I am excited that sound is now available thanks to DCC. I am interested primarily in diesel era locomotives. I've seen several DCC-equipped HO diesel locomotives demonstrated on the "MR" website that produce realistic sound.
I model in N scale, and I am not very familiar with N scale sound-capable DCC locomotive decoders, or factory installed DCC locomotives that produce sound.
Most of my locomotives are diesel and DC. I have a few (DCC-ready) Atlas and Kato locomotives. I also have a few Atlas diesel locomotives with factory installed DCC decoders. However, I do not believe these Atlas DCC units are capable of producing sound.
I am new to the DCC scene, and would appreciate any suggestions or information from modeler railroaders about manufacturers (and suppliers) producing and selling DCC decoders (with sound) for DCC-ready Atlas and Kato diesel locomotives. Also, any information on manufactures of locomotives with factory installed DCC (with sound) decoders would sure be welcome.
I am looking for quality and proven technology that is standardized (I believe DCC has industry standards). I don't need state of the art DCC decoders. I know that "you get what you pay for", but I also know that one doesn't have to have the latest technology (which is often the most expensive) to obtain quality model railroad equipment. This is my first "posting", and I thank anyone in advance who chooses to respond for their time.
Sound in N scale if very iffy because of the tiny speakers that must be crammed into them -- and MRC is the only company that makes sound decoders that will fit into many models -- very poor quality products. If you do a little research here you'll realize that MRC has a very bad quality control with their Chinese made decoders.
davidmbedard2. If you want sound in N scale, forget about onboard sound. Instead consider a system where you have 2 decoders per locomotive....one motor/light drive in the loco and another sound decoder under the layout with it's own speaker. That way you have great sound.David B
Could you expand on that idea a bit:
1. Can you give an example of a sound decoder that might be good for this?
2, What would be a good speaker to use?
3. Could you easily assign this decoder to various locos, depending on which one is running at the time?
Thanks.
Jerry
Rio Grande vs. Santa Fe.....the battle is over but the glory remains!
Thanks David. I will investigate this further.
Thanks for your thoughtful responses and suggestions. I had suspected that small speaker technology could be a hurdle to N-scale DCC decoder sound, and you've certainly confirmed that. I have read several articles on layout sound systems, but I was not aware that they could be integrated with locomotive DCC decoders. I had mistakenly assumed that layout-sound systems were antiquated. Frankly, I'm relieved to hear that the concept is workable, and it should help to contain costs.
I'm going to explore some of the avenues you've suggested concerning locomotive-layout DCC-coordinated sound production. I concur that the sound quality from a quadraphonic-like system would be excellent. As cheap as audio components have become, that portion of layout's sound system could be achieved economically enough. It may even prove to be more cost effective. Assuming that individual HO locomotive DCC decoders with sound cost significantly more than those without sound; and that one would want the sound capability for every locomotive's decoder I think the multiplied cost differential could pay for a layout sound system supporting the simpler locomotive DCC's (without sound) pretty quickly.
Now I've a place to start, and since I've already got a pretty good receiver anyway, I should be able to do a little experimenting without laying out too much in up-front costs. It sounds pretty "do-able" to me. Don't waste any more "ink" on me for now. I will be doing my homework on the systems you have all provided, I will get back in touch with you all with a draft concept in the near future and solicit your comments and suggestions before proceeding further.
Once more, thank you all for taking the time to share your hard-won experience and knowledge.
Dave S