DCC Sound?

[sb67]

I really like some of the sound locos I've heard at exhibitions and was wondering the best way to get into it myself. I have a Bachmann ezee controller so would that cope with sound? Should I fit a chip to an existing loco or buy one with sound fitted ( I was thinking of the Hornby 08).

I would appreciate your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks

Steve.

[Phil Bullock]

Hi Steve

 

Like most things you can make this as easy or complex as you want. A ready fitted loco is a good starting point but there is really no problem with fitting to a lot of current locos - some like Dapol's 22 even specify the speaker to use and have mountings ready. Whilst an 08 could be a good starting point for ready fitted something with a bit more room in the body might be a better starting point if you want to fit your own - speakers can go under cooling fan grills or in fuel tanks for example.

 

 

As to controller - sound is just another function so any controller with function buttons will give you basic control - but when you get to the point of wanting to adjust CVs on the chip then you will benefit from something a bit more sophisticated. We started off with Bachmann's Dynamis but have moved on to ECoS - a major benefit of which is the ability to save settings to a laptop and accesory control is rather more sophisticated. Horses for courses I guess - I know other systems have their exponents too.

 

IMHO out of the box diesels are better than steam although there are some excellent steam projects out there - and some of the diesel sound files in proprietary models can be improved by getting them re-blown by one of the expert suppliers - Howes of Oxford for instance.

 

The early Bachmann sound locos were the catalyst for Abbotswood. Have a go - you wont regret it!

 

Kind regards

 

Phil

[SRman]

I agree with Phil but would just add a couple of minor points:

 

1. A few rtr diesels still benefit from further tweaks, particularly to the speakers - Bachmann's 37s come to mind here. They benefit greatly from having their speakers 'boxed in' to form sound chambers, even if it is just with ordinary Blu-Tack surrounding and sealing the speaker. The sound quality is vastly improved and the volume also benefits with this simple mod.

 

2. The Hornby 08s have generally been criticised for poor sound quality so would probably not be a good first buy - I don't own one but a few I have seen and heard have been sufficient to deter me from purchasing same.

 

The E-Z controller may not give access to her function numbers but you will certainly have the ability to turn on the lights (where fitted) and engine plus the horns and most of the other functions (not entirely familiar with the E-Z but I would guess it can go up to functions 9 or 10 - not all sound projects use more than that anyway).