Dan Pierce said:
Ken, perhaps monophonic was the comment, only one sound at a time.
Polyphonic is multiple sounds and this can be 2 or more.
That sounds about right. It was mono-something. And it was probably the steam engine sound he was talking about. It was a few years ago and all the details escape me…
All these points and information is very helpful thanks guys.
I lucked into a Sierra board and set it up in a tender which is shared amongst my geared locos and it is amazing in that it really brings the engine to life. I like how even when it sits idle some sound effect chimes in. It is like the loco is actually alive.
I think cheaper steam sound boards are OK in small locos but something grander like a Mikado or Heisler needs something special.
My thoughts on installing sound in my diesels is that they get the most use and I have had them apart before and putting in system would be easier and good practise before doing a steamer.
I’m not a rivet counter when it comes to this hobby as long as the sound is better than static.
Todd Haskins said:
I lucked into a Sierra board
Yeah you did.
As far as I’m concerned, there has not been anything released for analog that compares with the Sierra SoundTraxx and Phoenix Big Sound and this market is wide open.
When you consider that you also get a myriad of lighting effects and things like coupler clank (you can hear in the video), all standard, it’s just gravy on the cake.
See the Mars light and strobe on the Geep in the video??? They are produced by the Sierra sound card and continue to work after the track power is removed.
You can hear the Sierra GP-7/9 diesel and even the K-27 steam engine/whistle in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jQ6rcU1Vbwo
That is a nice layout video Todd. In watching I recognised many things discussed in this forum and GR mag.
I like the dinosaur excavation, the bubbling spas, the natural arch and the tunnel under the falls. Neat stuff. Nice equipment too.
For me being track powered I think there are many extras on the higher end sound boards that I wouldn’t be able to access without DCC. If I had just a couple engines I would be tempted to throw the kitchen sink at them but since I have too many for my own good and they do get regular exercise depending on my mood I need to look at cheaper options for a bit of sound.
Just continue to write about your projects and let Marc pay you for them.
Todd Brody said:
Just continue to write about your projects and let Marc pay you for them.
That might work but first I need to come up with some new ideas.
Todd Haskins said:
That is a nice layout video Todd. In watching I recognised many things discussed in this forum and GR mag.
I like the dinosaur excavation, the bubbling spas, the natural arch and the tunnel under the falls. Neat stuff. Nice equipment too.
For me being track powered I think there are many extras on the higher end sound boards that I wouldn’t be able to access without DCC. If I had just a couple engines I would be tempted to throw the kitchen sink at them but since I have too many for my own good and they do get regular exercise depending on my mood I need to look at cheaper options for a bit of sound.
Todd, I am in the same situation. The Sierra was affordable, sounded good, and had some nice added features to it. Now its either spend a lot of money (Phoenix), or settle for something that isn’t quite as feature packed.
The electronic synthesized bell doesn’t bother some folks, but it bothers me. That’s why my LGB Mogul with the analog sound board doesn’t get run much. I don’t need the actual recorded sounds of a particular Shay or Alco, just something that sounds believable from the engine the sound card is in.
I also want the proper whistle signals from my locomotive when it starts moving, forward or reverse and stop. A grade crossing signal, that I can trigger would be nice too. In other words, I would like a Sierra knock off.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
The new soundcards are described at http://www.mylocosound.com/largescalesummary.html. At the bottom of this page are buttons which link to steam and diesel videos which demonstrate the new sounds. To improve the quality, we have introduced several recorded sounds…including the bell, David.
The remote control is a standard Sony TV remote. The remotes on our web site were selected for ease of mailing but are less than ideal because of the short life of the “coin” battery and low output power. We therefore suggest that US customers look at buying a universal TV remote control from Radio Shack, etc. which are bigger, better and cheaper.
Being IR, the remote control has very limited range out of doors. But its main purpose is to let you adjust the sounds without dismantling your loco so range doesn’t matter. You can use it to trigger sounds if your controller does not have the necessary function buttons but this is not its main purpose.
Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound
Hi Peter
Both the diesel and steam chug sound great in the videos. The bell and horn are decent enough in the diesel but sounded better in the steam.
So any universal remote can be used to set the system? That is a nice feature.
Can I buy one of your diesel sound systems in America ? Do you take Paypal? How long will it take to arrive?
Todd
You should of asked about this:
http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/22388/30-off-my-loco-sound-soundcards-f
Todd,
You can purchase from Beacon Hill Trains, Downingtown, PA, Phone : (610)383-7277 Email : [email protected]. We have just sent them some initial stock. Or you can use our web site at www.mylocosound.com and use the “How to purchase in America” menu on the large scale page where we do take PayPal.
Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound
Peter thanks.
How did I miss that big sale Sean YOU are supposed to keep me informed !!
At that sale price I would be tempted to order 2 units ! Peter… ?
Thanks for the link Peter.
Todd,
I’m sorry but our entire remaining stock went fast. As a result, we had to accelerate the release of the new universal soundcard.
Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound
Or the sale facilitated clearing existing stock to make way for the new one
It’s all good.
I now have enough to keep the roundy-rounds making noise for all the kids!!! Thanks Peter!
Greg Elmassian said:
Or the sale facilitated clearing existing stock to make way for the new one
It’s all good.
That’s right Greg. It is all good. I will contact the American agent this week. Thanks Peter.
Ok I ordered a diesel sound unit from Peter and it arrived right on time from OZ or is it AUZ ?
I’m in the process of hooking it up and thought I would test it first before installing. There are pretty basic directions for track power which will make installing easy. 2 wires to track, 2 wires to speakers. I increased the track power and the card turned on to idle nicely but then when more voltage was applied it started making terrible sounds like feedback. I added a 9 volt battery following the proper polarity which made the card sound idle nicely but then when voltage was applied through the track power the terrible sounds started again?
I tried a different speaker from a tender. I then tried a USAT transformer, I had started with a LGB one.
Any ideas I was hoping to get this installed this weekend.
Todd,
When there is no power applied, the soundcard is at tickover. When power is increased then the engine revs ramp up. I suspect that your soundcard is set to ramp up to very high revs which would not sound good.
Try applying a little power, so that the revs start to increase and get louder. Then use the channel down button on the remote control to reduce the rev ramp so that you get a sensible sound at higher loco speeds.
If that doesn’t work then email me at [email protected] and include your phone number and a time to call; preferably late in the day.
Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound
Todd,
While out gardening I had another thought. You may have the turbocharger turned on and set to a high pitch. Button 5 on the remote control turns the turbocharger on and off.
Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound