SoundTraxx SurroundTraxx User manual

SoundTraxx®
Quick Start Guide
for the SurroundTraxx®Digital Sound System
June 2011

Notice
The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
SoundTraxx (Throttle Up!) shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions
contained herein; nor for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the furnishing,
performance or use of this material.
This document contains information protected by copyright. No part of this document may be
photocopied or reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Throttle Up! Corp.
Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their
respective companies.
SoundTraxx, SurroundTraxx, Tsunami, SoundTraxx DCC, Dynamic Digital Exhaust,
Auto-Exhaust and Hyperlight are trademarks of Throttle Up! Corp.

Table of Contents
All Aboard! ...........................................................1
Overview ......................................................... 1
Quick Start ...........................................................1
Let’s Get Started ..................................................1
Wiring the System................................................1
Adding a Locomotive............................................3
Dispatching a Locomotive....................................4

SurroundTraxx Quick Start Guide Page 1
All Aboard!
Overview
Congratulations on the purchase of your SurroundTraxx Digital Sound System! This sound
system represents cutting-edge technology, providing high-quality, digital sound for any layout
in any scale while taking advantage of the benets of today’s DCC (Digital Command Control)
technology.
Detailed information regarding the proper installation, use and programming of the
SurroundTraxx sound system may be found in the SurroundTraxx User’s Guide which is
provided in electronic form on the CD packaged with your system. Please note that you need
to have Adobe® Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to open and print these les. This
is available as a free download at www.adobe.com.
Manual updates, technical bulletins and application notes covering various topics are also
published from time to time, and these may be downloaded free of charge from our website at
www.soundtraxx.com.
This Quick Start Guide supplies essential information needed to get your SurroundTraxx
unit making locomotive sounds within several minutes. This simple procedure will allow you
to audition your new sound system right away. You should have enough familiarity with your
DCC command station to provide track power, select different locomotive addresses, and
control the locomotive throttle and functions.
In addition to the items included with your SurroundTraxx system, you will need:
• A Digitrax®LocoNet-equipped DCC Command Station
• Passive 8-Ohm Speaker
Note: Passive means that the speaker does not plug into the wall or any other power supply.
The vast majority of home stereo speakers fall into this category and will work well for this
guide. Always verify that the impedance (Ohm rating) of the speaker is 8 ohms or higher
before connecting it to the SurroundTraxx unit.
Let’s Get Started!
There are three steps to getting your SurroundTraxx system to make great sound:
1. Wire the system
2. Set up a locomotive
3. Dispatch the locomotive
Wiring the System
The rst step in wiring your system is to connect the speaker to the SurroundTraxx unit. As
part of the system, you will nd a speaker wiring harness with six sets of 6-foot long,
like-colored wires terminated with a 12-position female connector.
1. Take the speaker wiring harness and strip approximately one-half inch of
insulation off the ends of both of the red wires.
2. Connect the red wires to the electrical contacts on the speaker, just as you
would to connect the speaker to your stereo system.

SurroundTraxx Quick Start Guide Page 2
Quick Start
Note: The wires are not polarized. It does not matter which red wire goes to the positive
connection or which goes to the negative connection. If you are unsure how to connect the
speaker, review any documentation provided by the manufacturer.
3. Plug the speaker harness connector into the 12-pin receptacle on the rear of
the unit marked ‘SPEAKERS’. This should only go in one way, with the atter
side of the connector facing down.
4. Locate the LocoNet cable (also known as the Network cable), and plug one end
into the receptacle marked ‘NETWORK’ on the SurroundTraxx unit. Plug the
other end into the LocoNet connection on the DCC command station.
5. Remove the power supply from its box and plug the connector into the
receptacle labeled ‘POWER’ connection on the rear panel of the SurroundTraxx
unit.
6. Plug the power supply into the wall. Note: Never plug any power supply other
than the 5-volt power supply provided into the SurroundTraxx unit. Use of any
other power supply can result in damage to you or the SurroundTraxx unit.
As soon as power is applied (by plugging in the power supply), the SurroundTraxx
unit will be ‘ON’ -- there is no on/off switch. As the unit turns on, SurroundTraxx will
run through a series of brief tests that takes about 20 seconds. The unit will then
display ‘ROM PASSED’ and ‘RAM PASSED.’ If either of these messages indicate
a failure (i.e. ‘ROM FAILED’), the unit has been damaged and must be repaired
before it will operate properly.
At the end of this test cycle, you should see ‘……’ in the display, indicating that the
system is in Monitor Mode and you can start navigating the SurroundTraxx menus.
INPUT:
5VDC, 3A
POWER NETWORK SPEAKERSLINE LEVEL OUT
DIGITAL SOUND PROCESSOR
SOUNDTRAXX
Durango, CO 81301
USA
1/2 3/4 5/6
®
Step 1. Connect
the Speaker
Step 2. Plug in the Network Cable
3. Plug in the 5V Power Supply

SurroundTraxx Quick Start Guide Page 3
Quick Start
Add a Locomotive to the Roundhouse
While following these next instructions, keep in mind that SurroundTraxx has an inactivity
timer that will return the screen to Monitor Mode if this timer expires. The default setting on the
timer is 15 seconds, but you can change this later if desired.
1. Press in the control knob (the large
black knob on the front panel of
the SurroundTraxx unit). The word
‘ROUNDHOUSE’ will appear in the display.
2. Press in the control knob again to select
the ROUNDHOUSE menu. The words
‘LIST LOCOS’ will appear in the display.
3. Turn the control knob clockwise by one
click until the screen reads ‘ADD LOCO.’
If you turn the control knob too far, you
may either turn the control knob
counter-clockwise to back up, or you may
continue to turn it clockwise until the menu
cycles back to the beginning.
4. Press in the control knob to select the
‘ADD LOCO’ option. The next menu item
will be ‘TYPE:’ with ‘STM’ ashing. This
is where you will select to set up either a
steam (STM) or diesel (DSL) locomotive.
For the purposes of this Quick Start Guide, we’ll set up a diesel locomotive.
Note: The default steam and diesel engines are pre-loaded with a set of
sounds. These can easily be changed by following the instructions in the
User’s Guide. The default sounds for the steam (STM) locomotive are a ‘Light”
steam engine, and the diesel is an EMD 567 (1st Generation EMD).
5. Turn the control knob in either direction to
switch between a steam (‘STM’) and diesel
(‘DSL’) type of locomotive. When DSL is
showing in the display, press in the control
knob. The display will change to read
‘ADDR:0003.’
6. Notice that the leading zero is ashing.
This indicates the digit that will be
changed. Turning the control knob
clockwise cycles from ‘0’ to ‘9.’ Turning
the control knob counter-clockwise cycles from ‘9’ to ‘0.’ Since we will keep
address 0003 for this demonstration, simply push in the control knob to ‘select’
the ashing zero. Push in the control knob three more times to retain the
default of ‘0003.’
7. The screen will read ‘SAVE? Y.’ Push
in the control knob to save. The words
‘LOCO SAVED!’ will scroll across the
display.
Now that a locomotive is in the Roundhouse, it’s time to get it to make sound!

SurroundTraxx Quick Start Guide Page 4
Quick Start
Dispatch the Locomotive
Dispatching the locomotive will load the sounds for that locomotive from the Roundhouse into
a ‘slot’ for use on your railroad. Start by turning on your command station and making sure
that track power is ON. You must have track power to proceed and not all command stations
automatically turn on the track power upon power-up.
1. Select locomotive address 3 on your DCC command station cab. (If you
have a locomotive whose address is 3, you can place it on the layout, but for
the purposes of ‘testing out’ the sound effects, you do not need a locomotive
on the track.)
2. Turn on function 0. You will hear the diesel prime mover go through its
startup sequence. The words ‘DISPATCHING L3 to AD:1’ and ‘L3 CVs
LOADED’ scroll across the SurroundTraxx display.
3. You may now use the function buttons and throttle of your command station
to control the locomotive sounds!
• The throttle controls the Exhaust. Increasing the throttle will likewise
increase the engine RPMs.
• Function 1 rings the Bell. Pressing F1 again will turn the bell off.
• Function 2 plays the Airhorn. For some command stations, the longer
F2 is held, the longer the blast of the horn.
• Function 3 will play the Short Airhorn.
• Function 4 will turn on the Dynamic Brakes. Pressing F4 again will turn
the Dynamic Brakes off.
• Function 8 mutes the sound. Pressing F8 again turns sound back on.
• Function 12 activates the Coupler.
Now that you have your locomotive dispatched, the next time you start up your system, all you
need to do to get sounds playing is select the locomotive address on your cab and either turn
on a function or turn up the throttle.
Setting a up a steam locomotive works in much the same way as the diesel. The functions are
as follows:
• The throttle controls the Exhaust Chuff
• Function 1 = Bell
• Function 2 = Whistle
• Function 3 = Short Whistle
• Function 4 = Steam Hiss
• Function 5 = Dynamo
• Function 8 mutes the Sound
• Function 12 activates the Coupler
You can add up to 99 locomotives to the Roundhouse and dispatch up to 6 locomotives
simultaneously using the same procedure described above.
For a complete list of features and instructions, please review the SurroundTraxx User’s
Guide on the CD provided with the system. Now that you’ve heard just a tiny taste of the
incredible sound that your new SurroundTraxx system can provide, start planning how to
integrate it into your layout so that you can take full advantage!

©2011 Throttle Up! Corp.
All Rights Reserved.
COMPATIBLE WITH
NMRA DCC STANDARDS
AND RECOMMENDED
PRACTICES
DCC
140148 Rev.B 0915
141 Burnett Drive • Durango, CO 81301 USA
[phone] • [email protected] • www.soundtraxx.com