I've just started track testing in the past few weeks and it's got me thinking about how I'll use sound when the layout is fully operational. Much has been written over the years about only having a train pass through a scene once to avoid the spaghetti bowl look. I believe strongly in this practice.
So, when you have three or four trains running on a bedroom size layout, each with 2-3 locomotives, at what point have you created the audio equivalent of the spaghetti bowl?
Does the fascination with sound wear off?
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I have a pretty good sized layout in my basement, and I often run four trains simultaneously on a double track mainline. Not all of my locos have sound, but if and when I am running four sound-equipped locos at the same time, the sound can be quite annoying. It is then that I mute some or all of the decoders.
Worse yet are sound-equipped locos that sit idling in a yard or station.
Sometimes, I just want quiet operations.
Rich
Alton Junction
For me, sound in a small-scale locomotive becomes noise pollution just as soon as it starts to roll. There is no way a speaker that will fit in a teaspoon can reproduce the chest-squeezing bass WHOOMPH of that first full pressure exhaust (or the deep rumble of a diesel loading up.)
When my empire reaches a somewhat more advanced state of completion I will have anywhere up to a half-dozen trains in motion (plus standing locomotives in visible places) in an accoustically dirty space just under 20 feet square. The idea of having all of them emitting 'heavy on the treble' noise is enough to make me cringe.
So my locomotives (except the cat motors) might think they're submarines. They run silent and spend a major percentage of their time below the visible surface. As for the cat motors - the model gear noise is close enough to what I heard from the prototypes half a century ago...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
It becomes noise pollution when it aggravates me, which is whever I hear a sound equipped engine. I have no desire to own any.
Jim
I won't have an HO locomotive that doesn't have DCC/sound. However, my hard rule is that only two locomotives can be making sound of any description at any one instant. Their separation and state are immaterial...only two making sound at any one time. Note that I have yet to do 'lashups' or any MUing. If I were running multiple diesels in modern consists, I would probably still only allow any two of them to issue sounds in the consist, and let another idle in the yard.
It's true, even for an old soldier's poor hearing...HO scale sounds are rather poor, no matter what the decoder or skill of the installation. Still, I must have that dimension, poor as it is.
A remedy I have used consistently is to reduce the Master Volume by at least 50% of the allowable/factory preset max for the decoder. In fact, immediately after Paged Mode addressing to the cab number, I enter the CV for Master Volume and git that sucker down to half.
My very first act with BLI steamers, though, is to invert the loco and flick off the smoke generator. That's another discussion.
-Crandell
All of my locos also have sound. My rule of thumb for the volume is this: The operator of the loco must hear them, but no one else should hear them from 15 ft away, and 8 feet away with your back to them. I also program them to shut the sound off after about 3 to 5 minutes of no movement. That way the only locomotives that you generally hear are the ones that are actually doing work.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
That's why I keep the volume set fairly low. If 'across the room' is suppsoed to be miles away, or even hundreds of miles away, you certainly should not hear a loco. Keep it more realistic, keep the volume down. You don;t need room filling sound.
The exception is at club shows, then I DO turn things up as high as works. There's too much ambient sound, plus most shows are in huge open spaces where even at full volume you don't hear a loco more than 10 feet away.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I regularly run up to maybe 6 or 8 sound equipped locos on my double track layout, it's double deck about 28 x 14. Some of them are diesels and some are steam. I keep the volume pretty low so that the sound from the far end of layout is hardly noticable. Otherwise they can drive you bananas!
I will say the sound of several MU'd diesel units is really quite remarkable!
I am considering adding kill switches to a bunch of my sidings and yard tracks to keep the unecessary noise down from idling engines.
I strongly agree with those who suggest turning the master volume WAY down. I have my Loksound Selects set at about 30%. One thing that I hated was the noise level that came out of the decoders when I first put power to them with the sound set at max by the factory. I have learned to change the master volume before I turn the sound on.
I will say that since I started to use the 'sugar cube' speakers I find the treble to be somewhat softer and the base to be a little stronger.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Interesting discussion, I was wondering the same thing. I can see sound getting out of hand at some point! I will keep my locos which don't have sound and likely not feel a need to add it, because I have wondered if sound can get overwelming. Obviously it can!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
I know what you mean. What I try to do is never have more than one of the same sound decoder on the track at the same time. (except for consists). And for that matter, I try to run different manufactured engines. Different sounding decoders at the same sound level, to me is kind of cool.
Joe C
I refrain from sound for periods of several years until I get a "sound attack". During that attack I run sound in some engines and enjoy it very much. It is getting a little bit disturbing after 2 - 3 days and becomes pure poise solution after one week. The sound equipped engines get back in storage or get my favorite DCC decoders back and I enjoy several years of perfect silence until ..... so above
My last sound attack is about two month old. It was triggered by the Tsunami decoders used by Bachmann.
Reinhard
Hi,
My opinion is that people keep their decoders way, way to loud. Steam decoders are almost all wrong, which makes it worse. They do not just get louder as they get moving.
Try to get a flavor for how far you are away in scale distance, and then think about what a locomitive sounds like that far away.
If you keep it so the sound is near as loud as the train is when it gets moving (wheels, click clacks...) then the whole thing is much less annoying.
That said i dont install DCC without sound these days.
David
debaker02 My opinion is that people keep their decoders way, way to loud. Steam decoders are almost all wrong, which makes it worse. They do not just get louder as they get moving. Try to get a flavor for how far you are away in scale distance, and then think about what a locomitive sounds like that far away.
The model railroad club I belong to has its layout in a 20x40 foot room with cinderblock walls, a concrete floor, and old fiber board ceiling tiles (no noise cancelation anywhere). Noise pollution from sound decoders is a major issue, as well as from locomotive sounds being turned up too loud. 3-4 idling sound decoders can cause a background noise level that gets very trying during a 5 hour open house.
I keep my locomotives at a volume such that at about 15 feet the sounds fade into the background.
S&S
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
gandydancer19 I also program them to shut the sound off after about 3 to 5 minutes of no movement. That way the only locomotives that you generally hear are the ones that are actually doing work.
Elmer,
How do you program the decoder to shut down at a set time? I have 15 sound locos; BLI, QSI, Tsunami, WOW, Soundtraxx DSL and even a couple of Genesis F units with MRC? They all come on when power is switched on except the BLI's.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Tsunami...CV113=(1-255) X 0.25=Time in seconds.I give mine a value of CV113=120,sounds turn off 30 seconds after all numbered functions are turned off and throttle back to 0.
Jacktal Tsunami...CV113=(1-255) X 0.25=Time in seconds.I give mine a value of CV113=120,sounds turn off 30 seconds after all numbered functions are turned off and throttle back to 0.
Thanks, just what I need to do. Will check into similar functions on the other decoders.
These are Tsunami settings,I don't know if it will even work with older Soundtraxx DSL decoders,although I believe they probably do.
I strongly believe they won't work with any other brand of decoder since sound CVs aren't NMRA standardized.In fact,you stand a risk of messing up other brand decoders with these datas.You'll have to search the specific decoder's litteratures.
Well, you the operator control the sound. If you haven't adjusted it to suit your tastes, that's a problem with operator error, not with sound.
Note the preponderance of those suggesting turning the master volume level way down. No need to H8 on sound. Find your user docs and learn a little more about your decoder if it irritates you, then turn it down.
I was adjusting a Tsunami just last night. IIRC, it ended up at 22 (out of 255 steps) before it was suitably subdued for my ears. I usually start them at around 50 and go down from there when adjusting to suit.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
It's funny. I remember back almost a decade ago, when I was just gettting back into the hobby. Then, the answer to the "Is DCC easier than DC?" question included the simple statement that you didn't need kill switches for sidings and engine stalls, because the engines ran independently.
I was so old-school that I put in kill switches around the turntable. By the time I got around to building staging and storage yards, I did the same thing. I also run the shutdown sequence when I'm done with an engine for a while, if it's not on a killable track.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Another headache with sound equipped locomotives is many operators are older gentlemen with poor hearing who just refuse to set their sound levels to a reasonable level Because they can't hear"em then.....THEY JUST DRIVE ME NUTS!!
I've seen worse...a club member has the habit of bringing his two kids with him and sets them up with a sound equipped train...and if that isn't enough,they use the whistle to chase birds off the track.I lost the habit of going there........