National Train Show in Seattle this weekend

[johncolley]

Don, As to the speakers, Bruce Petrarca has come up with a solution, at least for 'F' units. In my Stewart FT's I am using Digitrax decoders in 2 'A's and 1'B'. The other 'B' is a dummy that Bruce is filling with Soundtraxx, 2 woofers and a tweeter. A thought for some of the Super locos eg.: SD70MAC and the like...Take out one drive tower, replace it with one speaker and put another in the fuel tank. The units are often run in multiples so put the speaker end closest to the lead unit, eh? Where there is a will, there is a way!

[Don Gibson]

QUOTE: I have a friend who is heavy into electronics & dcc. He is quite skeptical that Soundtraxx's Tsunami decoders can equally match or better Broadway/s QSI HO onboard systems even with decent speakers and baffling.

Soundtraxx make Custom units to be installed in DCC loco's. QSI's big attraction is It works on both.DCC and DC . One has to give up something to get something, QSI takes approx. 5 volts to activate , and 9 volts to start it moving. I think that's quite a bit higher than the Soundtraxx. One is a Peach - the other a Necterine

SOUND is movement of air ( vibration) that reaches your ear. The more air in motion makes it louder and Loudspeaker size determines how much air can be moved. The size of HO limits the size of the speaker. So far BLI is using two speakers in the Tender for steam - which will be difficult to do in a diesel.

SOFTWARE (the stored sounds) be it actual, or synthesized, depends on the above, and with pressures of pricing to reach more people, Sythesized sound will become more prevalent - and one sound - diesel or steam - may eventually suit all.
So far, That hasn't been Soundtraxx's thrust. The BLI type market - we'll wait and see.


My EDIT: Last Sun. two CGMR members brought their BLI steamer and Lionel veranda Turbine.
I was seated at a control panel and not operating either, but I noticed that the continously generated sound of the QSI turbine was nearly identical to the Steamer going around the room, except for the cut offs.

Maybe we're already there?

[jfugate]

MyMemoirs has posted some video clips of the Seattle Train Show at: http://model-trains-video.com

They got clips of new Athearn stuff, some new CVP stuff (coming), and clips of some of the layouts on display.

Sorry, Marty, they never made it as far as the Intermountain booth. But Harry Wong has some nice photos of stuff from the show, and you can get to his photos from http://model-trains-video.com as well.

Streaming clips being what they are, you can get a glimpse of what's being shown and the sounds pretty good on the broadband clips, but IMO, the 56K clips are next to worthless. The modem guys can try the 100K clips, but you'll have to be very patient ...

[Anonymous]

Ray,

What do you want with a Santa Fe stockcar?

We had the sample of one version of the car there, I don't know if pics have shown up anywhere yet. We'll have them on our web site shortly.

Marty

[orsonroy]

To heck with the F-units, Marty, when are you guys going to 'officially' announce and show pics of your new ATSF stock cars?!?!?!?

[Anonymous]

Glad you like it.

Thanks for the kind words.

Look for these engines sometime early next year.

Marty

[Anonymous]

Marty, I love you man!!!

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

just saw a picture of your FP7 announcement

you are doing C&EI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jfugate]

Should have the Athearn SD45T-2s video clip from the train show (and other goodies too) posted by this Friday.

[Anonymous]

Marty


please please please please pretty please release the FP7's in Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad blue and orange paint!!

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

cant wait for the FMC boxcars!!

(and the Athearn SD45T-2's, sorry[:D])

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Intermountain

Joe I'm crushed.

I would figure someone with a passing interest in the SP (like yourself) would have at least noticed the new HO scal FP7 that was in our booth! [:D]

All kidding aside, thanks for the compliment on the FMC boxcar -- it's been a fun project.

It was a lot of fun to see all my old friends again. I kept trying to get over to Joe's booth to pick up his DVD set but was distracted or ran into someone or another every time. Oh well, maybe next time.

Marty

Marty:

Yeh, having a booth to pu***he DVD set kept me plenty busy too ... so I missed the FP7.

Of course, it's a bit before my era, modeling the SP in the 1980s like I do. Couple my era bias with my NTS booth responsibilties and the tunnel vision was operating in full tilt!

The FP7 sounds like a real gem! Makes me want to think about modeling the Black Widow days again ... ;-)

[Anonymous]

NTS was great! Lots a excellent layouts and displays.

Joe, I passed by your booth a couple times and would have introduced myself, but you were engaged in conversation. Nice to see the Kalmbach folks again -- David, Andy, Hal, and Bergie. Andy has a new book on modeling freight yards coming out, and that will be a must-have for my library!

[Anonymous]

Joe I'm crushed.

I would figure someone with a passing interest in the SP (like yourself) would have at least noticed the new HO scal FP7 that was in our booth! [:D]

All kidding aside, thanks for the compliment on the FMC boxcar -- it's been a fun project.

It was a lot of fun to see all my old friends again. I kept trying to get over to Joe's booth to pick up his DVD set but was distracted or ran into someone or another every time. Oh well, maybe next time.

Marty

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by johncolley

Joe, I had a great time at the show, and much pleasure finally meeting you. So much so that I forgot to ask you for the printouts of your presentation that you were going to set aside. I also forgot to ask how far you are from Portland. I would really like to join in the operations sometime, but it is a major thing for me to get that much time away as I am a 24/7 caregiver for my wife. However I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of the DVD series. John Colley, Port Townsend, WA

John:

Nice to meet you too ... it always helps to put a face to a name.

I'll post my DCC clinic handouts up on the Siskiyou Line yahoo group site in the next day or so. See: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/siskiyouline/

I live about 30 miles south of Portland in Woodburn, OR. If you can manage to make it down to Woodburn one of these days for an op session, be great to have you. See the operations calendar on my web site to for the days we operate.

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Allen Jenkins

Thanks for the tip-off on the tunnel-motor V20! You made my day, and my 150th post! ACJ.

And Athearn did allow us to video their prototype of the SD45T-2 they had on display so once we get the train show footage captured and put online I'll let you know!

[johncolley]

Joe, I had a great time at the show, and much pleasure finally meeting you. So much so that I forgot to ask you for the printouts of your presentation that you were going to set aside. I also forgot to ask how far you are from Portland. I would really like to join in the operations sometime, but it is a major thing for me to get that much time away as I am a 24/7 caregiver for my wife. However I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of the DVD series. John Colley, Port Townsend, WA

[Allen Jenkins]

Thanks for the tip-off on the tunnel-motor V20! You made my day, and my 150th post! ACJ.

[jfugate]

Well, I model 1980s diesels so I don't spend a lot of time listening to steam sound locos, so take my opinion for what it's worth.

I have heard the QSI SP cab forward and in my opinion this Tsunami demo sounded every bit as good. But realize again that I have not spent a lot of time trying to evaluate steam loco sound decoders, so my ear is probably not very critical.

I too got the sense in speaking with Nancy that SoundTraxx wants to do the very best job possible with this decoder and with all the litigation going around, did not want to give away anything too soon or give someone with a nasty dispostion in the trade something to complain about.

Don't blame them one bit. Too bad the hobby's turned so nasty lately, but you gotta be extra cautious during these times. Hopefully it will all blow over and we can get back to the concept that "Model Railroading is fun" for everyone, in the business or just enjoying the hobby for pleasure.

[AntonioFP45]

Jfugate,

Thanks anyway, you made the effort! Too bad Nancy didn't also showcase a "diesel unit".

Wow! It's funny that up until the MTH lawsuit, Soundtraxx had been announcing a Dec 2003 release and now it turns out that the Tsunami still has "bugs". Seems like QSI then has bragging rights as far as dynamic sound with few problems in HO scale.

(O.K, yes!--- I'm just venting! I know that electronics technology can be tricky but with SO MANY diesel modelers on the market, one does not need to be a marketing analyst to assume that Soundtraxx would have a diesel unit ready for an important occasion like an NMRA Convention!!!!).

I have a friend who is heavy into electronics & dcc. He is quite skeptical that Soundtraxx's Tsunami decoders can equally match or better Broadway/s QSI HO onboard systems even with decent speakers and baffling.

I just have to continue to be patient (you too, Dave9999) and expect that Soundtraxx wants to "get it just right" before the release.

Jfugate, what's your opinion? I'm sure you've heard Broadway units before. How does what you've heard compare? Does the adjustable "reverb", "short-whistle", and overall sound give QSI a run for the money?

Thanks!

[jfugate]

As to other cool things at the train show ... CVP has battery-powered DCC perfected for garden railway use. No power to the rail is needed. It's not small enough for anything below G scale yet, however. Battery technology just isn't there yet.

For SP, Cotton Belt and Rio Grande fans, Athearn showed a prototype of their new SD45T2. Very cool. See through air intakes, see through hood fans, and looked very "right" in its overall proportions and details. Should be the end of the year, they are saying.

Details West announced a new SP SD9E detailing kit, complete with the extended electrical cabinet behind the cab and many other detail parts. Also an SP SD40/45 detailing kit.

Intermountain announced the FMC double-door outside braced car in SP and Golden West paint schemes (along with some others I don't recall now) ... a very nice model of a car type that rolled the nation's railroads from the mid 70s up to the present day and has numbered into the tens of thousands produced.

Later ... will let you know when the things we were allowed to video have been posted to http://model-trains-video.com.

[jfugate]

Well, we tried.

Showed up at the SoundTraxx booth with the camera and mike armed to shoot away and Nancy came up and said sorry, no video, no photos, no sound recordings. Apparently, she talked to the Tsunami designers and they said it's still prototype and has known bugs. They don't mind showing convention goers, but no recordings.

So that's that. We did shoot other things at the train show, and will still post the video, but no SoundTraxx.

I can say, the Tsunami decoder they demo'ed was a steam sound decoder and had tons of functions with lots of cool sounds, very silky smooth and full sounding.

They hope to release by September, but no promises. They are negotiating with suppliers now and several are out of the country and no one has committed to any dates yet.

That's the best we could do.

[AntonioFP45]

Jfugate,

Thanks very much for your willingness to help out those of us that are very curious!
Looking forward to seeing "and hearing" your recordings!

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by brothaslide

QUOTE:
Anyone else have any requests?

Yea - Could you bring back some "free samples". Like a Kato AC4400

If they gave out any free samples like that, you can becha I would get one!

;-)

[brothaslide]

QUOTE:
Anyone else have any requests?

Yea - Could you bring back some "free samples". Like a Kato AC4400

[jfugate]

Spoke with Nancy at SoundTraxx today (one of the Tsunami product supervisors) and she gave me her permission to video the Tsunami demo decoder they have on display. We're going to try to do it before the show opens to the public in the morning so we can get as little background noise as possible on the video.

We also have a directional mike that I plan to hold right next to the loco when we shoot the video so we can get something that sounds decent.

[AntonioFP45]

Thanks for your input guys.

I visited Happy Hobo Trains today. While there I spoke to a friend who owns a brass Southern Pacific GS-4 steamer. He was interested in a DCC conversion. He got excited when I told him that the new Tsunami decoder is going to have the GS4's steamboat whistle AND horn available. (for those of you not aware, look at a prototype picture of a GS4's front end. You'll see a single horn near the roof. It's a "honker".)

He immedietly whipped out his cell phone and callled another friend who's at the convention. Told him to get as much info as he can about the Tsunami decoder.
Good to see that more people are becoming interested in sound!

Take care!

[jfugate]

QUOTE: Originally posted by johncolley

AntonioFP45, Do you know if Bruce Petrarca will be there Saturday? I would like to meet him as he is doing a sound install for me. I am certainly looking forward to meeting Joe Fugate and a whole bunch of train folks at the show and the Free-mo get together afterward.

John:

I spoke with Bruce this morning at my clinic. He gave me some recommendations of some folks I need to speak with at the show about some DCC items I covered in my clinic.

So yes, He's here!

[johncolley]

AntonioFP45, Do you know if Bruce Petrarca will be there Saturday? I would like to meet him as he is doing a sound install for me. I am certainly looking forward to meeting Joe Fugate and a whole bunch of train folks at the show and the Free-mo get together afterward.

[johncolley]

AntonioFP45, Do you know if Bruce Petrarca will be there Saturday? I would like to meet him as he is doing a sound install for me. I am certainly looking forward to meeting Joe Fugate and a whole bunch of train folks at the show and the Free-mo get together afterward.

[Noah Hofrichter]

Ooooh, I like that schedual. Just showed it to my Dad. He said we can probably do Cinci, Philly, and Definately Milwaukee, we're only two hours away after all.

Noah