’t want to get into the weeds with ps upgrades and cost. Or have to buy a new engine when it dies. Same goes for future models that are older
Do you have to have a wiring diagram I could use for a o Guage steam locomotive. I want to be able to use the smoke and market lights on the locomotive and tender.
Johnny! What an entertaining video! Thought you did a fantastic job covering Blunami and what it has to offer 3-railers. I'm a 72 YO model railroader. I've been into model railroading for a long time and have witnessed the implementation of digital controls over the years (sure beat track Blocks controlled by relays!). I have several "conventional" DC motor engines that i think would be good candidates for Blunami (I have upgrade engines before using MTH PS2/PS3 upgrade kits and ERR kits). Blunami looks like a slam dunk. Thanks again for the great video! Definitely gonna subscribe. BTW....Blunami discussions have been showing up on O Gauge Railroading's forum discussions. There is definitely a movement that's growing.
This was an excellent video! To be honest, one of my biggest issues with the O Gauge Market is how practically every manufacturer has their own form of command control; you can’t exactly run a Lionel Legacy engine on MTH’s DCS system. I hope with Blunami, we can finally get a system that can work across manufacturers.
Blunami is changing O Scale, both 2 & 3 rail. For years I dealt with cumbersome DCC stuff, no more. Blunami is easy & sounds are awesome. Enjoyed your nicely weathered trains and you’re layout. Nice see a 3R focus on one prototype.
Correct the track is still AC with this system. We used a bridge rectifier to convert it to DC before it goes to the decoder. Sid at Sid’s Trains just did an awesome video that explains the whole set up!
Appreciate the reply, thanks! Currently still running conventional, and I have a lot of older engines so I'd like to keep it all AC. Definitely will consider this system if some of my newer ones blow a board.
Is it just me or does your GS-4 whistle sound like the real deal? It’s probably my imagination. But If so-very impressive! Both Lionel and MTH should be watching this video of yours and start too get some inspiration from this. Well done
There is no where else for this to go but straight up to the top of upgrades! I want to upgrade an older Lionel AC-9 to Blunami simply for the superior sound system to lionel or mth. You've just made me SO much more excited for this, Johnny!
I am one of those people that you mentioned that like buttons and levers on a remote. This is one of the options out there for us battery powered operators.
They Johnny, great to see you back and that’s some great info/review, good job! Those sounds were amazing, very real sounding, on my end. It would be great to make this a standard on all model railroading, just my opinion but the costs… It would be great if you could get your signal lights to work with it too, ask Sid LOL. Ron
Hey thanks for the kind words! The value you get for blunami is insane!! In the current market ERR can cost around $400 in parts for a basic TMCC upgrade and that's not even factoring labor costs. Blunami is around $200 for the board and is on par for an MTH PS3 upgrade in terms of cost. Considering that PS3 boards are a bit challenging to find and supply can be unstable at times, it makes for a great alternative that won't break the bank. This is all speaking from an upgrade perspective of course~ I don't intend to convert my entire fleet to DCC anytime soon unless I want to see nothing but cobwebs in my wallet :) Thanks for watching for all these years, always happy to see your comments~!
Awesome overview, I've been waiting to learn more about this system! Very interested in this for some older Kline and Williams locos of mine! I would love to see a full install guide one day for this system in a 3 rail locomotive as their instructions seem vague at the moment.
Very cool but for me how often do you really use the sound. 90 percent of us just run the trains. I rather then build more Reliable engines. But very cool for those that would use it
Hey thanks for the comment! From my experience in the hobby and from viewing the current trends I can say with confidence that sound very much matters to the younger community when it comes to scale models. There's a real push for realism and for some, Lionel's sounds haven't been cutting it. Blunami is perfect for those who want to embrace that or to improve engines that don't run very well with stock electronics. My Mogul for example was an extremely poor running with EOB. Horrible motor whine, bad speed control, the list goes on and on. Blunami not only gave it better sounds but gave me amazing speed control on par with legacy! Sounds are a big draw for DCC but there's a lot going behind the scenes as well! It's all up to personal taste of course and everyone enjoys the hobby differently. Thanks for watching and nice to see a familiar face in the comments!
DCC is not new to the world of O scale in terms of availability, but my points are more so in terms of integration. Technically they all can work with the existing systems in a limit capacity. However, DCC causes audio interference with Lionel Legacy/TMCC, and some older components from those systems could be damaged by it. For those reasons and the issue of integration into a layout with lots of traditionally AC powered objects, it means DCC integration into an originally AC powered layout is not normal in 3 rail O scale. It is possible but would require more effort than it's worth and would require folks to sacrifice a lot of aspects of Legacy and TMCC that make those systems fun to use. (considering Legacy is one of the main standards of command control in 3 rail O scale that's a huge no no) Blunami is huge because it can overcome that issue and give users a way to experience DCC in a 3 rail O scale environment. Again, this is an issue only specific to 3 rail, not 2 rail O scale. It allows us to bypass those issues as it relies on Bluetooth and retains the ability to still use MTH DCS and Lionel Legacy/TMCC. In short, it's a way to use a system that 3 rail has never had access to without all the headaches of trying to wire it to make it work. It's definitely a headache to wrap your head around, especially when this has been a standard for every other scale such as HO. Hope this helps and gives insight on why this is such a huge deal~!!
