I have one or two of MRC's n scale sound decoders for diesel locos. While I applaud MRC for trying, I haven't been too satisfied with their performance. (not the sound; they just don't run very well). I've been out of the hobby for a while and I'm wondering if there is any news I've missed about N Scale sound decoders for diesels? If not, is there any hope that companies like Tsunami or Sound Traxx will make sound decorders that will fit in an N scale diesel, or, hope beyond hope, one that will have a plug in harness like they have for HO? Or do the laws of physics simply make it impossible? Thanks.
BLI/PCM has put excellent sound decoders in their E-7's, E-8's and Alco PA's. They do plan to release an E-6 in the fall of 2010 or early 2011. The motor functions of these decoders are excellent.
I crammed a Tsunami 750 and a TDS mini oval speaker in an InterMountain F7B. Had to remove a lot of material from the frame, but it works great:tb-biggrin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvLCVT2q3FE
Awesome video! If you get a chance, could you post a shot of the frame so we can see how much material you removed? --Bryan
I've installed two of the MRC decoders in a Kato P42 and E7. Both of them work just fine. I think the major problem with these decoders is getting the power pick up tabs just right. I opted to leave the 4 plastic "nubs" on the outboard side of the power pickup tabs and that seams to improve the reliability greatly. Anyways its just my two cents. Ryan
Athearn has released FP diesels with sound, and have announced FP59i with sound. The BLI E units and PA's are great sounding units
I have 4 of the BLI E8 and E7 and they run and sound great. Now if you asked me before about 5 hrs of breakin time; I'd have a different answer. For those of us who like just a tad bit of sound instead of being blasted out of your seat and thinking "do I really want this sound "feature"? - you have to adjust the master volume cv to turn it down and all is good. Don't just hit F8 as the second that loco hits a dead spot or you pull it from the track; it will reset itself back to very loud. Brian
As far as sound decoders that sound like their prototype, Tsunami is about the best you can get. I haven't heard too much from Loksound so I don't know about them. The MRC decoders are sketchy at best. I have heard all of their prime mover, bell and horn sounds and they are all well, not that good. Compare any of the MRC decoder videos on Youtube to the one of the Tsunami decoder the b-unit that SP4009 posted above. That is exactly how the EMD 567 should sound. Unfortunately, the size of the Micro-Tsunami decoder makes it nearly impossible to install in anything other than a B-unit or F/E-unit. The Tsunami decoders also allow you to adjust the sound according to the size of the speaker through its equalizer. I have done incredible things to engines through use of the equalizer. I have heard the BLI engines and to me it sounds just like they recorded an engine idling and just sped that up rather than recording the engine in each different notch. The sound is definitely better than the MRC decoders though. Obviously, I love the Tsunami decoders. Their sound is almost spot on and the features make it, in my opinion, the best sound decoder on the market. Sound is very subjective so each person's ear will prefer different sound decoders. My ears have been listening to the real deal long enough to know that they like the Tsunami decoders. Scott Lupia
The Tsunami sounds great if the ones in Athearn's FP/F45's are any indication but when are they going to take on MRC and give us drop in decoders. MRC have shown that you don't need to grind away any of the frame to fit sound in an N scale hood unit, I've done U23B's and SD24's and they are not bad. The only slight gripe I have with Tsunamis is that there is no function to start up or shut down the engine, the start up sounds work when you apply power to the track but you can't control it by function keys like the MRC or BLI decoders, I like when you start up a BLI E unit you actually hear both engines start. To my ears the engine sounds in my E8's sound ok and I have worked around EMD engines all my railway career and father thinks the same and he spent 40 years in the diesel shops working with them.
In DCC model you can fire up and shut down the Tsunami decoders. I am not sure about DC mode. I never had much luck running anything in DC mode. As far as drop in decoders, I don't think that the Tsunami decoder lends itself to drop in application right now. I would like to see them do something smaller than the micro tsunami but I think that is still a ways away. To me, the MRC decoders just sound tinny? scott lupia
Might be a few days... got our train show and open house this weekend. To give an idea, the top of the flywheels are exposed:tb-wink:
I've had similar experiences with the MRC drop in decoders. I have a Kato P42 with one and it works fine. The ones I tried in a F40PH and SD70MAC didn't work or had very poor sound. I have a ESU LokSound Micro Sound Decoder I installed in the F40PH and sounds great.
So it seems those that like the '70's and '80's ar stil SOL. Unless one wants to cut the frame down to make space and add another loco to make up the difference. I cannot afford to waiste my money on the MRC until it has been proven reliable. I do like the sound of multiple units running together, as one of my clubmates had an ABA Paragon set(all with sound) and it was impressive. The horns worked in together to make it that much more impressive. My Tsunami could barely be heard at shows but his three working together were quite different for sure.
I had forgotten all about this thread. I was taking the unit apart due to some contact issues and snagged a pic of the install...
I second (or third) the vote on Tsunami's. The Diesel and Steam sound are so good particularly when you have the added capability of the equalizer that I have resorted to adding a sound car behind the locomotive when necessary. I know it cuts down on operational flexibility but the sound car has the room to use a decent sized speaker with a lead enclosure. With that rig, you're getting the best DIY sound you can get in N Scale in my opinion. ...Tom
MRC decoders are very touchy, and I think it comes from the way CV values are stored. If you leave a consist number in the CV and try to run the engine by itself, the decoder reacts randomly. Yep, random. Darndest thing. Try setting a zero in your consist CV and see if that doesn't fix it for you...
I just picked up an A/B Kato F3 set along with an MRC sound decoder for A and their regular decoder for B. It's an easy install, but the decoder does not work. No sound, no lights, nothing. I emailed MRC today and hopefully they'll do me right. I haven't fooled around with B unit. So now I have this decoder and a Challenger with decoder problems. I'm bummed. I think I need to change my name to brokeloc.
Looks like Digitrax is going to get into the drop-in sound decoder business: Digitrax SDN144K0A N scale Sound Decoder
