MRC AC Sounder

That's a shame, in more ways than one

I really like the sounds I'm getting with mine in my WBB E7.

Besides that, to have a manufacturer bailout on 3-rail is not a good thing. Maybe WBB can buy the rights to the Sounder from them. Although I haven't heard the WBB sounds, I assuming they aren't as "robust" as the Sounder.

Pretty happy with my sounder. Probably should have gotten another one
or two before they killed it.

after getting DPC's e-mail...i inquired about the a.c. sounder...all is not lost yet
i'm working on persuading management to come out with a better version

Frank hope you can show them this thread so they can see they'd have a market for them

Now if we can just get a few more Forumites to add to this LOL

Thanks
David

I purchased one back in March. Got around to installing it a couple weeks ago--very happy with the product! We have several more "mute" diesels we would like to upgrade. There are few options out there. Railsounds is too expensive (for me anyway). I think MRC could sell a lot of these, if they were just marketed a little better. I doubt most three-railers know of the Sounder's existence!

I knew that good thing just couldn't last. I am glad I was able to pick up a couple of "spares". Unfortunately, I've already figured out which loco's they're going into.

It would be great if they could offer them again as a partnership with WBB instead of the TBII.

Fred

I had contacted WBB a few years back and inquired if they wanted MRC to make OEM sound units for their line of 3 rail trains... needless to say they turned us down

I am sorry to hear this, as well.

I had 5-or-so in a cart, when they went on sale, and never pulled the trigger.

Now my "mute" (Good description) diesels will have to stay that way.

It is my own thoughts that this was a great product, easy to use and install, but just never got the publicity that it deserved.

quote:

Originally posted by nickaix:
I purchased one back in March. Got around to installing it a couple weeks ago--very happy with the product! We have several more "mute" diesels we would like to upgrade. There are few options out there. Railsounds is too expensive (for me anyway). I think MRC could sell a lot of these, if they were just marketed a little better. I doubt most three-railers know of the Sounder's existence!

Keep em coming guys.Frank needs to show MRC a lot of post like this and maybe they'll get the message

David

I am sorry to hear this news. I think that these would be great sellers if they were marketed right. They fill a nitch for people who don't want to convert to DCS or TMCC. plus for the money the sounds are excellent!!
I recently purchaed five of these boards and was very pleased with them.

I think the sounds in these boards blow away the TBL II sounds in the WBB engines.
WBB should really consider putting these boards in their engines.

Well I hope MRC will continue to sell these boards I had planned on buying more of these boards to put sounds in my collection of WBB engines.

I hope you can help us out with this Frank.

Instead of connecting the output to the small "onboard" speaker, I connected mine to a portable "boom box". Hooahh! Nice deep sounds and as loud as my wife will allow. I also bought two others to mount in locomotives. This is a great and inexpensive unit.

Jeff2035,

I mounted the MRC speaker on top of an approx. 1-1/2" long cardboard tube (thicker than a toilet paper roll) with a cutout for the wires, inside the WBB E7. I really like the way it sounds (better than my Locosounds for sure) and would swap out my Locosound speakers with the MRC speakers if they offered them separately.

Frank, Like others said, if MRC would have made finding these online easy I'm sure more would have been bought.

I hooked mine directly to the ERR Cruise Commander (track inputs on the terminal block) and it works great!

I'd been thinking of getting a few of these myself... hopefully MRC decides to resume production.

It seems that conventional operation and its associated support are being phased-out.

Other than a couple of transformers it's the only AC product MRC sells and I'm sure it doesn't sell in volume compared to their DC stuff

I just hope they choose to keep the little "Black Sheep" around.

I was counting on putting these in my conventional locos


David

quote:

It would be great if they could offer them again as a partnership with WBB instead of the TBII.

Fred

OR contact Atlas O to install in their pricy Dummy diesel units. DARN! I knew it wasn't going to last! I wish I has more $$ for more units!

quote:

Originally posted by MRCRRTECH:
after getting DPC's e-mail...i inquired about the a.c. sounder...all is not lost yet
i'm working on persuading management to come out with a better version

Please also ask for a steam version!!!! Just need a whistle and bell. No chuffs etc.

I have about a dozen locos that I wanted to install these boards in. I had a feeling they weren't going to be a regular production item. I don't recall many of their products that have been available for very long before they are replaced with something else or discontinued completely.

quote:

Please also ask for a steam version!!!! Just need a whistle and bell. No chuffs etc.

What good is that?

I, and my friends who have tried these, have been very happy with them. They were an excellent value and easy to install. If they were reissued, I'd like a version with Baldwin, FM, and GE U-boat sounds.

John

Has anyone compared hooking these up to the Williams speakers as opposed to the speaker supplies with the kit? The Williams speaker is already baffled. Any loss of volume or difference in fidelity?
Thanks,
Alan

quote:

Originally posted by ajzend:
Has anyone compared hooking these up to the Williams speakers as opposed to the speaker supplies with the kit? The Williams speaker is already baffled. Any loss of volume or difference in fidelity?
Thanks,
Alan

Well since I can't order one ......No


David

Well....I'm working on a new version of the A.C. sounder for us 3-Railers...
it might be more expensive then the last version and will not need the transmitter
but it will have 16 bit sound technology and will have 6 different prime mover sounds....Alco 244/Alco 539T/ SD45-2/MP-15/EMD 567B/ SD70
Horn and bell will be activated by the bell and whistle button of your convention AC packs
It was a fight to get this approved...but if it sells well they'll be more in the future

Bravo!

Hi Frank. How will the volume be on the new board louder? See if WBB will use to replace the outdated sound board thier still using.

Chris...we use the same wattage amplifier on all of our decoders...max volume is determined by speaker size
i'm not sure at this time what size speaker will come with the new version...but larger speakers, or the existing speakers in the loco can be substituted
basically what we are doing is we have a "Sound Only" HO DCC decoder...the engineers are changing the software codes in it so it can be used on ac with conventional powerpacks
it will still be a two wire hook up and since it is sound only there is no worry about how many amps the motor[s] draw.

Frank,

I think this is great news.

If they're going to tweak the HO version, do they know if the remote still work with it for programming?

Also, would they be able to offer additional sounds pending the success of this revamp? I would love to have some Baldwin, FM, and GE U-boat sounds as well.

Thank you for your efforts,

Fred

Fred,
the transmitter will not work with this incarnation...but we are working out a programming method to change prime movers and horns with an ac pack
we are also coming out with versions of this same decoder with the baldwin/ge soundsd but i don't know when this version will be ready

Frank: I have at least 1/2 dozen diesels that I would love to install sounders. I had heard mention of these, probably on this forum, months ago, but didn't know the details as we now know from this thread. Thanks Frank!

paul m.

Thanks Frank

It would have been a shame to kill such a nice little product.
Since we all love this product so much and with MRC's website what it is would it be possible Frank to announce here on the forum when they are ready.
Word of mouth seems to be a lot better than MRC's web site


David

quote:

Originally posted by prrhorseshoecurve:

quote:

Please also ask for a steam version!!!! Just need a whistle and bell. No chuffs etc.

What good is that?

For someone like me that runs lots of postwar and a good bit of MPC just having a whistle and a bell would be great. If MRC made a bell / whistle only configuration, think of all the dead Sound of Steam units that it could replace.
I have several postwar air whistles that run "perfectly" and they are still cranky. The MRC unit would allow me to disconnect one wire from the original whistle and leave it in place. The MRC would also add a bell in the bargain.
One of the vendors at York sells a steam sound unit that does not require a pick up to sync the chuff. The chuff would vary with the voltage. I imagine that could be a problem giving a rapid chuff on a slow heavy train running with higher voltage. I also imagine the MRC unit would be under $75 while the one I was considering from the York vendor runs about $130 complete.
The MRC is a simple two wire hook up and could be installed without permanently affecting the originality of the engine.

Lets hope it's under $50 .75 would be approaching TMCC upgrade territory

David

Count me in !!!!

I would love to upgrade quite a few diesel dummies with just the motor revs.
some background/access. noise as well. However I have allot of first generation units : E7's F's, PA's, RS, GP's, when can we get these?

Bob D, interesting about the simple connection to the cruise commander. That is a great advantage for this sound unit as newer TMCC type boards, to my knowledge, only work with RS 2.5/3 or higher.

Jeff I don't think it's working along with the cruise commander more like along side it

David

I was on my way out the door today when we received a small shipment of the old version ac sound units, [item no. 0001815]
so while the new version is getting worked out. we have a small quantity of the old ones that use the transmitter
same price as usual for you forum members

I want one!

I had not heard of these until I read this thread. Bottom line is, I have 12 or so WBB diesels that I would like to upgrade with sound and run conventionally. I would use these if the price is right, for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by MRCRRTECH:
I was on my way out the door today when we received a small shipment of the old version ac sound units, [item no. 0001815]
so while the new version is getting worked out. we have a small quantity of the old ones that use the transmitter
same price as usual for you forum members

Frank how do we get our hands on them?I know for sure I'd like to have 3
And if it's the old version I'd need the remote


David

Thats great they will continue the line!