Superrams Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hi folks Could anyone who has had sound fitted for their Class 37 at Olivia's trains let me know what their opinions are of it please. I have heard a Class 37 with their sound added,and I thought that the engine still sounds to be running hard when it has actually come to a halt for a short while. ( too long? ) Also,it sound as though it's on full revs for a short while before it moves off. ( too long ? ) Is this me being harsh ? Are the rest of the Class 37 chips the same? I desperately want sound in one of my 37's,and I don't have much confidence in fitting it myself,so this is why I am leaning towards having one fitted by Olivia's But I just have these reservations about their sound. Can I have your opinions please guys ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven156 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Hi folks Could anyone who has had sound fitted for their Class 37 at Olivia's trains let me know what their opinions are of it please. I have heard a Class 37 with their sound added,and I thought that the engine still sounds to be running hard when it has actually come to a halt for a short while. ( too long? ) Also,it sound as though it's on full revs for a short while before it moves off. ( too long ? ) Is this me being harsh ? Are the rest of the Class 37 chips the same? I desperately want sound in one of my 37's,and I don't have much confidence in fitting it myself,so this is why I am leaning towards having one fitted by Olivia's But I just have these reservations about their sound. Can I have your opinions please guys ? I had the Olivias 37 chip for a while, was told by them I had to "learn" how to drive it. Considering the ease of use and better sounds from Howes and SWD I soon lost patience with it and had it reblown to SWD 37 sounds which are much more responsive to the throttle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superrams Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 I had the Olivias 37 chip for a while, was told by them I had to "learn" how to drive it. Considering the ease of use and better sounds from Howes and SWD I soon lost patience with it and had it reblown to SWD 37 sounds which are much more responsive to the throttle. Thanks Guys I have this morning been in contact with Rails of Sheffield, who tell me they now fit sound decoders,and they use the Loksound one which has pleased me no end as i really didn't want to have the Olivia's version for the reasons above. It's a bit patronising Steve to be told you need to learn how to drive it. I 'm not keen on their products or style i must admit. I'm not a rivet counter by any means, but i do like things to be prototypical wherever possible How can an engine be on full throttle when its come to a standstill ? Is the Loksound chip ok does anyone know ? John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed-farms Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Rails of Sheffield use South West Digital sound files - they are on SWD's supported dealer list http://www.southwestdigital.co.uk/New%20design%20dealers.htm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevpeo Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 There's one of my ''quality'' videos here of an Olivia's refurbished 37 chip. It gives the general idea. - HTH, kev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted September 29, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 29, 2011 Well Kev's vid seems to show a reasonable sound. I've obviously got to improve my 'driving' I'd have liked to have seen it coasting or running in to the station just to make me feel really useless. P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superrams Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Nice video and layout Kev. How many trees have you got there !! The 37 sounds good, but I was hoping it would show the loco coming to a halt to see if it is still on full throttle after it has stopped Perhaps it's just me being picky, after all last time I was in Olivia's they were extremely busy fitting chips. They must make a fortune !! Thanks Ed for the info regarding Rails. I am off there soon and they can fit it for me ( thanks Richard for your offer by the way ) I would like to think I could fit it myself, but with the donor loco ( 37 688 ) just having cost me £100, and the sound costing another £100, I don't want to cock things up. It's all about a confidence really,and playing safe! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 As soon as you fit sound from one of the specialist manufactures you will have an instantly better sound than any supplied by Bachmann or Hornby. The reason for this is that Bachmann & Hornby fit 'open' speakers which give a poor sound whereas a bought in decoder comes with a completely sealed speaker giving a far superior sound. Now if you buy from Olivia's Neil Bishop the owner will supply you with one of a wide range of speaker sizes to suit your loco. Olivia's now use the new Loksound V4 sound decoders which will allow you to ajust individual sounds within the unit. I would strongly suggest you give Neil a call at Olivia's & put your fears about the sounds to him & I'm sure he will be able to sort it out for you. One of the good things with Olivia's is you are able to speak to the 'organ grinder' himself so avoiding been fobbed off with wrong answers. With regards fitting it yourself it depends on how confident you are, I have fitted many different loco's with sound some are very easy (Hornby A4) whereas others (Hornby L1) are quite difficult. Neil fits class 37's with speakers in the fuel tank area & he will fit twin speakers if you ask which give a great sound. I have a few Olivia's 37's done this way & I find them most realistic for sound. Hope this is of help to you. Cheers silverlink Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superrams Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 I was the same when I first chipped a loco, I threw myself in at the deep end and hard wired a Hornby 08, since that everything seems easy! Yes Richard,i know what you mean I remember when i used to pay a fiver to my local stockist to fit a DCC chip,and now i can't believe i used to do that its so simple to do. With a sound chip though,if you drop a clanger it could cost you in excess of £100,but i'm sure as you state it isn't rocket science and i will go for it one day when i'm feeling brave ! As soon as you fit sound from one of the specialist manufactures you will have an instantly better sound than any supplied by Bachmann or Hornby. Thanks Silverlink for your input This subject is very much personal taste isn' it. I bought my sound class 08 from Olivia's, and preferred Hornby's sound to their's much to their astonishment,even though the Hornby whistle is astonishingly non prototypical. I also have Hornby's Class 60 which i think is a good sound and i'm happy with it. I have spoken to Neil at Olivia's,and he's a great bloke and knows his stuff, but i'm just not happy with their class 37 slowing down and prolonged engine revs when already stopped. As stated previously,this may be me just being picky. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I was the same when I first chipped a loco, I threw myself in at the deep end and hard wired a Hornby 08, since that everything seems easy! Yes Richard,i know what you mean I remember when i used to pay a fiver to my local stockist to fit a DCC chip,and now i can't believe i used to do that its so simple to do. With a sound chip though,if you drop a clanger it could cost you in excess of £100,but i'm sure as you state it isn't rocket science and i will go for it one day when i'm feeling brave ! As soon as you fit sound from one of the specialist manufactures you will have an instantly better sound than any supplied by Bachmann or Hornby. Thanks Silverlink for your input This subject is very much personal taste isn' it. I bought my sound class 08 from Olivia's, and preferred Hornby's sound to their's much to their astonishment,even though the Hornby whistle is astonishingly non prototypical. I also have Hornby's Class 60 which i think is a good sound and i'm happy with it. I have spoken to Neil at Olivia's,and he's a great bloke and knows his stuff, but i'm just not happy with their class 37 slowing down and prolonged engine revs when already stopped. As stated previously,this may be me just being picky. John John, You are entitled to be 'picky,' you are the customer. Any supplier who forgets this risks losing business in the long run. All the suggestions given so far use LokSound decoders, which are very good, but too expensive in my view. There is a viable alternative which will cost you less money, and if you are truely interested in prototypical sounds rather than just pushing the throttle up and down and hoping for the best, you should at least investigate Digitrain's Class 37 Multi-Drive Zimo decoder. You can drive this in automatic mode or a special 'manual notching' version which guarantees not to thrash in the station unless you choose to make it do so. The sounds are really good too. Also, there are variants for class 37/0 and 37/4 on the same decoder. All these variants, you can select using your DCC controller with a simple CV change. Search this forum and YouTube for Zimo Class 37 sounds and you will find some good examples. Ask some people who have used them why they prefer them. Here is a good example from a member of this forum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbzTDc3tIPI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL And the icing on the cake - Digitrains will supply and fit Zimo Multi-Drive sound decoders for about the same price as you will pay for Loksound decoders alone. Kind regards, Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 John, You are entitled to be 'picky,' you are the customer. Any supplier who forgets this risks losing business in the long run. All the suggestions given so far use LokSound decoders, which are very good, but too expensive in my view. There is a viable alternative which will cost you less money, and if you are truely interested in prototypical sounds rather than just pushing the throttle up and down and hoping for the best, you should at least investigate Digitrain's Class 37 Multi-Drive Zimo decoder. You can drive this in automatic mode or a special 'manual notching' version which guarantees not to thrash in the station unless you choose to make it do so. The sounds are really good too. Also, there are variants for class 37/0 and 37/4 on the same decoder. All these variants, you can select using your DCC controller with a simple CV change. Search this forum and YouTube for Zimo Class 37 sounds and you will find some good examples. Ask some people who have used them why they prefer them. Here is a good example from a member of this forum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbzTDc3tIPI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL And the icing on the cake - Digitrains will supply and fit Zimo Multi-Drive sound decoders for about the same price as you will pay for Loksound decoders alone. Kind regards, Paul Like it Paul ! must look into this system. I've always tried to keep abreast of the times so anything new is worth looking at. With ref Johns comments in thread 12 good for you John, you follow your own path with your sound after all it would be rather boring if we did the same thing. Cheers silverlink Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevpeo Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Nice video and layout Kev. How many trees have you got there !! The 37 sounds good, but I was hoping it would show the loco coming to a halt to see if it is still on full throttle after it has stopped. Your wish is granted! - As for the trees, there's one less than when we set off home from Blackburn show! The total now being 278 ''bog brushes''! kev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superrams Posted October 1, 2011 Author Share Posted October 1, 2011 Thanks for the video Kev. Must admit, it sounds good. TREEmendous in fact ! : ) And thanks to you Paulibanger for the Digitrains info. I have in fact been to Rails today to get a Loksound SWD Class 37 chip, but they sold the last one they had before I arrived so they are going to send me one through the post They were very helpful there and convinced me that paying their chap £20 to fit it really wasn't neccessary , it is easy to fit , so I've parted with my £94 ( I thought that was quite a good price ), and I'll be making my sound fitting debut when it arrives ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mr.S.corn78 Posted October 2, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 2, 2011 Hi, Don't forget to take all the capacitors off the motor contacts and the main circuit board in the loco. Before any ones says why, it is stated in the loksound manual. Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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