My first locomotive with sound

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

A couple of years ago, I was in a hobby shop that had a layout with a locomotive on it that had sound. To me, after about twenty minutes of hearing this locomotive, it became annoying. No sound for me.

I was looking to purchase an HO scale Alco RSD-15 locomotive. The only one that I could find was from BLI, with sound. I bought it.

I am amazed ( read: overwhelmed ) at all the CV settings this locomotive has. I have been trying different settings, but eventually reset the decoder to factory. But even with the sound turned down, I still find it annoying after about twenty minutes.

Am I missing somthing? How do you cope with multiple sound locomotives running at the same time? Do you let all your sound locomotives sitting in a yard ‘idle’? Do you use the bell when moving through a yard? ( after 10 seconds of the bell, I’m ready to scream. )

Maybe it’s just me.

2

It’s not just you. I too love sound although most of my locos are steam but all have sound.

I put in a power cut-off for the service yard so I don’t have to listen to several locos idling at the same time. I only like to hear one loco at a time.

CN Charlie

3

I have sound locos and enjoy them. But i have to keep the volume cv set to below 25%. That can be problematic if it is not loud enough to drown out decoder bemf motor buzz in some loco/decoder combinations or just a noisy motor/drivetrain.

So the volume set too low is sometimes annoying because other noises can be heard through through the sounds.

4

Well, with respect, you’re not “missing” anything. The enjoyment (or not) for scale sound is a matter of personal taste based on expectations and experience.

From my limited observation, I’ve noticed that modelers (including myself) that spent quite a bit of time railfanning (or riding trains) during their childhood years tend to enjoy recreating and hearing those sounds again. For some (not all) modelers that spent little time around trains but still like them, sound on a layout can become annoying after a while. Just my opinion.

Using myself as an example, during my teen years I spent a lot of time at the local Amtrak station and SCL rail yards. As a result, I smile whenever I hear sound units equipped with EMD Dash 2 and GE “U-Boat” setups. As long as the sound is low, I can listen to them for hours!

I find it really cool when on a layout (at low volume) there are several sound equipped diesels doing nothing but idling in the yard or service shop. Again, based on my memories.

The intent for sound is to complement our miniature railroad world. I agree that at a high or moderate level it can be annoying. At a low volume, a quality sound set up in a locomotive can be an enjoyable part of this hobby.

Selective compression should be kept in mind. This is why when I run sound units on a friend’s layout, I don’t blow the horn and ring the bell for EVERY grade crossing as my train moves on the mainline of his folded dogbone styled layout. It would become annoying and I would start feeling a bit irritated.

When departing a station stop, I blow two “short” toots instead of two long blasts (I remember some SCL locomotive engineers that were “horn happy”!). Anyway, each modeler should tailor his sound use routine to his/her personal taste.

Club modelers, especially, should be considerate. I like the way a friend of mine operated his so

5

I have a small layout in a small room where I can run three trains at once. in this small room it can be annoying. However if I’m running two steam trains on the double main outer loops and want to use my GP7 for switching, I just mute the other two and enjoy the sounds of the one I’m operating. Even the sounds of trains running with no sound can be a little loud in the small room so I tend to run them at slow speeds. Also, I’ll sometimes let them run with the lights turned off just to prolong bulb life and I think it’s prototypical as I don’t think the lighting rules were as they are today back in the 1940’s and I recall seeing them running with no headlight burning during the day time back in those days. Ken

6

No. It is not just you. I have four sound equipped locomotives out of twenty. Although the sound of a Alco 244 is really something to hear, the sound can be annoying. Here is how I manage it on my small layout:

I never allow two locomotives sound at the same time;

main volume control set at about 20%;

long interval for the bell which may be the most annoying sound of all.

7

Hi,

I do have sound on all my locomotives, but they aren’t all active at the same time. My 8-track roundhouse has a rotary selector switch which is used to select which track is active, then that locomotive is moved out onto the mainline. As well as reducing noise pollution, it also prevents the decoders from heating up while idle. Given that I’m modelling a small logging operation, I only need one engine running at a time anyway.

Having said that, there are some sounds I find annoying and don’t use at all. Namely, the bell sound. I just find the repeditive ‘ding ding ding’ to be jarring.

As for volume, I’ve got them set so that they sound reasonably loud on my home layout. Not deafiningly loud, but loud enough to cover the sound of the mechanism.

8

Every engine I have that run on my layout has to have sound. No silent engines for me. Any engine that I have with no sound, sits on a shelf until I install it. Some older engines will never be upgraded.

If the sound is too loud it can be very annoying so just turn it down.

When your running 3 sound equipped modern diesels, it is music to my ears. I only run single steam locomotives, mostly from the super steam era and the chuffing is just wonderful to hear.

9

With my NCE Power Cab F8 turns the sound on and off.

Bob

10

No thanks, not yet. My layout is too small, and you would here it all the way around my 50’ continuous run.

When I want sound, I have a Sound Symphony 77 I turn on. For me, nothing in HO scale would sound like standing trackside, or sitting in my truck at a crossing.

Besides, theres all that wiring, and making things fit in an already crowded loco shell.

When I do jump off the pier, it will be with Loksound, or what ever it is you guys all rave about.

Mike.

11

One thing I’ve noticed is decoders often have all the sounds about the same volume. I always try to set the sounds so that the horn or whistle is noticeably louder than the engine chuff or diesel rumble sound.

I agree with the bell comment earlier, I end up turning the bell down very low and don’t use it all that much - although there are prototype situations where it should be used.

Other than the bell and whistle, I don’t usually adjust individual sounds, unless one seems way to loud and/or annoying to me.

12

I share the same opinion that Antonio mentions above. In my days of yore, I spent many hours riding trains and watching arrivals and departures at passenger stations and freight yards alike.

Part of being a modeler, I am recreating some of those memories and sound plays a big role in making that memory come alive.

I treat sound in the same regard as if it is a seasoning for food. If it is all blended harmoniously it makes for an enjoyable feast.

Too much of any one “seasoning” and it will spoil the recipe. Like David, I want to have sound on every locomotive on the roster. When I run some of my non-sound engines I sometimes catch myself looking for the whistle function before realizing, duh… there’s no sound in that one [D)]

As others have mentioned, keep the volume at a respectable level. Many, if not all, manufacturers (Strike that, Rapido ships sound locomotives with reduced sound levels) by default have the levels set WAY too high, like color TVs in the showroom, so you have to tune your “seasoning” to your tastes.

I agree that loud, repetitive sounds are annoying. As an attendee of some of the model train shows, I can attest. It seems like there are dealers and layout operators that play “can You Top This” and have the sound cranked up to ear splitting levels in their Toonerville Trolleys and Thomas locomotives.

Regards, Ed

13

All of my locomotives are with sound, but I rarely have more than two or three active on the layout at any one time. I mute all that are not being used, although I may leave a diesel idling for that effect while a steamer is moving about. However, in the real world, sound scales by attenuating using the inverse square law. In a yard, trackside, that could be distances of three and four hundred meters or more. In a train room, we’re talking a whopping six meters, maybe ten in a monster layout. You’ll still hear the distant locos in a train room, even though they may be half a scale mile from you. That’s highly unrealistic, and its why we find it annoying; there’s simply too many competing noises. Also, they’re only poor approximations of the real dynamic sounds we hear in the actual industry.

One feature about the QSI decoders that I have appreciated over time is their ability to customize the extent of the muting. You can mute your sounds from a high of 50% all the way down to zero…fully muted. I have found that, with the mute set to about 20% of the full volune, I can leave several locomotives making noises on the tracks and they are not nearly as annoying to me, if at all.

14

Hi,

I’ve got several units with sound - mostly BLIs. My layout fills an 11x15 room, so a little bit of sound goes a long way. My preference is to have the whistle/horn loud, and the other sounds much lower. And like others said, after awhile I just want to hear the electric motors and rolling wheels.

If I had a large layout in an open area, I would probably ramp up the sound. In any case, having more than two “sounding” at the same time is a bit much.

BTW, my first and still most impressive sounding loco is the BLI ATSF 4-8-4.

15

Welcome to the wonderful world of sound! Now,even though I set the volume CV at a comfortable level I hit F8 (MRC Tech 6) after 20-30 minutes.

One of the joys for me is parking my DCC/Sound equipped SW1500 by the office,shut the lights off and let the engine idle while the crew enjoys a cup of coffee while preparing the next “day” industrial switch list.

To my mind that idling 645E with a occasional air release sounds pretty darn good.

16

Hello all,

You aren’t missing anything.

At train shows, club layouts and the Colorado Model Railroad Museum I marvel at the sound locomotives and consists; both diesel and steam.

However at home I don’t have a single sound equipped loco. Partially due to the added expense of sound and the cacophony of multiple units both running and idle. Nothing against sound units but for now it’s not for me.

Another reason I haven’t added sound to my motive fleet is that many are “vintage” DC converts to DCC. When I install the decoders I use the noise or lack there of as a diagnostic.

Recently I added 8-pin “plug-in” decoders to NMRA DCC Ready new locomotives. The manufacturers OEM, aftermarket, two-function decoders didn’t have “run silent” capabilities. I swapped out the OEM/Aftermarket (excuse the oxymoron) decoders for another brand and the annoying motor noise was eliminated.

Had these locomotives been equipped with sound I might have mistaken the motor buzz for part of the sound.

This is not to say that sound locos aren’t in my future. But for now I’m OK with non-sound units.

Hope this helps.

17

When I installed my first sound decoder (2006) into a SP Cab Forward I had the sound all the way up and enjoyed it very much but it drove my wife crazy. She enjoyed working on my (or our layout) until I added the sound.

Over the years I have dropped the sound to just above 25% on all of my decoders. I set the accessory sound levels to barely audible keeping the bell so that it is distinguishable and leave the horn at a little over 50%.

The max on my layout at one time is one steam and one diesel (one diesel can be a pair of E-7s, A&B). I normally leave a yard diesel (SD or GP) idling near the diesel maintenance shop. Any thing more becomes too much very fast.

I guess it’s like the kids today with there boom box car stereos, when you first get the ability you crank it up but as one ages the volume comes down.

18

I sometimes like my steam engines to have sound, but, yes, after a few minutes of that I often do turn it off completely. Besides, generally the whistle sound is incorrect for the prototype loco. Some manufacturers have been bad with not getting the whistle choices correct.

Cost-wise, I’d much prefer no sound at all, but the industry trend is to force one to buy sound-equipped engines.

That’s another reason to consider some of the brass that is out there.

19

Agreed. I set the bell at about 50% and the horn about 80%. Everything else is at 20 to 25% level.

Its just not realistic to me to have the motors, exhaust, and fans be just as loud as the horn. And they seem to be set that way from the factory.

20

To all, as a designer of HiFi speaker systems, let me share a few simple facts.

It is well proven that hearing a low fidelity “version” of a sound (or music) that you are familiar with triggers the exact same nerve centers in the brain as the original “full fidelity” sound did.

So those of you who have identified that you like sound and have experianced lots of real train sounds, this is to be expected - to a point.

It is also well documented science that the longer you listen to poor quality or “unbalanced” sound, that it will eventually become very tiring or annoying.

The threashold of where these two elements of human hearing will intersect is different for each individual, and will vary with volume.

Also, if the individual has no “reference” sound in their memory, their reaction to the poor quality sound may be very different. They may except it as how the sound should be, or, they may reject it as simply being “noise”.

I have heard my share of real trains, steam and diesel. In fact I live only a short drive from the Strasburg Railroad where I can and do watch/listen to prototype steam, often as much as 3-4 times a year - live and in person. The Strasburg Railroad is a steam powered tourist line and common carrier which operates steam 7 days a week, 10 months out of the year - been going their since I was child - I know what a steam loco sounds like.

But for me personally, I do not generally enjoy the process of re-experiancing sounds with low fidelity “versions”, so for me, HO scale onboard sound becomes annoying very quickly - at any volume. I have the same experiance with music, I would rather not hear anything then to hear my favorite music through a smart phone or other low quality playback.

I am building a big layout designed for both operation and display running of 6-8 trains at once. Even in my 24 x 40 train room, that much noise would just be a din…

I have over