KATO....speechless! DCC with Sound! Check it out!

[quinntopia]

First, a word of warning, not a Japanese train. BUT, it is from Kato, and once you check out the video on Kato's site for their new model of the NYC jet-powered RDC, if you're like me (with no interest in modeling US roads) you'll be very tempted to have one!

http://katousa.com/Kobo/E-NRDC-Jet.html

 

Also, isn't it great to see Kato doing ANYTHING with DCC and Sound already installed? Is this a sign of good things to come?  Or are KATO USA and KATO JP just too separate to expect to see any potential future in this?

[bikkuri bahn]

Eegads! Make sure to turn the volume down before you play the clip. Turbines aren't as pleasant sounding as a steamer or a four stroke diesel.

 

It must be noted that this product is a custom order for an American prototype, and pricey.  The jet engines are a major factor (THE factor actually) for the novelty of this item, so sound would be practically a given feature.  But if sales are successful, who knows??

[westfalen]

I believe rather than Kato themselves, a third party is making these for Kato using leftover RDC's, sort of a commercial kitbashing job. I was tempted when they were announced several months ago, until I saw the price, if they had been normal Kato production at a normal Kato price, maybe.

 

BTW, the Kato Custom Shop on Kato's Japanese website offers most Kato locos fitted with DCC, including some with sound such as the D51 2-8-2. Kato are leading the way with DCC amongst the large Japanese manufacturers.

[Martijn Meerts]

I tried some of my Marklin H0 trains yesterday, but even on those the sound is just too thin and plastic. And these are locomotives that cost 400-450 euro each, with the big boy being even more expensive.

 

For me, the sound in H0 and smaller is just a gimmick, something that's fun for a few minutes before turning it off and never using it again. For station announcements, it's much better to just install a decent speaker under the train station or something, rather than have them inside the trains themselves.

[westfalen]

I tried some of my Marklin H0 trains yesterday, but even on those the sound is just too thin and plastic. And these are locomotives that cost 400-450 euro each, with the big boy being even more expensive.

 

For me, the sound in H0 and smaller is just a gimmick, something that's fun for a few minutes before turning it off and never using it again. For station announcements, it's much better to just install a decent speaker under the train station or something, rather than have them inside the trains themselves.

Try a BLI E8 or E7 with BLI's Paragon sound decoders or Walthers' 2-8-8-2 with QSI sound, the Sountraxx Tsunami equipped Athearn FP45 also sounds ok.

[nik_n_dad]

We got ours about a month  ago.  Nik hasn't seen it yet (I've also successfully kept him from seeing it on the web..an amazing feat).  Mom and I plan on surprising him with it for Christmas.

 

I will have to admit that after everyone's gone to bed, I've brought it out and played with it.    It's very well done in terms of the body\shell and both the lighting effects on the jets, the sounds (including afterburners) and the fact that they even have the timing for movement tied to "powering on the jets" is very cool.

 

Expensive?  Yup.  But as I look at the 70+ trains that have been converted to DCC and the 20+ that need wire-in's, it's really (oddly) not a big that bad.  Besides, watching my kid fire it up Christmas morning is gonna' be worth the cost (and I'll still get to play with it myself).

 

We bought the sound & lighting effects "Morning Daylight" steam locomotive, also done by Kato\Kobo Customs, but honestly, that was a little bit of a disappointment (sound quality was pretty iffy)

 

We do have a number of other trains in the roster with sound and have been pretty happy. Athearn is now using Tsunami sound decoders in their diesels (and soon, steamers) and is very good.  (Even their older Challenger & Big Boys with MRC wasn't too bad).  We've bought a couple of the Broadway Limited Diesels with their sound decoders and have been very impressed (they even include radio transmissions from the yard, maintenance crew, etc)

[quinntopia]

I have to admit, I am very jealous of Nik!  He's got a great dad!    As you can tell, I was very impressed with the synchronization of the jets and the sounds, that is cool!

 

Sound is a funny thing...I can barely stand the sound in my Minitrix TEE (essentially a DMU), but I love the sound from my Minitrix Class 44 (steam engine).  The steam engine is particularly nice as the sound actually changes based on grades/resistance, so it puffs more going around curves and up hills, then 'idles' (or whatever a steam engine does when its not 'chugging') on downgrades.  Very mesmerizing.  The diesel...after about 30 seconds, its like nails on a chalkboard!