Charles,
Now *THAT* is a good idea! The decoder could register itself with the
local computer network and send a message via wi-fi to a pair of
wi-fi-enabled headphones. As a matter of fact, the sound could be built
into the headphones, so that the appropriate engine sound could be
played depending on which engine the operator is using (the decoder
notifies the headphones of its "type"). :-)
Anyway, that was part of my decision to cut down on engines with sound
decoders. I operate at a local, large HO-scale layout a number of times
a year and he has one engine with sound in it. When that engine comes
out, the overall noise level in the room goes up, because everybody
starts talking louder. I enjoy operating his layout just fine with the
no-sound engines (although his engines are way too small! :-) ). My
future plan is to have a larger layout that's built for operations,
which is why I'm paying attention to my experiences and operating layout
owners' experiences to help me refine what I want in the future.
For me, in my small 10'x10' room, one engine was fine. But after having
built the Railmaster RS-1 early last year, I have discovered over the
past year that having two engines, even at low volume, gets to be
annoying fairly quickly.
When I was in N-scale, I thought I wanted sound but couldn't. Now that I
am in S-scale, I have sound and realized that I don't like it as much. I
wanted to have it also for the Houston S Gaugers club shows, but, as I
stated, you can't hear the engine's sounds unless you get up real close
to them, so it kills the overall effect. Either way, to me at least, it
doesn't seem worth the effort.
I am also contemplating switching to using the NWSL/Stanton S-CAB
battery system, which requires a DCC decoder, radio board, battery, and,
optional, battery charger board (each of which are quite small nowadays)
to all fit in the engine. The space taken up by the speaker and larger
sound decoder could be used for the battery system instead. I may use
the Tsunami decoders in my A.M. FA2 engines and, perhaps with an
external amplifier (since there's lots of space in those engines), make
the sounds audible at shows (which is the reason why I bought those
engines).
- Peter.
On 04/28/2012 10:02 am, Charles Weston wrote:
Having been in operating sessions with lots of noisemakers, it occurs
to me that what is needed is a system that would broadcast the sound
to a set of headphones worn by the operator. Nothing to disturb the
other operators. Might get a better bass that way, also.
Charles Weston
--
Peter Vanvliet ([email protected])
Houston, Texas
http://pmrr.org/ (my model railroad - RSS feed <http://pmrr.org/rss.xml>)
http://fourthray.com/ (my company)
http://houstonsgaugers.org/ (model railroad club)
http://nasg.org/
--
