Sound for Williams O

[Bob Banjany]

When will there be some sound card drop in options for Williams O other than TruBlastII..? Or some Digital Command Control..? Willimas needs to step it up to compete with MTH amd Lionel...

[r0gruth]

Bob,

If the things you mentioned above were to be available as add-on features that might do well.

Please don't forget that there are many who like what WbB produces.I have TMCC but would
rather run my trains conventionaly.I don't care for the various sounds either.Whistles,horns
and bells are ok for me.

The other factor is tha tWbB trains are still less expensive than Lionel and MTH.

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

I've got to agree with r0gruth 100%. When the "new conventional" well runs dry my purchases will revert to used trains only. Paying a couple hundred bucks for sounds, and controls I wont use is nonsense. And I suspect overtime the "digital" standards of today will eventually be incompatible with future offerings. Just trying find a replacement chip for some IC chips from the 90s can be impossible. Most other mfg.s lost my business long ago by trying to "force feed" us digital. Besides, nothing is stopping you from adding what you seek through the aftermarket, and if you are unable, or unwilling to do it yourself, plenty of installers are ready to cash your check .   

[Bob Banjany]

Please dont misunderstand..I love Williams stuff.. I have 7 F3s,F7s and Alcos..I also have 2 scale Locos and 3 semi scale locos..and I as well like the conventional operations of my trains ..But it would be nice to be able to set MPH to keep speed constant up and down elevations.. Or to hear crew talk and station sounds..
I have said to many dealers at train shows that Williams puts out a superior product to Lionel and MTH for the money.. When buying Lionel in the same price range..You get junk !!..Just toys with no pulling power .. My Williams stuff, deisels and SDs..are smoother, quicker and stronger than any other train manufacturer..

I do see some quality issues with their smoke units and TrueBlast II sound stuff.. They need to fix that, but I reamin an avid Williams buyer and have recently inquired about becoming a Williams dealer.. Their stuff is beautiful and well detailed..

Regards,
Bob Banjany

[phillyreading]

If Willaims was to add command control to their engine, then the price would be at least $100.00 per engine higher. I don't want command control!!
Right now you need two different systems to run both ot the other companies engines in command control, each system is over $300.00 each!
You have to buy each unit seperately. You don't get a free engine when you buy TMCC or DCS system, you have to buy it itself.

As for being a Williams dealer, you should check into the cost before trying to do  anything like that. How much product do you have to buy, and how many dollars do you have to invest in each order? Some companies won't ship less then a $5000.00 order. Other companies you must put in a $500.00 to get any discount compared to buying retail prices.

A little info here, Williams now that Bachmann owns them quit the retail dealer business and sells to hobby shops who order a certain amount of product. Have no other information.

Lee F.

[phillyreading]

When the Crown Edtition was put out it was a nice sound system that the diesel engines had in them by QSI. You had diesel revving sound, horn or bell(depending on speed-track voltage) and station leaving announcement that started on start up.

If you want a better sound system then Williams provides you can always add one to it after you buy the engine.

I too don't like the smoke units that Williams uses. Hopefully Bachmann did something about that, I don't have a WBB engine with smoke so I can't say. The older Williams smoke units were almost non-smoking at any voltage.

Lee F.

[phillyreading]

Please dont misunderstand..I love Williams stuff.. I have 7 F3s,F7s and Alcos..I also have 2 scale Locos and 3 semi scale locos..and I as well like the conventional operations of my trains ..But it would be nice to be able to set MPH to keep speed constant up and down elevations.. Or to hear crew talk and station sounds..
I have said to many dealers at train shows that Williams puts out a superior product to Lionel and MTH for the money.. When buying Lionel in the same price range..You get junk !!..Just toys with no pulling power .. My Williams stuff, deisels and SDs..are smoother, quicker and stronger than any other train manufacturer..

I do see some quality issues with their smoke units and TrueBlast II sound stuff.. They need to fix that, but I reamin an avid Williams buyer and have recently inquired about becoming a Williams dealer.. Their stuff is beautiful and well detailed..

Regards,
Bob Banjany

We all know that Williams is a better product for the money then most of their competition. The problem is getting more people to recognize that. I have talked with hobby shop owners that say when a person sees the name Williams on the box the potential sale comes to a screeching halt!! At least that is how it is in southeast Florida near West Palm Beach.
The problem being is, how do you get people to overcome their pre-judement of a product?

Lee F.

[Bob Banjany]

I have inquired through their Sales Team on the requirements of dealership.. Yes, there are many inclusions you need to be aware of and true they only deal through wholesale distributors, so it is the distributors that you need to satisfy..The problem with that is you are never buying at the lowest possible price..The middle man always has his mark-up included..

True,  perception is 90 % of how successful your product sales will be.. Overcoming the stigma of not having the Lionel or MTH name on you label makes it difficult to compete..

One Dealer told me that if you ran an MTH, Lionel and a Williams engine in a museum setting non-stop for a week, at the end of the time frame only the Williams would still be running.. The lionel and MTH would have seized up .. The reason he doesn't carry or promote Williams is because collectors see no appreciation value in the long term..

I myself, prefer Williams for many reasons which I have documented above.. I will remain an avid Williams buyer and love everything they put out.. I hope Williams continues to introduce new 3 rail O gauge products at the high level of detail in which they currently do..


Thanks..Bob Banjany

[stationmaster12]

In my case I have had sound and command from both Lionel and MTH. They work, but I sold all of that because I want conventional control. It is simple and the trains always run. I had PS3 locos and Lionel's sound locos too and just got rid of them. For me simple is good. Plus it keeps the price point affordable. Right now I saw at Trainworld $99 Williams SD90's!  REALLY!!!! Getting one! when was the last time you saw a loco for that price! brand new! and "bullet proof' quality! My point, WBB  please keep it simple, affordable and built to last. You do that and your business will grow. In this tough economic climate it's inpossible for the working guy to drop $300 for toy trains. And as for sound, maybe do what you do in HO. Offer standard and DCC. For  WBB maybe offer "drop-in" sound boards as separate sale.

[phillyreading]

The only problem that a lot of us will have with a new sound unit or a new drop-in device is updating to the drop-in units. It would be nice for the newer Williams but the cost of updating an older Williams engine, over 2 years old, might make it non-productive cost wise.
Have you looked at the prices of a motor upgrade kit for a non-motorized unit lately? Over $130.00 with shipping, even at online blow-out prices.
I can buy a whole new engine at a blow-out price for the same as a motor upgrade kit.

Lee F.

[stationmaster12]

This is true. Life is full of options. And decisions. So let's imagine that a drop-in board is available (option) then it's up to you to decide if you want to spend the money for the upgrade for your particular loco, or just get a new one with sound. That is how it is in the HO word. You get a DCC ready loco and if you want to upgrade you new loco then you get a sound decoder for it. Options are nice.

[M1FredQ]

I just want to say Ditto about WBB.

I too have a whole bunch of F-3's, a couple F-7's, steamers and now a few GP-30's. My son comes home from school

and runs the trains for a good hour or more almost every school day and then we run them together about 15-20 minutes before bedtime. On weekends whenever we can we run them while I do paperwork or do chores in the basement.

The WBB keep on running and shame on me I am behind on my oil and lube schedule.

My only recommendation to WBB which to their credit they addressed with the GP-30's was brighter lighting with the LED's I am happy with it. In addition a little better sound system on the steamers like the Horse Shoe Curve Steamer from "L" and better smoke units with on off switch.

That's it!!!

The fair pricing has allowed me to "Indulge" with multiple units like F-3's and GP-30's.The quality is really impressive as my son Joey has not caused a "causality"to any of the units.(yet)

I am looking forward to the RS-3's with the Seaboard being first on our "get" list!!!!.

[phillyreading]

This is true. Life is full of options. And decisions. So let's imagine that a drop-in board is available (option) then it's up to you to decide if you want to spend the money for the upgrade for your particular loco, or just get a new one with sound. That is how it is in the HO word. You get a DCC ready loco and if you want to upgrade you new loco then you get a sound decoder for it. Options are nice.

From what I know about H.O. trains, you can slip in a sound chip by just putting it inside the DCC unit.
With O gauge we have to add or remove a sound unit completely, un-install or remove wires and then wire in the new unit. Not that easy to do and the new plug & play will be another cost to consider adding or not.

Lee F.

[phillyreading]

Maybe I should be more specific but I have about 12 Williams engines before Bachmann/Williams time. I have four SD-45's and four F-7 A units and two F-7 B units, two GP-38's one powered with TB-2 and one with Station Sounds from the Crown Edition era, also my GP-9 with TB-2.
So for me to upgrade to a new sound system for each engine would be very expensive, even at $15.00 a unit, and I wire them myself.
That's my take on any new sound system.

Lee F.

[Bob Banjany]

In my case I have had sound and command from both Lionel and MTH. They work, but I sold all of that because I want conventional control. It is simple and the trains always run. I had PS3 locos and Lionel's sound locos too and just got rid of them. For me simple is good. Plus it keeps the price point affordable. Right now I saw at Trainworld $99 Williams SD90's!  REALLY!!!! Getting one! when was the last time you saw a loco for that price! brand new! and "bullet proof' quality! My point, WBB  please keep it simple, affordable and built to last. You do that and your business will grow. In this tough economic climate it's inpossible for the working guy to drop $300 for toy trains. And as for sound, maybe do what you do in HO. Offer standard and DCC. For  WBB maybe offer "drop-in" sound boards as separate sale.

Just as an fyi.. You are correct ..I bought an SD90 from Trainworld about 4 weeks ago for $99 .. Great product..smooth, fast , pretty to look at as well.. I bought the "Rio Grande" .. The price was "Fantastic"