Not sure about the MRC one, but the others do not make the track DCC. QSI and ESU and the new Broadway decoders (and the Blueline) each have a proprietary system for sending sound triggering and, in some cases, programming commands to the decoder over DC track. Ome MRC decoders used in the older Genesis locos had a wireless remote. Each box sends commands recognized by that brand of decoder. It's possible to daisy chanin multiple ones, you just have to rememebr which one to hit for the loco you are running. If you have a plain DC loco on the track, odds are it will do alittle dance when you hit the buttons on the control box, as many of the commands depend on reversing the DC polarity quickly, the sound decoders don;t interpret this quick flippign as an actuall direction change but rather a command to do something. If you flip the direction switch and leve it, THEN the decoder reverses the loco.
What it really comes down to is if you really want to have soudn everything, you're better off switchign to DCC instead of buying all these boxes. The boxes do nothign to overcome the need to turn the DC throttle up past half way before the sound loco begins to move, and other downsides of DC sound. I don;t think even the hardcore DC guys here would say different. Most of them eschew sound for the very reason that it doesn't work well on DC.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks for the adiitional 411. Every little bit helps. The above test is done with factory installed sound decoders. Would this test be valid say if you had older original DC locos and you wanted to install a sound decoder in one today?
I note that the Atlas QE works with only certain sound decoders, so my next obvious question is how does one know if a sound decoder is QSI based so it works with the QE? Or which sound decoders work with any of the above systems tested above, disregarding the MRC Tech 6 since it mirrors a true DCC system? The point is that each system above only operates certain manufacturers locos equipped with compatibale sound decoders. So for instance, Athearn makes a non-QSI decoder equipped loco, it won't work with an Atlas QE, etc. Correct? This would have to be taken into account when making a switch to one of the above systems so all or most of your locos are sound compatible. So if Intermountain comes out with a sweet new loco that is not compatibale with the QE, then too bad.
And other than the MRC Tech 6 since I know the answer to this question already, does any of the other systems listed above allow a mixture of DC and DCC locos on the track at the same time? I am not talking about movement, I am only questioning the sound aspect of decoders. Or shall a DC loco and a DCC loco never be mixed regardless of what system is used?
The Tech 6 will work any sound loco, because is is essentially a mini DCC system, no faking anythign out. Each of the different sound decoder makers that offer compatibility with DC hae their own way of controlling things when runnign on DC, usually involving sequences of flipping the polarity to trigger some of the sound effects.
The Quantum Engineer gets the most yeses in that chart because 2 of the locos used have QSI decoders in them. If he had the BLI Centipede plus a PCM T-1 4-8-4. both of those would get all yeses when using the Loksound/PCM DCC Master controller because the PCM loco has a Loksound 3.5 decoder and the new BLI Paragon II decoders use compatible command.
While there may be some use to this information, it really depends what locos you have - if all you have are Atlas, Proto 2000, and older Broadway sound locos, then the only device you need is the Quantum Engineer, as all those loco brans use QSI decoders. No one controller will work all brand - except the Tech 6 and that actually 'cheats' - it's a single address DCC controller AND DC power pack in one, and you switch between which is active when you select which mode to use, so in DCC mode is send all normal DCC function commands and the sound decoders run as if they were on a DCC system - which they are.
Mike,
Your post (somewhat) fits what I've been trying to do; get sound from only a few locos without having to switch from DC to DCC. Let me make sure you are comparing one of the items I've looked at and that is #3, the Atlas Quantun Engineer. That is what your third item in your chart is, correct?
I find it fascinating that the Atlas QE retails for about $60 and it has the most yeses on your chart. I look forward in seeing how the MRC #1025 does in your tests. I have looked at the MRC 1050 Black Box, the MRC Tech 6 Sound Controller 6.0, the lesser version, the 1025 which you have above, and the Atlas QE.
I am not in the market for full DCC, I only wish to gain some sound from a few locos. Correct information on this subject is difficult to come by. I have searched this forum and many others and still cannot get all of the answers to some of my questions I need to make a sound decision about running DCC equipped sound locos on DC power. I hope your tests can shed some light on it for guys like me refusing to convert to DCC but want to have a little more oomph from our passion.
BTW I have been in N Scale all my life, practically to when it first started back in the late 1960s. I run Canadian National, VIA Rail, and subsidieries.
Paul
I have wondered what HO DC Sound Controllers work with the different factory install sound locomotives. Here are the 4 I tested:
Broardway Limited Diesel with QSI, powered by DC/DCCBroardway Limited Steam with QSI, powered by DC/DCCProto 2000 Diesels with Quantum Sound (QSI) powered by DC/DCCBachmann Steam with Tsunami Sound by SoundTraxx
Here I have tested a Bachmann Spectrum steam locomotive, a Broadway Limited steam and diesel locomotive, then a Proto 2000 E7 diesel. I tested these locomotives with just a Power Transformer, then with a Broadway (4-button controller), then with the Proto 2000 Series (Quantum Engineer). Below are my test results, next I need to test the MRC #1025 Sound Box for (DC or DCC) Steam & Diesel conected to a Power Transformer.
CONTROLLER TEST RESULTS with DC Power Transformer
If the above table is unreadable, Go here >>>> www.heonis.us/RailRoad/Controllers.pdf