I have several sound equipped locos and they are fun. I generally do not run sound day to day. Sound really shines in two areas, videos and Grandchildren. The only loco I run 100% sound on is my Athearn 4014. The Big Boy sounds GOOD. I am in the midst of layout construction and have a simple loop right now. My 'permanent' configuration will have some kind of scene block so the trains run out of sight. I am hoping that I will be able to have JMRI turn sound off upon entry into a designated block and then back on further down the line. This way the trains will be unseen and silent while they are behind the block.
If you figure out how to do that please post back or PM me. I have a similar need and did a quick search and couldn't find a quick answer. Sumner
I bought what i had heard was the best. Bli sound equipped NW-2. I bought 2. They would run a bit and then just stop, not answering commands sometimes would just keep going around on after i had stopped the throttle wouldn't answer Brake or reverse. Only turning off the controller would it stop and then would do nothing after that till reset CV 8 and sometimes that wouldn't do it and had to take it apart and do a hard reset. They would be working nice and just stop and then after a few seconds start up again. I shut off sound and they would work better but still continued to play that game of start stop start again. They went out of warranty and i had them on a shelf and just in the last week tore the sound dcc board out and put a dcc non sound chip in and it works perfect. I put the chip in the cab of that model. I haven't had one issue since. Maybe it was just that company but with that issue, I say no. One other point, Yes, the sound board was mounted right on the engine and took up the whole space above the engine. the speaker under the engine in the fuel tank. Sound was loud and to me just not that good. Again, my two cents.
Hmmm. I have a BLI N scale NW2 and have never had any of the issues you describe. Curious if something else might be going on, though I don't know what that could be.
Tehachapifan, thanks for sharing the video of the SP switcher. I think you may have answered a question I have about sound-equipped locos: do they all sound "the same"? I suppose I mean all steam and all diesel, to be more specific. In other words, without reprogramming and specific sound downloads, which I know is possible although presently beyond my technical comprehension, would I expect all sound-equipped diesels to come with the same basic sounds? I'm old enough to know that, say, an Alco switcher, does not sound the same in real life as, say, a modern EMD "big power" unit. I'm tossing out this question as the proud owner of exactly one sound-equipped unit, picked up on that Internet Auction Community as a lucky shot because it wasn't listed as DCC/sound by the seller. I'm debating the purchase of others, for example I'd really like to flip my custom-painted Atlas SD60 to a new chassis, but if it doesn't sound any different than my Alco C-420 I'm less inclined to do so. Or am I being unrealistic here... which wouldn't be the first time...
George- With regards to ESU sound decoders, which is what I primarily use, there are several different steam and diesel sound files available for download at their online library that have been recorded from various prototype locos. These cover several different brands of locos, including various Alco files. In the case of ESU, there are often more than one sound file for a given prime mover (EMD 16cyl 645E3, for example). Though ESU is known for high quality sound files, I find that some are a little better than others. Other sound decoder manufacturers may not have as vast of a sound catalog but, generally speaking, there should be an obvious sound difference between an Also vs. EMD diesel. That said, an EMD file, for example, may be more generic and just be listed as "EMD" vs. a specific prime mover model such as "EMD 16cyl 710G3A". Whether or not the sound file is of high quality is another story. Also, if buying second-hand, it is possible somebody plopped a decoder with, say, an EMD sound file into an Alco model.
If you find an ESU sound decoder that works or can be made to work in you engine you can review their sound files. North American and Australian sound files ( HERE ). There you can actually listen to them also. If you are happy and order from some suppliers, such as Streamlined Backshop (advertiser here), they will download the sound file on the decoder that you have selected before sending the decoder to you ( HERE ). That means now you don't have to get the sound file on the decoder but will still have options that you can change in regards to the sound file. Sumner
I was at a train shop today after work and we talked about a similar topic! A person new to DCC/sound came in and was asking a few questions. The owner explained (which I thought was a good point) That having DCC doesn't necessarily mean you have to have sound. Sound is great but many companies make "mobile" decoders like digitrax, for example. I have one in a older loco I converted. Runs great and has directional lighting and thats it. Most of my other Locos are sound. I enjoy it but usually when I am flying solo. If someone else is around they can be pretty distracting in conversation. For this the option to mute them is even better. Or if you run them slow and use the CVs to turn the volume down it can add a nice touch to the ambiance. I tell everyone to just get your train at a decent speed and listen for the rain. When you find that you find peace! haha .......... Seriously though it sounds like rain and is pretty therapeutic. You would have to find a set of new ears or just purchase four more for hearing pleasure ! HA Joking of course but yes some of the lower level models have some crappy sound. No joke about that! This sounds great! I'd really dig to see how this is accomplished. I think I may have ran into one of your post about doing this procedure before ? Well at least a thread about it I mean. You forgot to mention the house shaking... or was that part of the lights flickering haha!! Comedy !! I have done this.... right after my air compressor kicked on and the lights did flicker ! This was due to the air compressor unfortunately haha I blame N scale.
I don't know what chipset that Bli uses. I have heard that Paragon 2 and 3, Mine was a 3, Had problems. Don't know about the newest chip, Paragon 4. I have heard one person say that Paragon 4 was perfect compared to the Paragon 3's he had. I don't hear much about them other than ads. Both of mine were Paragon3 and both were junk. I am dccing with Digitrax dx126's. The chip is small enough to fit in the cab away from the engine. So farone is done till i was checking the lights with power and i shorted out the light wires. So that chip is headed back for replacement. Without the lights it ran perfect. I ran it for over a hour and it never had any issues. I am still thinking that heat was the issue. Will i ever try another sound card? Maybe, if the engine is big enough and chip is small enough. I have heard that the ESU decoders are a really good sound decoders. Maybe in the other NW-2... No, Way bigger engine.
I am not big on sound, but I have a dozen or so sound equipped locomotives. They are mostly there for my daughter and the cousins when they are around here. But every once and a while I do like to here the rumblings.
Thanks! Unfortunately, I did not take photos of the installation. It was quite involved, as this particular loco had to be re-motored so that a sound decoder would fit. No way to do it with the stock motor. Also, I wasn't the pioneer on installing sound in a LL SW unit. I followed the steps of someone else on another board, which I'm guessing I can't mention here.
