ERR in Williams

Not sure about the tru-blast sounds, but it would help some to know what you are planning on putting it in. Now not sure what they call there new system but the old tru blast wasn't that great in my point of view others may have liked it but when I blow the whistle/horn I like to blow it how I want not a preset crossing grade whistle/horn setting. With the older williams I would switch out the sound with a ERR sound system to get engine sounds/crewtalk/tower coms/ and whistle/horn I want. 

You probably need a AC Commander and what sound system you want

If you decide to go with a TMCC control and sound, then Electric Railroad Cruise Commander and sound is the best way to do it, IMO. I have a Williams E7 and repalced the True-Blast with ERR's Cruise and sound. The True-Blast sound is NOT compatible with Cruise, so yes you have to change out everything.

It is really easy to make the change. The instructions are very clear and if you run into trouble, you can always give Ken a call at ERR. He's very helpful over the phone. He's there between 9 AM and 2 PM weekdays. And then there are others on the OGR Forum that are very helpful as well. 

You can always sell your True-Blast to help recoup some of the costs.

RAY

Thanks.  Looking at Williams  2015 Pacific model.  I'm not familiar with "Tru Blast" so don't know pros or cons and if worth keeping or just go all ERR which then gets me up to a price level for used TMCC models.

Williams has three types of Tru Blast. TBI, TBII, the current TB Plus. The new die cast Pacifics have TB Plus. ERR makes a sound convertor that is supposed to trigger conventional sounds using TMCC commands along with one of their TMCC motor boards. I haven't tried it so I can't confirm it works but a call to Ken at ERR should clear it up. 

Pete

What is necessary is a kit; all parts are included, as well as instructions. Any O-scale (including 2-rail) loco can be converted to TMCC/ERR. I say "O-scale" because of the size - S Scale units are often big enough, too.

All O-gauge (and other) electric trains are just that: a motor, AC or DC (usually DC, now), some gears, wheels and track.

Williams are ar good place to learn this, as they have so few features from the factory, removing the old and putting in the new is as easy as it gets. 

But, so far as I know, the ERR Commanders will not talk to the Williams sound, so you need the Railsounds kit from ERR (or skip the sound - I have been doing this more and more). It essentially just plugs in with diesels, but requires a chuff switch (included in RS kit) with steam - not hard. Start with a plastic-bodied diesel. Easy. Good learning experience.

D500, ERR now has a board called the Sound Convertor. It was designed to take serial signals from the radio board and provide DC offsets to trigger conventional sound boards. That said I have yet to try one so can't comment on their limitations.

Pete

The limitations of the Sound Converter is you're be restricted to the whistle and bell.  If you have the newer Williams TB Plus sound board, the prime mover would be running at max RPM all the time with the ERR TMCC stuff as it would always see full track voltage.

The Sound Converter was really envisioned as a way to trigger conventional stuff like the Polar Express announcement car, etc.  This discussion started in the late 2013-early 2014 timeframe in the forum when the board was developed.  I posted the code and the schematic of the board in the TMCC/LEGACY REFERENCE MATERIALS & MANUALS thread.

I have tried a few of the Sound Converter boards and have a decent idea of their capabilities.  I've also hacked a couple to use in other projects.

I'm very pleased with the WBB engines I've had upgraded to TMCC/RS with ERR products.  Most recently, a fellow forum member upgraded an NW-2.  They've shrunk the electronics so much that he was able to keep both motors. Wow, does it run smoothly.

I have updated 2 steam and 6 diesel with no problems.  Easy to install.  I run them with the DCS system since the majority of my engines are DCS.  I also have a Cab 1 I use from time to time.  Sound is good but not real loud but I understand they improved on this.  They run smooth but definitely go with the cruise command. I bought some regular command and I now find myself replacing them with the cruise.

The speaker(s) and baffle are everything when it comes to getting decent volume.  The ERR RS Commander or the PS2/3 sound drive is plenty, you just need to match it with decent speakers.  I did a 3rd Rail 2-10-4 upgrade and used the ERR RS Commander with two Fatboy speakers in a Lionel enclosure in the tender.  That sucker would hurt your ears!