WOW Sound Decoder, with stay alive

[user=1879]Yelrow[/user] wrote:

BCDR, and others, it may be, you have  not yet, had the experience of  listening to  a WOW sound decoder. There are ones on the net. Once you have heard one, there is Nothing to compare with, on the present market. The drawback, is, its American Trains sounds, although it is tinkerable with. It still brings a lot of emotion to both of us, simply by the haunting true to life sounds. I have plenty of bachmann american locos, to choose from, re fitting. I just want the nostalgia. Sentimental, may be, but those sounds, WOW. john

I had one of the first into the UK, hen they were still shaped like a brick (which would have been a downside I would have mentioned had the format not changed subsequently.

'Tinkerable with' is a bit of an understatement.

TCS WOW decoders are as you say, capable of very good sound; I've no idea whether they are authentic or not, so that's not my place to judge.

But they do require quite a bit of 'tinkering' to get them to work as I would expect.

So, to answer your original question (though you seen to have made up your mind before posting) TCS Wow decoders have some great features, comes with a Stay Alive solution requiring non of the additional costs which ESU love to pile on, and are highly configurable.

On the other hand, the sounds cannot be reloaded and some effort is required to get the best from them.

They sell either 'Steam' or 'Diesel' decoders, you have to tinker to get something like the actual loco you need. That may be exactly what you want, so 'Happy Days'.

Compare that with ESU SELECT.

ESU SELECT can be loaded with any of the range of specific loco sounds created from genuine recordings of those locomotives. These sound projects are available free to download from ESU.

ESU Loksound V4.0 and ZIMO are completely and fully reprogrammable, therefore entirely different animals from Tsunami, ESU SELECT, QSI, etc. Their additional 'flexibility' results in higher a higher price.

Kind regards,

Paul

Hi John, Paul,

In nearly 10 years of using DCC I've yet to find a need for capacitors, so having it in place is irrelevant for me. Perhaps I've been lucky. If I get a TCS WOW decoder it will be without the capacitor, as most of my stock diesels don't usually have the room for even a decent speaker without resort to the big file (brass steamers excepted, plenty of room in the tender).

I like the idea of the FX flexible outputs (I was aware of that, the issue is if all the FX outputs are used the current is a bit on the low side).

ESU Select decoders are only intended for the NA market, you can't mix sound projects from for example a V4 or from the UK. I suspect this is an artificial issue, as they are the same decoder. Still good value, and my US diesel fleet all has these in place. Diesel sounds appear to be authentic, steam less so. I deliberately ran one of my GP-7's with the wrong EMD prime mover recently (turbo version, it should have been a non-turbo version), folks at the show picked it up immediately.

The distributor for Canada is over in BC, almost as far away from Montréal as the UK. I checked on US prices for Zimo sound decoders from the US reseller in CA. Surprise:thumbs!! Looks like I'll try one, substantially cheaper than in the UK at around $100 US/£70.00, comparable to an  ESU Loksound and a lot cheaper than a TCS WOW. I will let you all know how I get on. There is however a licensing fee for many projects of 15-20 Euro's, which makes it about the same as a TCS WOW or ESU V4.

John, good luck with the sound decoder (which ever one you choose). I know the folks at the local model railway club here have a number of them installed and are very happy with them.

Nigel




 

 

I read on another forum that QSI have gone out of business.

Did you fit one of their chips into my GP40 some time ago Max or am I getting mixed up ?

It rings a bell, Peter. 

QSI typically have 3 x F6 to start and 3 x F9 to shut down.

Does that sound like it?

That's the one Max. thumbs

A pity if they've given up the struggle.  Whilst it takes a bit of effort to learn how to get the best out of it, it's a great chip with some really good sounds.  I'm not US outline (and nor is my layout ………:roll:) but, because it's my most powerful loco, I use it to haul the CMX track cleaner around and I love the sounds. 

I hava a Dapol DC Track cleaning car, which i cant fault, the hoover picks up everything. Looking for similar for DCC. Noticed that you have a CMX. Is that due to your location, or is it superior to Dapol. DCC price would be about £90 for Dapol, including chip. john

Hi John

The CMX is considered by many, to be the best track cleaner available.  Unlike the Dapol cleaner, it doesn't vacuum or grind anything but, being very heavy, it really seems to shift the dirt from the rail tops.  You do need a powerful loco with lots of grip to pull it - it's solid brass.  I fill mine with IPA (the cleaner, not the beer), and run it everywhere around the layout.  I also use a domestic hoover to vacuum the tracks from time to time but I wouldn't be without my CMX - expensive though !!!
 

Peter, thanks, Where do you get your IPA, in france. They wont post from England. I bought the Dapol, expressly for the hoover, which is magnificent, also, does your machine come ready chipped, and will it run on DC, as well. john

John, the CMX machine is just a tanker with special pads & relies on being moved by a loco so the CMX is good for both  DC &  DCC layouts.

I have no idea where to buy cheap IPA in France John …………:roll::roll::roll:  You know what France is like. :thumbs  The pharmacies will probably sell it but at the same price as a flight to their farthest flung Dom-Tom …………..

I buy mine in UK and bring it back by car.  I don't think they can post it in UK either - mine goes to my brother in Yorkshire by carrier.

I see you're in Burgandy - almost the other side of France to me - otherwise I'd offer to bring you some over on my trip in November ………hmm:hmm

Do you drive back often ?

QSI - Still there as far as I can see. Slimmed down the range, more focus on large scale, but the Titan range is still avaiable with true stereo sound. Tthe steam projects comes in 2 cylinder or 4 cylinder, 3 different chuff rates and 3 different chuff intensities. Essentially mix and match. Also has a BR chime whistle and some Australian chimes. $129.95 including a capacitor from Tony's Train Exchange.

Nigel

Peter, hi, yes, near Bourbon Lancey, have 3 acres, an old Vinery. I dont know what the word is in french, but can prob arrange for a visitor to bring some. Regretfully, not on your  motorway map, We go up to nevers, then Paris. john

When I drive back John, I go up through Limoges, Paris and on to Zeebrugge in Belgium because I need to get to Yorkshire.  The overnight ferry from Zeebrugge to Hull is ideal for me - a long drive up to the boat but a 13 hour crossing allows plenty of time for dinner and breakfast on board plus a good nights sleep.  The trip from here to the Calais/Dunkerque ferries is only around 40 miles closer but the shorter "channel dash" crossings don't allow any sleep and then I face an arduous drive through UK to Yorkshire.  I obviously can't do either route in 1 day so the ferry is my hotel.  Around 850 miles door to door but I let the boat take much of the strain !!!

Peter, Know the route well, lived in lancaster before here, and holidayed in annecy. Always used hull. In my past, was Manager with Sealink in weymouth, so crossed many times on business. Do not enjoy hull any more, as food/ restaurant, nothing like it was 20 years ago. john

I'd certainly agree with you regarding Hull as a city John but I find the P&O boats not too bad, if getting on in years now. Meals were indeed much better 15 or 20 years ago but that's "progress" and keeping prices down.   I prefer the "Pride of Bruges" to the "Pride of York" - Belgian crew vs British crew …………………..:roll::roll:   

Their boats from Hull to Rotterdam are supposed to be good, according to my brother who travels to Holland and Germany fairly regularly.  I've never used them so can't comment other than saying they look pretty swish from outside.  They're too big to go through the lock so berth in the river just adjacent to the lock.

The worst breakfast I've ever had at sea was with Brittany Ferries on their Portsmouth/Le Havre route so I try to avoid that crossing.  New-ish boat but I think they must have sacked their chef and given the job to a porter…………….