I just installed an upgrade chip in my C&O P2K GP-9
and Wow what a difference not just that the Horn {a Nathan 5m}
is correct for the C&O but all the other inhancements that have been made
The Sound is all around better and the prime mover now revs up
thru all the speed notches and even transisitions
like the real locos do
All in All worth the $34
But it begs the question why didn’t they get it right the first time ?
Why, indeed. I have no answer other than to say that they probably rushed the product to market without adequate testing.
I ran into problems with the upgrade microchip for a Lionel Challenger. When the chip became available I thought they would have at least corrected the whistle – no such luck. The loco runs smoother than with the old chip, but they still are horribly wrong on the whistle sound.
Since there is a still-operational Challenger being ran by Union Pacific, I don’t understand why QSI just tried to mimic the whistle electronically instead of using an actual on-site recording, but it seems that’s what they did and the person who created the sound must be tone deaf.
I Know the orignal chip on my loco had a single chime horn
that sounded like it was synthesized
I’m wondering if they don’t do that alot
One problem QSI faced was shortly after the first BLI Hudson came out, they were hit with a lawsuit by MTH claiming patent infringement regarding the QSI decoder’s use of Back EMF (which can be used for sort of a “cruise control”) so except for the first run of Hudsons, all later BLI engines with QSI sound didn’t have Back EMF, but did have a chip in place that could be replaced later when BEMF or other upgrades became available.
True but Back EMF is one feature i care nothing about probably because my layout is flat
and when i MU locos i turn it off
But there really is no excuse for not having the horn correct
especially on a Geep unit when you can find them everywhere
I have a question that goes one further: Why do the factory installed boards have the chip vs the “aftermarket” Revolution boards that can be upgraded every which way with software only (if you have the programmer).
I don’t understand two completely different styles of boards, two sets of sound files on the QSI site (Q1a vs Q2), and two different software packages for each (one for each type board).
That is another feature the upgrade chips get you - the ability to do future updates via the programmer without having to swap chips anymore. Once you have the upgraded chip you can use the programmer to swap sounds like you can with the Revolution series decoders.
–Randy
Not sure if this is no topic (not really sure what the topic is), but I just got three of them in hoes tha tthey would correct the following isues:
M1- I have 2 units that require a throttle setting of at least 12 before they move. Once that is over with, then they are fine in that respect, and the second time they start on step 1, although they do not run nearly as smoothly as later releases. I’m sure this is BEMF related. They also “lose sounds”, when the volume is set below a certain value. First to go is the steam “random” sounds, but if you go lower, you lose the bell and other thiigs.
NW2- this loco just doesn’t get it with respect to sych between prome mover sound and actual DC motor speed. I’ve posted this rant in several other threads.
While I haven’t tried to address either of thse, I did put one in mu 2-8-2 that has been bashed into an H10 2-8-0, and loaded the I1 soundset to get the banshee whistle and at least a family sound.
The available soundsets included one for the I1 with “alternate chuff”, so i selected this one. I also selected the alternate bell, to diferntiat it from my “real” I1 locos.
While motor control is improved, and sounds are nice and much clearer, an interesting thing occured that sems closely related to the losing sounds issue- When the main volume is set below 32, the soundset seems to become corrupted. Sounds cut out and become “choppy” and sometimes play and sometimes dont. If you lower the volume even more, the steam “cocks” go away, and the bell and whistle sound only play if you press the F key about 20 times, and then only while you are actively pressing the key. VERY bizzare. To correct, you have to re “upgrade” the sound set. As long as you leave the volume at 32, every thing is fine.
The comment about RPM and nothcing is encouraging. Hopefully the NW2 and the M1s will get fixed with this. I guess I can live wit
Yes i’ve noticed if you reduce the sound levels you lose certian sounds
I shot a video with the sound level set at 60% and you can’t really hear the prime mover notching up
but it does
also you can’t hear it transition
But with the sound at 100% you can hear them clearly