Is there a way to boost tender air whistle?

There is a way to modify it, because of the possible age of the user newer whistles have to conform to federal decible levels.

Many moons ago there was a thread here on just the same thing.  A diode or resister has to be bypassed and then the volume will be as it should.

https://ogrforum.com/d...581#2415514336735581

Try here:

http://www.lionel.com/media/se...whistlevolumefix.pdf

Pennsy Flyer tender but same principle.

Pete

Besides removing the resistor make sure there are no air leaks and the fan is not rubbing on the chamber. The modern air whistles are not built to the same standard as the pre/post war versions.

Pete

Wonder if Lionel could make the whistle louder but include a volume switch on the tender. That way the consumer could adjust the volume to were they prefer.

There you go again, Jim, being logical.  Seriously, however, my old (10 years) Lionel starter with railsounds has a volume dial knob under the underside of the tender.  Guess that was an added feature with railsounds. 

Poppyl

Adds to the assembly time and parts cost - I'd venture a guess that it won't happen...

The suggestion about just adding a jumper would be the easiest route, especially if you are electronically challenged.  Just make sure that whatever you use isn't going to be jarred loose. 

How about installing a Lionel postwar whistle in the tender, or buying a postwar whistle tender?

MTN,

I don't think Chinese parts and Chinese labor would add a thing.

GO for it!

I don't think the cost would be the problem with that. The problem would be with the government, and if they would allow the volume to be adjustable (I mean, how many kids would not turn up the volume)

Get real.  If this were true all trains from China should cost nothing, except for maybe packaging and shipping.

Pete

Every part that isn't absolutely needed is chopped from manufactured goods, every step in assembly that can be removed is removed - it's all cost driven.  People want cheap goods, that's the trade off involved. Lionel wants to make as much money as possible, their contractors and subcontractors are all trying to make as much money as possible, and if they see ways to reduce steps in production/use less parts you'd better believe they'll take those steps and save those pennies/nickels/dimes.  No volume pot means one less thing to be miswired during assembly, and one less part to be ordered/stocked that will eventually break down. 

If you are going to the trouble of cutting out a resister, why not install a reostat of some sort in its place?

Sorry. I get all this, but tell me why the MSRP for Lionel and MTH RTR sets start off the same. MTH MSRP holds and LHSs can't compete with the Polar Express for $199 on Amazon. Sure MTH has it's issues, but not "the whistle is anemic", "no bell?". "I can buy a separate tender, that will give me a bell, but will compete with the $100 add on car", oh yeah, if I buy all the add on cars, I'm tie wrapping couplers. At the risk of being labeled a blasphemer, Lionel is missing the boat. The MTH Rudolph set I bought my Niece and Nephew, has led to a group of kids out in Colorado, interested in trains. I have to figure how I'm going to make room for the PE and Hogwarts Express, on my Christmas layout, because conversion is prohibitively expensive. And speed control stinks,and it drowns out the sound of the Locos with good sound.

I applaud Lionel coming back to the US. I've seen awesome high end stuff from them, but the starter stuff no longer sucks people into the hobby. There... Hope I can be forgiven by next Christmas.

So yep, everyone wants to make a buck, but there is only so long you can do it with dollar store products.

I just now performed this operation(removing the large resistor) on my Polar Express tender.  Took about 10 minutes.  The whistle is improved but not significantly.  Oh well, at least it is somewhat louder.  Makes you wonder why they used the resistor in the first place.  Could have saved a few cents.  

BTW, the Polar Express resistor looks the same as the others on the Lionel web pages but is not numbered the same on the board.

They're a business, and they're cutting corners - I don't like it, but that's how it is.  MTH probably doesn't have as high a markup as Lionel (seems like the MTH scale stuff was 20% mark up, not much wiggle room there; I dunno about their sets/Railking items).  MTH has had their own quality issues - there's a zinc pest thread going on where it appears quite a few items have rot problems with couplers and trucks, they also have had diesel frames buckle.  Contaminated metal shouldn't occur at this point in time as the causes are well known, but it did/does happen.  I strongly doubt anyone at MTH said "Hey guys, reuse those tailings and scrap from castings and melt it again" - sadly, it happened because somebody along the way was cutting corners to squeeze out a few cents more out of a dollar.  We want quality, but it comes at a price that the Walmarts of the world (and consumers) won't accept.

Because they don't.  Lionel "The Scout" starter set, $199.99 msrp.  Least expensive MTH starter set, Santa Fe F3 Passenger set, $349.95 msrp.  The MTH has more features, means nothing to non-train folks who are simply looking for a gift.

Pete

Pete,

I sit amended, rather than standing corrected, Checking the Lionel site, they have about 20 sets in the 200 to 300 MSRP range. The sets that started this topic are in that range, so I jumped on my soapbox, at the wrong corner. Then they are in the MTH range. Since i have the same concerns about the whistle, non bell and coupler integrity in sets that MSRP for $379, I stand by my conviction, that dollar for dollar, Lionel doesn't have the entry level quality, I'd like to see, if I'm trying to interest families with young kids, that a train around the tree is fun. Also, as a "train folk", I expected more from the PE and Hogwarts sets.

But yet the FasTrack that comes with the set is so loud, it drowns out that whistle ...

I did the mod on my PE last year.  Not much difference in the whistle.  Also the smoke sucks on these units too.  My mid 1990s loco is loud nd smoked up a storm until I fried the smoke unit last week.

On the Thomas engine there just isn't any more room to put a better speaker in.

Converting to TMCC is tight fit as well but can be done.

Jim

I'm a Lionel fan but I have to admit their starter sets need to be re-thought. I guess they have to many high salaries under their tent, I don't know. But, they have to spend more on the starter sets if they wont people to come back.

The Polar Express is a fine looking set. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. But, I still could not live with the short comings. The whistle was so bad I bought their add on tender to get sound as well as a whistle and bell. Then I had to send it out to get a decent smoke unit and driver board installed, with decent lamp package added also.

This year I had to rig shims on the rear truck on the engine to keep the wheel sets from falling out. I also had to apoxy the bell back together on the front of the engine.

We have to remember there has not been alot of run time on this puppy, maybe a few hours at most.  Come on guys you can do better then that. I would of rather spent another seventy-five to a hundred dollars extra for a set that was ready to go out of the box.

I just completed the "remedy" by adding a jumper to bypass the resistor on my PRR Flyer Atlantic, but I don't hear much difference.  I tried it while running the engine on my FasTrack, and I seem to hear it better, but it stull just doesn't sound "full".  I really wanted to keep the air whistle, but if I can't get anything more out of it, I may just replace it with an Electric RR RailSound Commander in the future (which I want to install anyway for the other sounds).

Aaron