Howdy,
I didn't want to blow a lot of money on high end loco's in case this hobby tanked. But I'm hooked, lol. I have 2 Bachman DCC loco's now, but they're nothing special. One is very noisy when run in reverse and was like that out of the box. No sound came with either, just bare bones DCC.
So, an upgrade is in the future. I don't think the Bachman's are worth the effort/time for upgrading. So I'm trying to decide what would be the best deal... buying a new DCC ready diesel loco and then popping in an aftermarket board & complete sound setup OR buying one already setup with DCC, sound, etc.
If the better deal is to buy aftermarket, I would need to send it out as I'm not capable of doing the install, and would probably swap in LED directional lighting, ditch lights, too, so that's a factor.
Dumb question number two, do you get better performance from aftermarket DCC boards & aftermarket sound VS the stock units? And which has the larger library of sounds available?
I'm leaning heavily towards upgrading to Atlas loco's as they seem to have a pretty good reputation. They'll be used with a Digitrax Zephyr Extra, if it matters.
Thanks,
-Ed
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle
I assume these are not Bachmann Spectrum series models? The Spectrum ones are of much better quality than the plain Bachmann 'train set level' locos. Atlas is a good option, the current production has several levels, the Trainman line being the lowest, but they have excellent motors and drives, they just leave off some of the details. Gold ans Silver series are the top of the line, the Gold has DCC and sound, the silver are just DCC ready, but they are otherwise identical. Life-Liek is like Bachmann, the ones sold under the Life-Like name are generalyl low quality train set equipment, the Proto 1000 and Proto 2000 locos are quite nice. Like Atlas, the Proto 1000 lacks body detail compared to Proto 2000. Proto 2000 locos are sometimes available as DCC/sound as well as DCC ready, bt not every model has been offered like that.
If buying new, and you want sound - the price difference between the same loco with a plug for a decoder vs the loco with a dcc/sound decoder installed is usually less than what it would cost you to buy the sound decoder, a speaker, adn an enclosure - not to mention the time and effort to install it. So usually the cost difference is worth it.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
No Randy, they're just cheapo entry level Bachman loco's. GP-38 & GP-40... I think they were 35 bucks each, new.
Thanks for your reply.
In general, you will do better buying an engine with DCC and sound installed than you will buying a DC engine and a sound decoder and installing them yourself. If you feel you can't do the installation yourself, then it's even more worth your while to get factory-installed sound.
The manufacturers cut deals with the decoder companies. They get the decoders far cheaper than we can. They also install speakers, and design the engines so that everything fits.
Do yourself a favor, if you want sound engines. Buy sound-equipped engines. Seriously, you can't do any better.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
FOr non-sound, your best deal is ebay - but don;t get carried aware with desire for a certian loco. Keep your head,a nd shop around. Most of my locos are out of production Proto 2000 models, none of which I paid more than $40 for. Simply by watching and waiting. All were at least double that new. I also picked up a brand new Athearn RS-3, one of the new RTR models which has a 9 pin plug inside to conenct a decoder - making it a 5 minute job to add DCC - for $25. Not a road name I wanted, but I really just wanted the drive to swap another shell on to. Given that MSRP is about $80 on these, another bargain. Careful sopping can get you a full roster without breaking the bank. FOr basic motor decoders you can;t beat the NCE D13SRJ, splurge and buy a 10 pack for $120, that's only $12 per loco.
I just noticed they now sell a club pack of 100 for $1050. Under $11 bucks per loco. What was that about it being too expensive to convert to DCC? I remember when it cost more like $50 per loco, and those decoders didn have half the features of the D13.
EDZ I'm trying to decide what would be the best deal... buying a new DCC ready diesel loco and then popping in an aftermarket board & complete sound setup OR buying one already setup with DCC, sound, etc. If the better deal is to buy aftermarket, I would need to send it out as I'm not capable of doing the install, and would probably swap in LED directional lighting, ditch lights, too, so that's a factor.
What was wrong with the Geeps? It's the same sound system used in the Atlas locos.
EDZ No Randy, they're just cheapo entry level Bachman loco's. GP-38 & GP-40... I think they were 35 bucks each, new. Thanks for your reply. -Ed
Hi Ed
I suggest you purchase at least 1 good quality loco.
Having all "cheapo" loco's is ok but you'll never experience the hobby and know the difference between quality and train set level. This is why many leave the hobby. They have constant issues with the running of the trains and have no idea that they can have loco's and rolling stock that literally runs many times better.
Springfield PA
Thanks guys for your opinions. That's why this place rawks.
I'm not really that crazy about the ultra fine details, although I know "a cheap junk toy" when I see one, lol. I could live with less finer detail, but I wouldn't want something that looks crappy, either.
When I mentioned better performance, I was alluding to both the operation of the loco as well as the sound. So...
Do aftermarket DCC boards have more options for operating the loco than a factory Atlas would have?
Sound is strickly opinion, sure. I guess what I'm asking here is if there's a significant quality difference between an Atlas with factory installed sound VS the same one with aftermarket sound like a Tsunami or equilivent installed.