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Post by atsfan on Nov 23, 2014 18:18:03 GMT -8
Can't say whether I prefer the sound produced by Tsunami FDL or EMD, both sound pretty good to me. I must have 30 Tsunami equipped loco's. I have two Atlas QSI's which sound horrid. They will be gutted and Tsunamized. I have one Lok sound possibly a few more with the Bowser SD40-2 once released. I usually mute them anyway as the become tiring on the ears at full bore. I do have a question for all out there that are engineers. I have my Tsunami's programmed that when I hit dynamic brakes the engine will wind down to idle and eventually the dynamic braking will turn on(AC4400's Gevo's and EMD's). Is this correct? Someone told me GE's stay at full throttle. Not certain But it would not make sense to me to run the prime at full throttle when the motors are generating electricity Waste of fuel The best sound ever is four EMD SD engines in full dynamics coming down Cajon pass.
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Post by bigb6flyer on Nov 23, 2014 20:20:10 GMT -8
Al,
While they are both very nice decoders, the Direct Select Loksounds are way easier to wire up your LEDs to due to the built in resistors already on the boards. The soundtraxx wiring gets to be "busy" with all the external resistors you have to add especially when you put in front and rear ditch lights...
Brad
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Post by Brakie on Nov 24, 2014 3:38:43 GMT -8
And how many units get damaged by that QC person handling it? It's the risk we take demanding better detail. I guess I'm the luckiest modeler there is, I have never received a bad Genesis or RTR Athearn product. Noted. I personally am fine with something slightly less than Genesis detail (but more than Trainman) if the quality is there, but I must be in a minority. We are..I still buy the older Atlas/Kato and I am quite happy.These may not be up to today's supposed "standards" but,they are sturdy locomotives that runs like a Swiss watch.
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Post by iccn1000 on Nov 24, 2014 8:01:55 GMT -8
Al, While they are both very nice decoders, the Direct Select Loksounds are way easier to wire up your LEDs to due to the built in resistors already on the boards. The soundtraxx wiring gets to be "busy" with all the external resistors you have to add especially when you put in front and rear ditch lights... Brad Any ones decoder is going to be "busy" with 8 sets of wiring for lights! Rob Gruber www.dcctrain.com
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Post by markfj on Nov 24, 2014 8:42:33 GMT -8
The GP38-2 seems to be very accurate dimensionally too (at least there hasn’t been much chatter online about any issues like with the P2K model from way back). If sound isn’t a must, I would have just bought a DC version and added a decoder whenever. You gotta figure someone is working on the next gen of decoders and will go to market with them soon.
These models are still available on eBay, so there not super hard to find yet. But once the new GP40-2s hit, I suspect those will steal the spotlight and the 38-2s should drop a little in price. It’s hard to forecast because the holiday shopping season is here and so many manufacturers are competing for the bucks. Plus these Genesis locomotives hold their value pretty well. Still debating about buying one of the off-colored LV units and doing a repaint, but projects are stacking up fast in my “shop” and I have to watch the budget.
Thanks, Mark
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Post by bigblow69 on Nov 24, 2014 9:55:28 GMT -8
Noted. I personally am fine with something slightly less than Genesis detail (but more than Trainman) if the quality is there, but I must be in a minority. We are..I still buy the older Atlas/Kato and I am quite happy.These may not be up to today's supposed "standards" but,they are sturdy locomotives that runs like a Swiss watch. You can say that again, they take a licking and keep on ticking.
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Post by bigb6flyer on Nov 24, 2014 12:34:45 GMT -8
Al, While they are both very nice decoders, the Direct Select Loksounds are way easier to wire up your LEDs to due to the built in resistors already on the boards. The soundtraxx wiring gets to be "busy" with all the external resistors you have to add especially when you put in front and rear ditch lights... Brad Any ones decoder is going to be "busy" with 8 sets of wiring for lights! Rob Gruber www.dcctrain.comrob, yep, yep, keepin it from becoming a rats nest is key.... brad
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Post by buffalobill on Nov 24, 2014 13:45:03 GMT -8
Al: If your unit is anything like my SP GP-38-2 you will like it. The only issue I had was the little red lens in the nose Signal light was loose, a drop of ACC and that was fixed. The unit Runs and Sounds great. I only have one Lok sound locomotive, a Kobo Kato, and think the Tsunami compares very favorably. Much better than the QSI units, and way ahead of the really terrible MRC sound. Like Mark, I have a number of Genesis Geeps, and I have been very happy with them. No major issues, other than a damaged end handrail, that Athearn replaced promptly. Bill
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