What exactly is Williams True Blast Horn and Bell?

[Anonymous]

I have several older Williams that are great runners and pullers. They all have the earlier horn that sounds a little fruity. I have a couple new Williams that have OMS sound boards and they are teriffic. This board has diesel sounds continuous and the bell or horn when the button is pushed. I dont have any new true blast. What does this sound like? Is it digital sound or something else. Thanks in advance.....Tim

[Anonymous]

True Blast II is a digital sound board produced by Train America Studios. What it is is a prerecorded multi chime horn blowing two longs a short and a long (-- -- o --) which is a typical road crossing sequence. It also includes a bell that can be toggled on and off. Unfortunately, the horn will only sound in the road crossing pattern and the bell and horn cannot be heard at the same time. I have purcased both the steam and diesel versions and am very satisfied with the results. Installation is very simple too - two wires! One to the third rail pick up and one to ground. In Williams trains the TB II is a perfect match, simple yet very effective and reliable.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Notch. The sounds are of good quality. I have William's Alco PA-1, the horn is an authentic early Alco chime and the bell is mechanical. The Berkshire that I sold had a very pretty recording of the 765's whistle and a swinging bell.

I have purchased TAS command and RS4 upgrades for the PA-1 and for my Weaver RS-11. I plan on posting a diary when I start the upgrades, because I'm a complete novice and figure that others can learn from my misadventures [:D]

[FJ and G]

I was told that the bell and horn were recorded from an early Geep; perhaps a GP-30?

At very slow speeds, I cannot get either to sound. Also, when reversing, the sequence stops. When the horn is sounding, you can hear some engine sounds in the background which are pretty cool. Too bad the engine sounds can't stay on after the horn finishes sequencing.

It is a challenge to hit the horn button at just the right moment when approaching the grade crossing.

Also, I've lashed several models of diesels together and the True Horn and Bell sound at nearly exactly the same time.

dav

[ChiefEagles]

Rick H, please do that as I am thinking of upgrading my Williams too.

[ben10ben]

For those of you who are curious, the horn is recorded from an Ohio Central GP-10(GP-9 with upgraded electronics). The whistle is NKP 765 with Rich Melvin at the throttle. Both recordings use the brass bell from the GP-10 being hit with a hammer.

[mainequarter]

Please sir, tell me how can i  operate  a true blast system ? i am new to ALL OF THIS.        THANK YOU.

[Firelock76]

Well, nothing much has changed in 14 years, the Williams "True-Blast" horn for diesels (and whistle for steam) sound the usual grade crossing sequence, "Long, long, short, long" and the bell goes "ding-ding-ding" when you push the "bell" button on your transformer. 

The current "True-Blast" system for diesels also has diesel engine sounds in addition to the above.  Installation is still very easy, just two wires.  The only problem you might have is it's a BIG speaker that comes with the diesel system and you might not have room inside the locomotive you want to install it in.

I've installed the new "True-Blast" system in some silent diesels I have and it works well. 

Does that help?

[Dean37]

new to the forum...can the True-Blast steam be installed in Lionel locomotives that have no sounds? Could it be installed in the tender behind the engine.

[Flintlock76]

There's no room inside a steam locomotive for the Tru-Blast system, but there's plenty of room in the tender, at least there is in all the tenders I've got.

The thing is, your tender is going to need a truck with a pick-up roller to supply power to the unit.  You can ground the unit to the frame. 

Barring that, you can always cheat a little bit and install the unit in a passenger car with lights.  I've done that too.  Put the car behind the locomotive and you'll never know the difference as to where the sounds coming from.

[Dean37]

Thankyou ...that helps alot

[rtraincollector]

For the cost of what Williams charges you could get a lot better sound system with a www.electricrr.com rails sound commander

[Flintlock76]

You're welcome Dean!

And   aboard!  You can learn a lot here, so don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how silly you think they may be.