I have an older K-Line Santa Fe F-3 A-B-A that currently has no sounds. I contacted K-Line to ask them if they had an add-on, and they told me to get in touch with Lionel. I was wondering what would be my best option for adding sound to this train.
I also have a Williams Nickel Plate Road Berkshire on the way and it says that it has “True Blast Digital Whistle & Bell” and I am guessing that there is no chug sound (etc) included with True Blast. If that is the case, I will probably want to change that out with a more realistic sound feature aswell. What would be the best route for me to go with this train too?
Hello Indy! Train America Studios has sound systems as does QSI that would be compatible for your trains and both places are on the web. Lionel also has Railsound Boxcars that you can use behind your Williams Steam Engine as well. Just check out their websites and see what they can do for you. Good Luck and keep us informed as to what you do.Take Care.
The protosound 2 upgrade from MTH is said to work also when you want to give a loco sound. You must however have some other hardware to get files downloaded from the computer to the train. But if you want to make other engines into PS2, you can need the device again. In the CTT there was a complete item about converting an engine into PS2. This only works with flywheel equipped motors.
I think it’s rather expensive though, about 200 dollars for the converting kit only.
You could also look on ebay and shows and find an ugly PS1 loco to use for the sounds. On ebay I’ve seen 2-6-0 loco’s for 99 dollars with PS1, you can build the sound in the best engine and replace the sound module in the cheap engine with the e-unit from the other one. That way you have a nice engine with PS1 sounds (and if you are really a handyman also the coilcoupler) and a cheap one for the kids with a normal e-unit.
Williams doesn’t use any sound except trueblast, and that’s only a horn and bell. Sometimes railsounds are added later on, but then the price is a lot higher.
An easy way is to buy an old Lionel Railsounds 1 boxcar. They come in both steam and diesel and sell between $60 and $90 on Ebay. There are also Railsounds 2 tenders available.
You can also buy sound only kits from Digital Dynamics. These cost about $90 and can be easily installed in the powered unit or a dummy unit with pickup rollers. I have a number of these I have installed in Williams and as MTH replacements with bad PS1 boards. The Railsounds fidelity is much better that the original PS1 and even some PS2 units I have.
Thank you for all the input guys, after doing some research with the information that was given to me in this post, I have decided to go with TAStudios.
F-3 ABA
1 TAS-3152-C F-3 specific Railsounds 4.0 for Conventional operation
1 TAS-POT 10K Ohm Volume Pot (for controlling the volume)
Berkshire
1 TAS-3130-C Berkshire specific Railsounds 4.0 for Conventional operation
1 TAS-POT 10K Ohm Volume Pot (for controlling the volume)
Thanks again for the input! Have a Merry Christmas!
Edit: Now that I look at it, I think TAS gave me the wrong info for the F3 train. I think the unit is supposed to be the TAS-3158.
Well, you’re taken care of, but if any one else wants a very affordable way to add sounds to their pre-war or other trains, I’d say MRC’s Soundstation 312 is the way to go. It has digital steam chuffing and diesel revving, horns, whistles, bells, all kinds of great train sounds. They usually sell for $75.00, but I’ve seen them as low as $40.00 online.
Yes, I’ve been using it on my small conventional layout for almost a year. It’s also good for very young kids to use without them getting near the transformer. Train show price is usually $60… Joe
I use an older MRC sound unit that has only diesel ‘engine’ noise and steam chuff, as well as a slide bar for the diesel horn and steam whistle. It is easy to adjust the engine noise to the speed of a train and providing a slide bar is inspired - you can come up with your own distinct whistle or airhorn…
Brianel027 was the person who told me about these great sound systems. A lot of sound for a little money. For half the cost of 1 Railsounds boxcar, you get all the sounds of both steam and deisel. How can you hate it?
Speaking of sound - the Railsounds-or was it Trainsounds-equipped tender on my passenger outfit needs a 9 v. battery. But this train sits a lot. Would one of those $24 BCR capacitors work the same way?
I don’t know for sure, but am inclined to say they do, Doug. I operate my Railsounds tender without the battery. You could buy an aweful lot of 9v batteries for $24. My new Trainsounds El Capitan set doesn’t even have a battery option.
I was just going to order the diesel and steam sound cars, this is really impressive. How is the sound quality? Does is sound remote (distant ) from where the action is ? And can the output be run in to a small stereo system for multiple speaker output?