[Gary]

Just an observation but Hornby International are reported in Model Rail as saying that some of the models announced for European markets will be fitted with digital sound.

It makes me wonder if future new Hornby British outline development plans will only include models for which there is a good sound archive or a readily available prototype to record sound from. I suspect the prospects for new models which don't fit this criteria must be very poor. Don't expect a super detailed version of Stephensons Rocket any time soon.

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[pedromorgan]

"Don't expect a super detailed version of Stephensons Rocket any time soon."
Why not?
There is a very good replica to sample from.

I think the trouble is not getting hold of the samples (there are pretty good sound archives) but rather getting the rights to use them.
I remember reading somewhere that hornby wouldnt do it unless they could get the price down to about £20.
i think thats perfectly feasable.

Peter

 

[Gary]

QUOTE I remember reading somewhere that hornby wouldnt do it unless they could get the price down to about £20.

Didn't Hornby say something like that at Warley during our chat?

Hornby would only do sound if it added no more than £20 to the price of a loco.

And any feasibility study and research would be based around this price point.

It makes you wonder about the Hornby International sound set up then which is unlikely to be an in house job but we will see.

Bachmann seem to be successfully doing sound for a premium of about £65 to £70 although the production numbers may not be mass market enough for Hornby who would probably want to do 100,000's of units a year.

At a guess to achieve this it would be a standard decoder into which you downloaded sounds from the Hornby website. A bit like the Digitrax set up.

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[alibuchan]

QUOTE (Gary @ 2 Mar 2007, 13:41) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Didn't Hornby say something like that at Warley during our chat?

Hornby would only do sound if it added no more than £20 to the price of a loco.

Yes Simon Kohler did say that when we asked.

Alistair

 

[Ravenser]

I think Simon K may have been commenting in a UK context.

Sound equipped locos are a proven product on the Continent - the market already exists , and presumably Hornby International feel they need to have something in that bit of the market. Continental loco prices are significantly higher (although Hornby, and it seems Roco as well, have been showing some price reductions on reintroduced French outline models - at least compared to pre-bankrupcy prices) , so the sound premium looks less dramatic .

And Simon K would have been commenting before the Bachmann 66 and 20 reached the shops . Both seem to have sold very well and impressed a lot of people.

Demand may weaken once the initial novelty has worn off, but even so it would n't surprise me if Margate were reconsidering their stance. Maybe £50 might be the magic number....

The other complication is that thus far DCC sound in the UK has been for diesels , where there is more room in the body for the speaker and decoder. Hornby aren't huge in state-of-the-art D+E , and in a lot of steam engines finding room for a normal decoder has been an issue, never mind getting a speaker into a taper boiler

I reckon Hornby will want to put sound in steam engines - I'm not sure convincing steam sound has yet been achieved in OO by anyone , and nobody has yet done a DCC Sound kettle RTR

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (Ravenser @ 2 Mar 2007, 17:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The other complication is that thus far DCC sound in the UK has been for diesels , where there is more room in the body for the speaker and decoder. Hornby aren't huge in state-of-the-art D+E , and in a lot of steam engines finding room for a normal decoder has been an issue, never mind getting a speaker into a taper boiler

Apart from small tender & tank locos there really is no problem, except for the lack of willingness. Speaker & decoder in the tender, leaving the locomotive itself for the motor (with flywheel), plenty of weight & no traction tyres. Just what the modellers who don't like the european way of doing things seem to want.

 

[neil_s_wood]

Roco manage with small locos, so do Maerklin Trix and Brawa so there is no reason Hornby cannot if they wanted to do steam sound. I was a bit disappointed when I read this thread, I thought it was going to be an announcement that Hornby were going to do UK steam sound. Oh well. Guess I'll have to keep on waiting.

 

[bangerblueed]

Ultimately hornby may have little choice as sound is taking off in the UK and with the availablility of buying rtr with decoder already fitted will become even more popular Hornby may well find that market forces will dictate that they dip their toes into the sound decoder market sooner rather than later if they wish to maintain their market share

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE (bangerblueed @ 4 Mar 2007, 10:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Ultimately hornby may have little choice as sound is taking off in the UK and with the availablility of buying rtr with decoder already fitted will become even more popular Hornby may well find that market forces will dictate that they dip their toes into the sound decoder market sooner rather than later if they wish to maintain their market share
Here's hoping they don't "have a go" at knocking up their own sound decoders. Just buy them from ESU like everyone else does.

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (neil_s_wood @ 4 Mar 2007, 05:34) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Just buy them from ESU like everyone else does.

Ah, but that's not the Hornby way - or maybe they have they learnt something lately !

 

[dwb]

Wouldn't it be nice if new models currently on the drawing board were having proper sound enclosures built in.... As a steam owner, I would willing trade the detailed coal bunker inerds for a good speaker enclosure.

David

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (dwb @ 4 Mar 2007, 10:16) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Wouldn't it be nice if new models currently on the drawing board were having proper sound enclosures built in.... As a steam owner, I would willing trade the detailed coal bunker inerds for a good speaker enclosure.

David

Many of the newer european locos already have the space in the chassis for a speaker - no doubt about it sound is definatly "here to stay".

To be quite honest the way sound has caught on has surprised me, even though I have had sound since FLM brought it our factory fitted I thought it would have limited appeal.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE (dwb @ 4 Mar 2007, 21:16) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Wouldn't it be nice if new models currently on the drawing board were having proper sound enclosures built in.... As a steam owner, I would willing trade the detailed coal bunker inerds for a good speaker enclosure.

David
Absolutely!

It surprised me how sound has caught on now that it has been introduced in OO. Many of those who argued against it last year have been converted.

 

[dwb]

As a first step, I'd even settle for a good whistle. There is a Zimo decoder that has this capability, but I think it's a low current model for N gauge.

David

 

[7113]

I have one reservation about sound fitted locos and that is can you imagine how noisy some of the big layouts could get if they all had a full fleet of noisy motive power!!

Regards

John

 

[dwb]

>can you imagine how noisy some of the big layouts could get if they all had a full fleet of noisy motive power
One owner of a large fleet of sound equipped locos told me that he often turns a lot of them off; apparently it can get too noisy.

David

 

[Piemanlarger]

QUOTE (BRITHO @ 6 Mar 2007, 16:39) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have one reservation about sound fitted locos and that is can you imagine how noisy some of the big layouts could get if they all had a full fleet of noisy motive power!!

Regards

John

From my experience, a big layout will not have trouble with several locos in sound at any one time. Given most large layouts will be at best a 4 track main line, with perhaps one or two locos shunting / in sidings, i dought there would be more than 6-8 in sound at the front at any one time. Factor in the noise from the punters and the sound of the locos can be quickly lost, especially at shows.

Its different for home use obviously. I have a 10 x 2 foot depot layout with currently over 20 and rising sound chipped diesels. Its rare i have more than 5 in operation at once, usually its 2-3.

 

[neil_s_wood]

It can get hard to hear some of the quieter ones when you have a few going simultaneously. I tend to have a few on the go at the same time and it does get a bit blurry.

 

[ozwarrior]

It's interesting. At my club when a DC sound loco comes on (usually a US Broadway) some really love it and for some it really gets on their nerves. I'm neutral myself.

 

[Piemanlarger]

QUOTE (ozwarrior @ 6 Mar 2007, 23:46) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It's interesting. At my club when a DC sound loco comes on (usually a US Broadway)..... for some it really gets on their nerves.

My answer to that is, when ever did you hear a quiet full size loco steam or diesel loco!

If its not got sound, it might as well be unpainted, its about as accurate a model!