On smart phones does the E-Z App link to both the Bluetooth signals of the BlueRail card and the Bluetooth speaker at the same time?  On my iPhone I can just link to one device at a time.  For the sound files, are those stored on the BlueRail board or streamed real-time?  I'm kind of wondering how this'll play out longer term.  Will BlueRail have pluggable sound cards or is there sufficient memory and sound processing/amplification on board to handle all this or is that still under consideration?  The latter is the way to go but that'll require some partnership arrangements. 

When can we expect sounds like that coming from Tsunami 2 and other similar high fidelity sound systems?  Said another way, when will there be equivalence in function between EZ-App and DCS, Legacy, etc.?   

Kirk

Hunt, I've looked at BlueRail and it sounds interesting but it may be too early to jump to that.  It certainly offers some remote control but doesn't give me the sound aspect that I'm looking for.  One of the showcased users puts this in the exact same On30 loco that I just acquired so maybe just maybe.

May need to give them a call to see where they are on new feature introductions.

I'm just trying to figure out all the electronics aspects of this right now and plan for the time I do get DCC.  I actually have much more O gauge (conventional) and my layout is planned for that, but when I saw the prices at Trainworld for some of these ($60! for the loco, $399 MSRP) I could not pass it up.  And I can use it somewhere in the background for a mountain or logging route with trestle et al. and have it on a back-and-forth circuit.  I'll eventually get a DCC system (DCS maybe) and will be able to access fully all DCC commands of this engine at that time.  Until then I'm just planning. 

I actually came at this from a different direction.  For about $20 on Amazon I did get a blue tooth audio receiver, 2.5 W amplifier and a speaker so I can actually play music (via iTunes) or any other "train sound" I can find (.mp3 file) and beam it directly to a sound car with my iPhone.  It's more like a very small Bluetooth speaker really since it's not DCC and I haven't determined how I'll power it at low track voltage... anyone have experience in lithium ion battery charging circuits for trains?

So Hunt, if you weren't going to get the AE32019 in the future what would you get?  It looks like it has more than plenty the number of functions.  Would you use a different model and/or brand? 

Ton, I haven't cracked open the shell but it should have that 8-pin already in it.  Maybe you have an older or non-DCC version?

kreinbold

I'm looking to add sound to a newly acquired 4-4-0 On30 Modern outside frame steam locomotive (#28324).  I have not acquired a DCC system as yet so will initially run in DC analog mode.  I've identified the sound PCB AE32019 (http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_698&products_id=10469) as being most appropriate (HO 4-4-0 modern it says).  The loco comes with an 8-pin NMRA-compliant decoder and I may be going out on a limb here but is it as simple as buying the sound PCB, a speaker and an 8-pin connector piece and away I go? 

Since I'll be operating in DC analog mode I am assuming that I may trigger some automatic sound features as per the automatic sound configuration register (factory set?) like whistle signals, bells, steam release, etc. 

Unfortunately I could not find any instructions related to the AE32019 PCB so do not know if any sounds will really be made in analog mode.  Just guessing based upon what SoundTraxx says on their website.  Has anyone added sound to their On30 4-4-0 before and did you have any kind of instruction manual?  Anyone know who makes that board?  I suppose I could use a sound board from someone else. 

Also, when sound boards like these are added will factory defaults that allow DC operation work or must I set some variable in the programming?  Being that I don't have a DCC system then that will be tough.  Can I program/read from a computer? 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

kreinbold