Hello all,
What is the differance between the Sound Car by AHM and the one that IHC make? How is the sound that they produce; is it a Constant Chuff that is controled by an Off and On switch? Any comments will be appreciated.
Thank you,
IHC used to be AHM, so it is the same thing. The car has a sound unit in it that is battery powered and is way, way too loud. A wiper on one axle controls the chuff rate according to the speed of travel. Doesn’t sound very good to my ears – a sound decoder in an engine is a better choice because the sound comes from the locomotive and not from a car being towed behind it. But if you are running only DC block control, the car is a cheap substitute – and sounds cheap, too.
Are there any decent alternatives to a DCC engine? I am planning on going dc block control just for the experience and “tradition” of it, but I would love to eventually get some sound going. I see that MRC sells a number of sound boxes. Are they any good? it seems to me that the chugg/steam sound coming from a central speaker not on the train would be odd, too. What alternatives are there?
Most of the QSI sound equipped locomotives work on DC too, and you can even add a horn/bell control box to it so you have some control over it, and they’ve been made so they work decently well on DC. As for the DC/DCC argument, you have to decide for yourself, but I have this feeling that if you ever see a sound equipped layout run on DCC, or get to run a DCC layout long enough to get a feel for it, you’ll be very disappointed with your DC, and be asking how to change over. Not bad, but then you’ve bought a DC and DCC system both, instead of just getting the DCC to begin with.
Good luck,
Greg
What are your thoughts on the MRC 312 System? ($46) I wish I had spent that $ more wisely. It amuses my 17month old grandson for all of 2 minutes. Live and learn I guess.[:(]
If you’re running DC and want some fairly neat sound, Soundtraxx makes a sound system that can be mounted underneath the layout with speakers at various spots on the layout. One of the ‘pluses’ of this system is that the system is equipped with a device that literally makes the sound ‘travel’ around the system with your locomotive if you use strategically placed small speakers. The systems are available in steam, diesel and electric. I have the "Heartland Steam’ system on my Yuba River Sub that I use in conjunction with my non-sound equipped steamers, and it works just fine for me. It is also extremely programmable.
Tom [:)]
Also ram traxk makes a sound board that can fit in a box car behind the locomotive or probably even installed in the tender if need be. I got one and dont use it due to I went DCC.