I was almost lured away...

[G8B4Life]

Kevin's post (http://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php/topic,278.msg2058.html#msg2058) on possible changes to Ring's sound files is very timely, you see I was almost lured to my doom today.

My latest acquisitions arrived; a pair of beautiful Bowser ALCo C-636's, one dc and one with DCC & sound. I normally wouldn't have bothered getting a DCC fitted loco but the shop didn't have any more with the required grill arrangement in plain dc and the price for the DCC one was very good. I figured I can sell the LokSound decoder in it without too much trouble after I've finished some experiments (which need a LokSound decoder so this was a cheap way to get one) so I relented and purchased it.

So having a new loco I had to test it. Well, the sound was incredible and the Siren was seducing me with her heavenly voice. I was in love with what I heard, I struggled to remember why I had changed faiths, from exorbitant complexity but heavenly sound to ease of use but not quite so good sound. Then I made a huge mistake, I manually notched up. The 251 prime mover roared to life but something was wrong, the Siren was no longer singing to me, she was screaming at me at the maximum CV value. It hurt my ears. I knew I had no chance in adjusting the required CV then and there so I went to quiet her down by putting her in idle. Then I panicked, I couldn't notch back down! I couldn't get to the extended function buttons on my DCC controller without looking at the manual. In desperation I reached over and tipped the loco to one side to break contact with the track. I was relieved, the Siren had been silenced. My heart pounding, I sat there looking at the now lifeless Siren and wondered to myself "Have I just avoided a wrecked ship?".


Ok, so not a great novel writer am I but the beautiful sound on the LokSound decoder and how its handled masked the very thing I got away from DCC and went to RailPro for. With RailPro I could have adjusted the volume in real time and I wouldn't have had to worry about trying to reach some extended function button either. It really shows how archaic the HID of most DCC systems are.

Hopefully these proposed changes to Rings sound files create great clear sound with much improved handling. If so I should be safe from Sirens song in the future.

- Tim

[TomO]

Me too. I'm seriously ready to pull the trigger on the CVP battery system because of sound. I did post on another forum I was going with CVP after I attend the Clinic they are giving at Trainfest outside of Milwaukee next weekend. I will wait but still attend the Clinic.

At the previous layout and house I had Railpro. I needed no other encouragement to stay with Railpro other then the lack of Loksound quality sound. Loksound does make you feel you are there. So I also have decided the KPack thread was most timely. I can wait a few more months. Here's hoping Tim comes through.

TomO

[KPack]

Do not give in to the dark side!

I'm also hoping that Tim is able to rework how the sounds are played.  He has access to some of the best recordings on the market, but great recordings can be ruined by poor editing and playback.  Since everything is update-able in Railpro, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility to have sound characteristics that rival Loksound and the like.  It will take some serious work and coding for Ring to pull it off.  But the end result will be well worth it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the ONLY thing that DCC has over Railpro IMO is their capabilities with sound.  That's it.  Railpro has DCC beat in all other aspects. 

For myself, I would much rather have the running capabilities of Railpro with mediocre sound, than have awesome sound but have to deal with DCC.  I'd rather slit my wrists and do push-ups in salt water.

-Kevin

[nodcc4me]

Tim, the key word in your post is "almost". 

I was at my recently re-located club last night...didn't bring any trains because the bugs in the new layout are still being ironed out. As I looked at a DT702 controller, I said to myself, "So glad I didn't go this route". I can wait for better sound files, and you know they will come.