Thanks Mark!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Excellent prices on EVERYthing ....
http://store.actionhobbieskingsville.com/
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Mark:
Can I ask the name of the HS that you are referring to? If they have decent pricing like your example I'd definetely do business with them.
Thanks
Credit Valley is so over-priced ! My local hobby shop in Kingsville is considerably cheaper. We were selling the 4.0 for $119.00 CDN (plus tax), and orders over $100.00 are shipped anywhere in Ontario for $5.00 !
We just got a new shipment in on Friday, not sure if there is any 4.0 decoders in the order, but if not, I can probably still hook you up. Matt from ESU was at my place last night and left me with some stock of my own.
OK, I priced out the Tsunami from Tony's and it works out to about $138.00 CDN to the front door. I have to add in the cost of a keep alive to that which will be around $37.00. Both prices include separate shipping costs. By shipping them separately I can beat the import duties but I have to pay the shipping twice. Can't win.
Just for comparison purposes, the closest HS (Credit Valley Railway in Mississauga, ON) would be about $190.00, taxes and delivery/pickup costs in, for the decoder only. They don't show a price right now for the keep alive, but I would guess that it would be around $40.00 taxes in.
I think I'm going to have to rely on the gear noise for now!
maxman:
Thanks for the link. I knew somebody other than the Loksound V3.5 had a decoder with the right sound but I hadn't gotten around to looking it up. It sounds really good. I'm going to price it out.
If you might be interested in a Tsunami, they have a Goose sound decoder. You can here a sample if you scroll down to the bottom of this list: http://soundtraxx.com/dsd/tsunami/tsunamisound.php
One of our club members has a Goose with this decoder installed and it sounds pretty good.
Thanks for the suggestion Randy. I will check it out.
I do prefer Loksound Select decoders but I have no problem with trying out a Digitrax sound decoder. My non sound decoders are all Digitrax and they work great.
Ouch! And I was thinking, the V4 isn't that much more than a Select - but that's here.
That I suppose is another option, not sure if John McMaster has a new Goose project or not, but the new Digitrax X series sound decoders aren't horrible, and are pretty cheap. Though I would prefer to keep all my decoders the same.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Mark and Randy:
At first glance the V4.0 sounds like an easy solution. However, if I buy one here in Canada the retail is $183.99 + $23.92 in HST = $207.91. Add about $12.00 for shipping or the same to drive to the HS (toll highway). That is thanks to our dollar being worth only about $0.77 USD.
I normally buy my Loksound Selects from Tony's Train Exchange and I can get them for less money than the Canadian suppliers are asking, including shipping. That's because Canadian Customs doesn't charge duty on model railroading stuff under $100 USD so I can beat the tax. However, with the V4.0 being $111.99 USD I will get hit with both shipping costs and duty. It will be a bit cheaper but it will still come in at about $190.00 CDN. That is more than I want to pay for a decoder, so I think I will wait for the Select version, which by the way works out to about $120.00 CDN to the door.
If the decoder was for something that I would be running a lot then I might grit my teeth and buy the V4.0, but the rail truck is more of a novelty item which won't see a lot of use. Right now I have an inexpensive Digitrax motor and lighting decoder which works fine. I think I will leave it silent for now, although I still have to buy a keep alive for it.
Again, thanks for your advice.
Buy a 4.0 Dave ....
maxman, Mark and Randy:
Thanks for the quick replies.
At least I now know that it is possible to use the older sound files with V4.0. I'll have to decide if I want to put out the extra cash right now or wait until Loksound offers it in the Select.
All the best
So the answer is, buy a V4.0 instead of a Select for this particular application.
You can import a 3.5 file into a 4.0 decoder using the latest software, but you can't import it into a Select.
I'm pretty certain that the answer is "no".
I have been waiting patiently for Loksound to release a Galloping Goose sound file for the Locksound Select. I just discovered that there is a Galloping Goose sound file available for the Loksound V3.5.
Is it possible to download the V3.5 sound file into a Loksound Select? I have a Lokprogrammer. The V3.5 has an 8Mbit chip whereas the Select has a 32Mbit memory chip.