QSI/Airwire review

[lownote]

I'm a relative newbie to this hobby. I have no experience whatsoever with DCC. I thought this detaled review might be useful to other newbies.

 I have been running trains under track power using Aristo's 75 mhz TE onboard system. It's fine, but they Aristo has phased it out. It's also limited--to get sound you need to install a separate sound card, which is expensive and you get extremely limited control of the sounds.

QSI takes a different approach-the soundcard and the speed/direction/lights card are the same. They make a board that simply plugs into the socket of Aristo engines. It works on DC or DCC or with a remote Airwire throttle. To use it with Airwire you need to buy an additional "Gwire" board for around $90

It looked to me that if you wanted remote control and high quality sound and sophisticated control, this was the way to go. Once you have the Airwire throttle, the QSI card and the Gwire card are cheaper than a Phoenix 2k2 sound card alone, and slightly less than a a Phoenix P5 and a separate control card.

Another plus for me is that the QSI board, since it controls speed, does not need a separate "chuff sensor" or reed switch/magnet system to tie the sounds to the speed. You just plug it into the socket, plug the speaker in, and it's up and running, and if you match the loco sound file to your model prototype, the chuff sync quite well--better, in my view, than they did using a reed switch and axle magnets on the tender. You can adjust the shuff sync if you have the additional programmer software (see below).

I sprung for a QSI board for my aristo Pacific, and then another for my Aristo Mikado, replacing a Phoenix 2k2 card which had been in the tender.

How are the sounds? They are excellent--very high quality. They are slightly processed, with some added reverb on the whistles, but they have a slightly "dirtier" sound than Phoenix which I prefer. Using the airwire throttle, you get a really remarkable degree of control over the sounds. You can trigger a number of typical functions like bell, whistle, coupler clank etc. and there is also an interesting doppler effect as well as an effect that simulates and engine under load. To me, the engine seems more "connected" to the sound or "feels" more integrated. But that's a purely subjective feeling.

QSI also has a "programmer"--a USB based interface box--that works with QSI software to modify sound files or add a new file altogether to an existing loco. My Pacific came with the wrong sound file, and I wanted to fix it. It took me forever to get it to work--the QSI software is windows only, so I had to install windows on my Mac and install the appropriate updates. An then it turns out you have to disconnect the radio control--the "Gwire" card--to program the loco. Once I figured that out it all went very smoothly. QSI says, buried n the manual, that you can install a mini switch to disconnect the Gwire card, and there are two small solder pads on the GWire card which indicate where t mount the switch leads. But documentation on this is scarce at best. (see below)

Documentation with the QSI system overall is quite bad, especially if, like me, you have no prior experience with DCC. There are may overlapping manuals and updates; the manual I got with the board did not apply to the board I had. Between the Airire throttle and the QSI directions, it took me quite  while to feel comfortable making changes and I'm still figuring it out. QSI would do customers a service if it streamlined its documentation and tech support. 

Pros:

Excellent sounds
ease of installation  
no need for chuff sensors
lower cost

Cons
bad documentation
software runs only on windows

Overall I'm quite happy with it an will continue to gradually shift from Aristo's 75 mz to the QSI/Airwire  combination

One further note: Early versions of the QSI board shipped with a polyfuse whch can trip in warm weather. I had this happen yesterday running in 93 degree heat. Current versions of the board do not include this polyfuse and QSI recommends jumpering the existing polyfuse to take it out of operation