Hi Don, I am really grateful that you would take the time to write me such a detailed email. This is something I really am loving about S scale. I have seen your SHS products at shows in the past and I was always afraid to try them because I figured that the last thing I needed was “another” scale. They always REALLY interested me because of the level of detail that you put in them and the nice size. They are beautiful models! Also, I am a HUGE diesel switcher fan. In hindsight S was probably the only sale I should have been trying all along.
Just a little background about me: I am 37, married, father of one 4 year old train crazy son. We live in North Royalton, Ohio which is on the SW side of Cleveland. I work for a software company as a Pre-Sales Solutions Architect. I have loved trains for as long as I can remember. My first train was a Lionel Yardmaster switcher set (which I still have). Growing up I had Lionel and HO. My father and I built an HO layout together when I was about 8 and that really opened my eyes to the world of scale modeling. My dad is an artistic guy and he built some really cool scenes on our layout. Over the years I dabbled in HO and N until the early 90’s. That’s when I got really involved in 3-rail O. I really enjoyed the Lionel TMCC system with Railsounds as well as the increasingly more scale models. I found myself wanting more and more scale fidelity so I tried what is now being called 3 Rail Scale about 5 years ago. I quickly found that it still took up a massive amount of space and my 20 x 8 3RS layout was really only equal to an 11 x 4.5 HO layout. I figured I would follow my heart and just switch to 2 Rail O scale which is what I have always wanted to do. That was a good idea in theory. Unfortunately when I tried to design a layout that would fit my existing basement and our growing family’s needs I quickly grew frustrated. Someday I hope to be able to have a large O scale layout, but in my current and foreseeable future it isn’t going to happen. I also recently revisited HO. I built a switching layout to try it again with DCC and sound. I’ve never met a train I didn’t like, but I just don’t get the same feeling of excitement when I hold an HO engine. HO is good for the overall effect, but it just lacks something that the larger scales have. Enter S scale. The thread on OGR’s 2-Rail forum really got me thinking about S seriously. I was surprised by how much equipment there is available for the Great Northern. There was at least as much available as there is in O scale if not more. The lesser space requirements are perfect for me. I think I can build a modest layout and still have enough room left over for family space. That brings us to today. I would like to find an S scale group or club that I can join locally and of course I am starting the process of designing a new basement layout plan. I know times are a little tough now with the whole Sanda Kan thing, but I’ll try to do my part to help out . I suppose new locomotives are not on the radar right now, but since I have your ear I’d like to cast my vote for a GP-30. From what I have learned, there has only been one model done in S and it was a brass model made quite some years ago. I have a few more questions if you don’t mind... If I wanted to repaint one of your switchers, what is the best way to go about removing the factory paint? Or do you have undecorated shells available? I see on the website that you have one B&O Chessie SW-1 on the samples page. Would it be possible to convert that to DC scale? Would I just have to swap wheel sets, couplers, remove AC electronics and add DCC? or am I missing something? I am modeling GN mainly, but I am a lifetime Chessie fan having grown up in Warren, Ohio right next to the tracks in the early 70’s. Are you planning on attending any shows this fall that are anywhere near Cleveland, OH? I'd like to stop by and say hello sometime. Again, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to respond in such detail. I look forward to getting started in S scale and doing my part to support the scale both financially as well as spreading the “word”. Thanks again, Jonathan From: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2011 9:46 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: {S-Scale List} Re: Quick SHS Question Dear Jonathan, As a part time Buckeye (class 70'), welcome aboard. I was your online order last night and would like to comment. I have put DCC sound in several SW1s. This is not a service like what we do for the 2-8-0, F units or other switchers (SW8/9 & NW2) as it takes a bit of time to place the hi-base speaker. I started with a SW1 body and cut away most of the sides. I glued 300 grit sand paper to the inside. I then cut the largest dia. orange pill vial that will fit into 1/8" (I think it was that height) tubes. Using the body/sandpaper assy. as a tool, I sand down one edge until I get a "vee" that will fit tight onto the top of the hood. That's the hard part. I have intalled Tsunami's and revolution "U"s this way. I make sure I cut the shrink wrap at the jst connector for the speaker for easy removal if I ever need to. If you have the NMRA medium plug on the decoder you can just plug it into the socket pcb. Other than the speaker, it is a very easy install. To me, my SW1 is as loud as our other engines and I do not think I would want it any louder for my basement operations. One thing I have learned about sound, it is as much about the enclosure as anything else. A word about sound. After trying to match prototype colors for our models, it is very hard to make everyone happy that and sound is the same way. Everyone's memory is a bit different and trying to match all is impossible. But, we have lots of different sound options for our products. They ALL have there advantages and limitations. For our beloved SW1 the first problem is that I am unaware of a true SW1 prime mover being currently offered. For me, QSI came the closest with NW2 sound files, but we all know that they do sound a bit different due to the extra cylinders of the prime mover. This is the same reason why the F unit prime mover will sound a little different than the NW2. Not everyone can hear this difference and most do not care, but for some... There are other difference too and I will admit when I started to listen to sound unit I could not hear these difference, but trust me your taste can change. For examples, when I first hear Locomatic, I thought it was the cats meow, but at some point I could hear the difference between monophonic and polyphonic sound. Same same is true listening to 16 vs. 32 bit sound processors. At first it sounded just fine, but with time I could hear the difference... Tsunami vs. QSI rev U - Bill Clark suggested that we used these for our F7s with Mars lights. The 1 amp Tsunami sometimes overheated in this engine. Although the F3 and F7 were almost identical, we did up the lumens in the bulbs as well as add the bi-color LEDs for class lights and when everything was on and the engines were going up a grade with a good length trains they could overheat. The higher amp rating of the "U" solved that problem. We did notice several other difference between the two. One irritating feature of the Tsunami is at the start of the train, the prime mover revs as soon as the engine moves, this is not how real diesels operate with a train (Lee Johnson told me that light engines can do this though). I asked Nancy of Soundtraxx if there was a CV that could correct this oversight, she said no. We did discover that you could set the brake, start the engine forward and when the prime mover had reved you can release the brake and then the train will move. With the "U", when you push the brake function, the trains does not stop. You have to throttle down to slow down the train. I am looking forward to seeing and trying the new Titan, but I am not sure what you do with a stereo sound system in an engine with only one speaker... As far as MRC, I am hoping their sound decoders have improved over the last year or so. They did not have 32 bit sound the last time I talked to them. But, I think if you listen to them side by side with 32 bit sound decoders, I think you will quickly discover why they cost less. But, that might have changed. They are only a few miles away from my house and one of our club members beta tests a lot of their products. I have not mentioned Lok sound as I have never installed these. I know there are lots of them in our SW1 as one of our customers used to install them. That was before he went on to be an engineering student. One feature they had that I like was that F8 turned the sound down in steps and not either all or mute. Of course I like the ability to download sounds like we can with the QSI and I hope that someday, the Tsunami can do the same. As a vendor, it is much nicer to inventory 1 item that one for each possible prime mover... Don [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Regards, Jonathan Blog: http://cloudvirt.blogspot.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonnyspeed Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jhatfield [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
