# DCC for Aristocraft



## bcbrit (Sep 21, 2011)

I am totally new to this hobby and have a few basic questions.

I have just purchased an Aristocraft Mallet and would like to confirm if a QSI DCC decoder is the best way to go.

It seems easy to install and has all controls required although some re-wiring is needed for optimum sound. I am only going to run 4 or five trains on roughly 250' of track eventually. As yet the track is not installed so I would like to "bench test" the unit under DCC control to make sure all is well and that I understand everything, but am somewhat confused as to which controller to operate the system with and how it is connected. Do I just supply power to the rollers Via DCC and that is sufficient? 


I realise that this is all very subjective but I would like have opinions as to the best way to set-up a test set of rollers to do this this, I assume the rollers are connected to the DCC supply so the setup will emulate the actual track wiring. 


Thanks for reading this tome, all advice or pointers very much appreciated. 

Colin


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I have QSI decoders in five aristocraft engines and have been very happy with them. The QSI decoder drops right in, but aristo's wiring is sometimes a little "eccentric." In a couple cases I ended up removing the socket and wiring directly. You can run a DCC signal to rollers and put the loco on rollers.

I thought the QSI cards were excellent, but right now they are unavailable, out of production. They are to be replaced by the new QSI "titan" decoders, which supposedly will have a bunch of amazing features . As of October 1, I will have been waiting an entire year for the Titan decoders. They are vaguely said to be due "in November."


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## adelmo (Jan 2, 2008)

I would recommend Zimo power/sound decoders. Zimo has the best slow speed control and can help overcome the poor Aristo quality wheel plating contact performance. This is important if plan to run outdoors. 

QSI Titan is not available at best till late 2011. Zimo ready to ship now from active sponsor. 

Good Luck


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

You can still fine QSI's out there for sale, just picked up a couple of them. 

What Adelmo did not mention is that the QSI just plugs into the Aristo socket, the Zimo does not. I use Zimo decoders also, and they are high quality, but do not have any advantage in poor power pickup situations, in fact the QSI has 2 large electrolytic capacitors to help this situation, the Zimo does not. 

Also, if comparing apples to apples, the QSI sound library is superior in terms of breadth of sounds and not "European" (although if anyone has a good Zimo 2-8-8-2 Zimo sound file I would love to have it). 

Finally the QSI has the "double chuff" available, where you can hear the chuffs in the individual prime movers, although a true mallet would only make a single chuff noise, the first prime mover exhausts into the second, so you don't hear it's chuff. 

Going back to your post, you need a DCC system to control a DCC loco, but the QSI can also be set up to work on straight DC for running or testing. It will automatically sense whether it is getting DC or DCC. 

Don't get me wrong on Zimo, I love the product, superior motor control, great quality, I have a number of them, but in this application, it's not the top dog (unless you get into synchronized puffing on the smoke unit) 

Regards, Greg


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## adelmo (Jan 2, 2008)

Colin 

Greg makes a good point point about the QSI being plug n play ready. Availability remains an issue for QSI though. 

My experience: Aristo RS-3 (5Gen)/QSI poor jerkey slow speed response and flickering lights and Bachmann Shay(1st Gen)/Zimo perfect slow speed crawl no flickering lights. 
Both engines have reputation for poor quality wheel contact and longevity. I believe Zimo has capacitor for signal interuption. Zimo experts will need to chime in. 

In my mind Aristo is more out of the box friendly for battery operation than DCC for outdoor.


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Here is a video of the QSI/G-wire in the Aristo Mallet. I am very happy with the old QSI, and probably will not go to the new one unless it's really heads and shoulders above the old one. If you wait till the new one comes out, and or find an old one, i'm sure after the new comes out the old will come way down in price for those who are switching. I have everything in the boiler of the engine QSI/G-wire, and a custom speaker set up from Leonard Kerns in Oregon. They were $28 shipped from him, and work excellently in all engines especially the Mallet. Take a look at this Mallet video, and look at all my you tube videos they are all QSI/G-wire except the Green B.N. one its Phoenix which I have had several and have sold all off with Airwire you can control QSI/G-wire on RC and battery and track power too. With the Phoenix system you have to buy a receiver and a sound card with QSI just the decoder, and g-wire, you can use the t-9000 throttle or the newer NCE gardenwire throttle both will work and I do use both each has its own advantages. Any questions or if you need to ask me anything let me know. Regal

7485jerry's Channel - YouTube

LGB Helena & Hartland Woody converted to battery.wmv - YouTube 
This is one I just did yesterday, the ET&WNC coach behind it has all the electronics in it until I get a battery small enough and then will put all electronics into the Red trailing car. Conversion is easy after you do your first one, and I have to give credit to Greg. Elmassian, Noel Wilson, and J.C. Carter for their help in edumacating me on various aspects.


Below is my "live" channel take a look there too!

Crazy Train Guy's Garden Railroad Channel - live streaming video powered by Livestream


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## bcbrit (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks for the replys guys.
The only rollers I have seen do not seem to have any way to connect power to them, is it a question of soldering wires to the frames, is each side isolated or are there special ones made to facilitate wiring. What I want to do is run the engine on the bench via DCC so that I fully understand everything so I will need to get a DCC base station, controller and power supply. From what I have read so far it seems that any controller will work with any decoder, true? Any controllers to stay away from or is it just a question of price and functions required.


Colin


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The problem with the QSI is the BEMF control in certain locos. Turn BEMF off (set from RTC mode to STD mode) and the motor control will be perfect. This jerkiness is not power pickup. 

If the Zimo has a "power interruption capacitor" it's not nearly large enough to make a huge difference, electrolytic capacitors take physical size... 

See the picture of the Zimo below: 









Now notice the TWO large electrolytic capacitors (brown) on the QSI (one for raw power from the rails, the second for the 5v microprocessor), the third object in line is a coil for a switching supply:










The flickering lights on the RS3 is apparently part of this and also because Aristo uses a microprocessor as a regulator for the lighting circuit, so it "freaks out" at low pulse durations. 

Good call Adelmo (what is your name anyway, would like to address you properly), you obviously are pretty experienced. 

On the rollers, never seen rollers that don't transmit power... I use the Bachmann ones, but Aristo, Accucraft, Train-Li, etc.

Yes, any DCC system will work, you pretty much get what you pay for.

Stay away from the cheaper, entry level systems in my opinion. In my experience, people often find limitations in the cheapest systems. 


Regards, Greg


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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

Colin, 

You couild simply plug power into the AUX battery/power pigtail of the tender with the engine on rollers or just put the rollers on some track and power up the track? 

Michael


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I just attached large alligator clips to to leads, and then ran one end of the lead to the DCC supply and clipped the other end to the rollers


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## adlereins (Jan 4, 2008)

I realize this is obvious to most of us but has anyone said that the rollers need to be placed ON the track to function as is apparently expected? Just a thought. 
Allen B.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

You might have a point! 

Greg


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## bcbrit (Sep 21, 2011)

Right now I am leaning towards battery power and a G Wire pro cab, no need for powered rollers and eventually no worries about a dirty track. Price seems to be pretty close. Still investigating but my brain is starting to hurt. 
Colin


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

When using roller set them on a section of track. Use alligator clips to attache to the rails from your DCC power source and you are good to go. i use all QSI boards in my locos even the non plug and play. i have over 50 locos using this system so far and love it. Later RJD


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Battery power and QSI/Gwire works well. The downside, if you add more locos, is the higher cost--you need to buy a "gwire" card for each loco you add. It's about 100 bucks per loco on top of the cost of the decoder itself. Plus you need to buy/replace the battery packs. If you get up past about 4-5 locos, you find DCC gets cheaper. And you still need to clean the track--leaves and sticks and general debris are just as much of a problem on battery power. 

I've never found track cleaning to be a big deal.But some people seem to have a hard time with it. Battery has some advantages, but never looked like a good option to me 

As mentioned, powered rollers are easy--you just set them on a piece of track and power the track.


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Zimo does allow for capacitors to be installed for smoother operation, in fact you can even use super caps stacked for 18 volts. 

Check with Axel at Train-li-usa.com for details.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, virtually ANY decoder can have caps added, the question was about them being provided stock, and on the board. 

I was responding to Al's statement: 

"I would recommend Zimo power/sound decoders. Zimo has the best slow speed control and can help overcome the poor Aristo quality wheel plating contact performance. This is important if plan to run outdoors. " 

I totally agree about the slow speed control, I have not found a decoder better than the Zimo for this (same holds true in my opinion in Z scale which I also model). 

But "overcoming" poor quality wheel plating contact performance is related to power interruptions. The larger caps on the QSI give you excellent "out of the box" performance, the Zimo, while an excellent decoder, NEEDS an extra capacitor added to match the QSI's performance in this respect. 

It's easy and simple to add, but out of the box, the QSI is superior in this department. The QSI has been designed for many different applications, DC, DCC and wireless, so they thought of a lot of different situations, for example higher voltages on DC layouts, so it can handle up to 37 volts. 

Again just calling them as I have measured and observed them... 

Regards, Greg 

p.s. Dan, you want to really stack the caps for about 5 volts over your nominal voltage. Electrolytic caps are sensitive to overvoltage, and especially super caps and tantalum caps. I'd suggest 24 to 27 volts.


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Just to make sure I have this right. How do I go from RTC to STD mode? I rather happy with QSI, but it could be better and maybe I've missed something here.
Bob


Posted By Greg Elmassian on 22 Sep 2011 11:47 AM 
The problem with the QSI is the BEMF control in certain locos. Turn BEMF off (set from RTC mode to STD mode) and the motor control will be perfect. This jerkiness is not power pickup. 

If the Zimo has a "power interruption capacitor" it's not nearly large enough to make a huge difference, electrolytic capacitors take physical size... 

See the picture of the Zimo below: 










Now notice the TWO large electrolytic capacitors (brown) on the QSI (one for raw power from the rails, the second for the 5v microprocessor), the third object in line is a coil for a switching supply:










The flickering lights on the RS3 is apparently part of this and also because Aristo uses a microprocessor as a regulator for the lighting circuit, so it "freaks out" at low pulse durations. 

Good call Adelmo (what is your name anyway, would like to address you properly), you obviously are pretty experienced. 

On the rollers, never seen rollers that don't transmit power... I use the Bachmann ones, but Aristo, Accucraft, Train-Li, etc.

Yes, any DCC system will work, you pretty much get what you pay for.

Stay away from the cheaper, entry level systems in my opinion. In my experience, people often find limitations in the cheapest systems. 


Regards, Greg


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## StanleyAmes (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 27 Sep 2011 10:09 AM 
Yes, virtually ANY decoder can have caps added, the question was about them being provided stock, and on the board. 

I was responding to Al's statement: 

"I would recommend Zimo power/sound decoders. Zimo has the best slow speed control and can help overcome the poor Aristo quality wheel plating contact performance. This is important if plan to run outdoors. " 

I totally agree about the slow speed control, I have not found a decoder better than the Zimo for this (same holds true in my opinion in Z scale which I also model). 

But "overcoming" poor quality wheel plating contact performance is related to power interruptions. The larger caps on the QSI give you excellent "out of the box" performance, the Zimo, while an excellent decoder, NEEDS an extra capacitor added to match the QSI's performance in this respect. 

It's easy and simple to add, but out of the box, the QSI is superior in this department. The QSI has been designed for many different applications, DC, DCC and wireless, so they thought of a lot of different situations, for example higher voltages on DC layouts, so it can handle up to 37 volts. 

Again just calling them as I have measured and observed them... 

Regards, Greg 

p.s. Dan, you want to really stack the caps for about 5 volts over your nominal voltage. Electrolytic caps are sensitive to overvoltage, and especially super caps and tantalum caps. I'd suggest 24 to 27 volts.


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## rpc7271 (Jan 2, 2008)

QSI is coming out with their Titan sound decoder between now and Christmas which is 64 bit sound and should be way better than anything anyone else has right now. I operate both the Aristocraft Revolution and the QSI sound decoders with a Gwire receiver and with the Airwire transmitter ( so you can have a knob to control your train). Aristo Revolution is coming out with a sound decoder. It was supposed to be on display at the ECLSTS last weekend but I wasn't there to hear it. QSI is also coming out with a decoder receiver that will respond to the Revolution transmitter to control the QSI sound decoders. If you are interested in the Aristo Revolution now is the time to buy it as the Aristocraft sale this month is buy a Revolution set and receive a free receiver.


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## NavyTech (Aug 2, 2008)

http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=999003272&cat=72&page=1 

Litchfield Station carries QSI and also has the new Titan. 

I have two and truly love them, the sound is amazing.


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Another option for you is a Massoth sound decoder, since they come with the aristocraft plug and also have two clock inputs so you can have independent chuffing for the front and rear drives. I believe the Zimo has this ability as well--not sure about the others. 

Keith


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Hmm--does lichtfield station have either the Titan or the older decoder in stock? Actually in stock? As I understand it, the titan for HO scale is out now, but the titan for Large scale won't be out until some endlessly receding time in the future. The older QSI cards are mostly sold out, since they stopped making them about a year ago. 

Although I agree with you about the quality f QSI decoders, if I were you, I'd hold off on buying the old style decoder. The titan is suposed to be much better. In the meantime, there are some excellent motor and lights only decoders available for little money. Digitrax G scale non-sound decoders, for exmple, are quite good and about $50


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

It would probably worth waiting for the new Titan, since they have claimed many significant improvements in sound quality and features. 

At least wait and see what it turns out to be. I am reviewing a feature document, and it is impressive. Of course what will be the determining factor on the actual product. 

I do know they have also been re-recording their sounds and recording them in "higher definition"... no other sound decoder company (G scale decoders) that I know of is doing this. The Massoth, ESU, Zimo all depend on users contributing sound files. QSI has hired someone to do this, and the recordings are great. 

I'm sitting tight, hopefully only another month or two. 

Regards, Greg 

(p.s. the two independent chuffs would only be heard on a true compound, not a mallet) 

Regards, Greg


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

(p.s. the two independent chuffs would only be heard on a true compound, not a mallet) 

A Mallet IS a true compound. Many locomotives are called Mallets but are actually simple, not compound in action. Let me know when Aristo can keep the front and back from going out of sync.  

Keith


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

sorry, you got me, I did it backwards... what is the term for a setup like a big boy?

You want to keep it from going in and out of sync? That's actually prototype for locomotives with 2 sets of drivers, and the QSI unit can even simulate that (although it's not right to hear both). 

I do leave it on to hear the chuffs from both prime movers to hear them go in and out. It's cool, even though it's not right on a mallet. 

Greg


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg; 

Big Boys, Challengers, and N&W Class As are simply known as articulated locomotives. N&W Class Ys and other articulated compounds are Mallets. To further confuse the issue, many Mallets has a simple/compound valve. It allowed the engineer to apply full pressure steam to all cylinders when starting a train (supposedly for better tractive effort). Once the train was underway, the engineer would set the valve for compound operation. 

Hope this helps, 
David Meashey


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

A true Mallet (designed by Monsieur Mallet of France) was a locomotive that attempted to get the most out of steam by using the exhaust from one set of cylinders to power a second set of cylinders. It was also articulated, that is the driving wheels were broken into two sets individually powered. You can tell a true Mallet by noticing that one set of cylinders is much larger than the other set. The larger cylinders used the exhaust from the smaller cylinders. 
The D&RG K-27s were originally compound engines. That is each side had a double cylinder with the exhaust from the smaller being reused in the larger. This was only one set of driving wheels. They were found to be very expensive to maintain and were soon changed over to simple engines (that is one cylinder on each side). 
It became common to refer to any articulated engine as a Mallet, although most of them did not reuse the steam. That is each set of cylinders was fed directly from the boiler. 

Hope this helps.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

For what its worth, Anatole Mallet was Swiss by birth. 

Mallet's orignal designs were compound: that is, they used the steam twice, once at higher pressure and once at lower. But compounding wasn't unique to the Mallet: lots of people experimented with compounding. What was unique was the articulation system


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I forgot the simple/compound valve... so the "dual chuff" that the QSI does (and I think Zimo and maybe Massoth / ESU) could be prototypical at slow speeds, but probably only starting. 

Anyway it is fun to listen to, so I hope the rivet counters do not descend on me if I use it at higher speeds. 

Regards, Greg


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## Axel Tillmann (Jan 10, 2008)

My seven sense:

Plugs (or even plug and play) that connect to Arisotcraft (USA Trains, LGB,Bachmann ......) is short selling a DCC solution. Why?

I have not seen a single engine today, that wasn't in it's own electronic optimized for DC (analog) operation. That means that often you can't isolate effects and feature becuase they have been wired together (e.g. cabin lights + head lights + running boards +++++). It is counter productive to the DCC enthusiast to live with the same limitations as analog operation.

As also mentioned, some of the internal electronics is so of the mark that it interferes with opimized operation.

The solution, rip it all out, cut the edges of circuitboard (typcially in the headlight area), cut the power and ground leads to fan driven smoke units (i.e. Aristocraft's own unit havew a two pin connection, but you need to operatre the fan seperate from the heating element if you want chuff or load synchronized smoke).

USA trains engines with maker light that use bi-color LEDs use a common Kathode and two different Anodes would need for DCC the opposite one common Anode and two independant Kathodes.

And so on......


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## bcbrit (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks Gentlemen but!!! 

Navytech, according to their website they only have Diesel in stock, no steam but thanks for the info anyways. 

According to my supplier QSI are concentrating on HO boards and don't expect G scale for another 3-6 months, and the way things have been "not" been going who knows when it will happen. 
Having said all that in your opinion is the Masooth decoder the best way to go with a G wire pro cab until the QSI comes along eventually (who knows when). 
I am a bit leery of the Aristo Revolution as it is not NMRA compliant which rules out any future improvements that may come along with other manufacturers. 

Thanks for your advice.


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## Larry Walkley (Oct 25, 2011)

I know this is off topic but what if I wanted to run things the old fashioned way with one controller per line and still be able to have smoke and sound going when the engine is sitting still. I have engines with smoke but slow speeds and no smoke isn't a lot of fun.

I don't have the money for the whole dcc thing. Just want to run my small layout with two trains on it and be able to utilize the extra functions my locos have without having to spend a fortune. Thanks for any help.


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## Larry Walkley (Oct 25, 2011)

I know this is off topic but what if I wanted to run things the old fashioned way with one controller per line and still be able to have smoke and sound going when the engine is sitting still. I have engines with smoke but slow speeds and no smoke isn't a lot of fun.

I don't have the money for the whole dcc thing. Just want to run my small layout with two trains on it and be able to utilize the extra functions my locos have without having to spend a fortune. Thanks for any help.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

When you come into another thread and post something completely different from the topic, the courteous thing to do is start a new thread. This thread is about DCC in Aristo-Craft locos, your question has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic.

While it must be scary exposing yourself in a completely new thread (I was a newbie once), it's much better than messing up a thread on a different topic. It's the beginner forum.

Start a new thread in this forum with your question. As a bonus, if you put a good title on it like "how to do cheap smoke and sound" you will get more and better responses than riding the coattails of a DCC thread.

Regards, Greg 

p.s. you can't get a lot of functions for no money... the old adage you don't get something for nothing is in force


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## Larry Walkley (Oct 25, 2011)

My apologies and thank you for the advice.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

No problem, and you will see that your post will generate a number of options... there's always more than one way to skin a cat (oops, maybe that't not PC today!) 

Greg


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

All I can say is I hope QSI gets there you know what together soon or I'll be dumping all my locos and go to LS which I have 4 of already







. I refuse to buy the high dollar decorseven tho you can do multiple functions. Just to much work. Later RJD


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## bcbrit (Sep 21, 2011)

I emailed them yesterday, got a reply today saying that "We are running behind, late Dec or Jan but not 6 months". We'll see. From every thing I have read so far this unit does seem to be the cats meow. 
Colin


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I participated in a design review with them the other day (QSI engineers and Stan Ames and Myself) things are moving forwards... Tony Walsham will be happy. 

Greg


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By bcbrit on 28 Oct 2011 02:54 PM 
I emailed them yesterday, got a reply today saying that "We are running behind, late Dec or Jan but not 6 months". We'll see. From every thing I have read so far this unit does seem to be the cats meow. 
Colin 
!!??? Late December or January? Based on their record so far I'm guessing 6 months. Maybe by April. It's really ridiculous.


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## benshell (Oct 1, 2008)

Saying Dec or Jan is saying two or three months, which is what they have been saying for years. It seems like if it was close they would know it--engineering would be done, final samples would be in testing, parts would be ordered for production, etc. It sounds like the timeline is still just speculation. I know estimates can be hard--I'm a software engineer and it's easy to go over--but consistently being this far off is a sign of serious incompetence. It's possible the incompetence is on the part of the management or sales team making unrealistic estimates, but it really hurts the reputation of a company to be consistently so late!


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I've been a very loyal fan of QSI, but this is just ridiculous. 11 months ago I sent four decoders to them for replacement/repair under warranty. I was told that the old decoders were no longer available, and I'd be sent the new ones when they came out in two months. That was nearly a year ago. What kind of way of doing business is this?


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## Ralph Berg (Jun 2, 2009)

Posted By lownote on 29 Oct 2011 02:23 AM 
I've been a very loyal fan of QSI, but this is just ridiculous. 11 months ago I sent four decoders to them for replacement/repair under warranty. I was told that the old decoders were no longer available, and I'd be sent the new ones when they came out in two months. That was nearly a year ago. What kind of way of doing business is this? 
Unless you have 40 QSI decoders, I'd say your failure rate was unacceptable.
Ralph


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

No, this is one of the ways QSI was a great company to deal with. I wrote to them explaining that these were (with maybe 1 exception) decoders had failed due to what I think was my error or a fluke equipment failure--they weren't flawed in manufacture. I asked if they could be repaired, and was told to send them in, and they would be covered under the warranty. But since the old ones were no longer available, they would be replaced with the new ones.


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## Ralph Berg (Jun 2, 2009)

Posted By lownote on 29 Oct 2011 07:01 AM 
No, this is one of the ways QSI was a great company to deal with. I wrote to them explaining that these were (with maybe 1 exception) decoders had failed due to what I think was my error or a fluke equipment failure--they weren't flawed in manufacture. I asked if they could be repaired, and was told to send them in, and they would be covered under the warranty. But since the old ones were no longer available, they would be replaced with the new ones. 

Thanks for the explanation, Mike.
Seriously though, if it was your fault and they offered to replace them anyway, why complain about the wait ?

On the flip side, I don't understand why a company would go a year without a product to offer. You have to wonder why they didn't order another run of the old decoders while the new decoders were in developement.
Ralph


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Ralph--I mostly have't complained, although one way to look at it is I sent them in for repair under warranty and they have been at QSI for 11 months. There's some grounds for complaint in there I think. I haven't bought any other sound decoders to replace the QSI's, because the release of the new "titan" decoders has been perpetually 2 months away. If I'd known in January that it would be a year till they were replaced, I might have simply gone to another manufacturer. But I have always been impressed with QSI and am only now getting fed up about the endless delays. 

I agree--why did they stop the old decoders? It's like the company has had nothing at all to sell for about a year. I suppose they had products in HO for sale?


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## adelmo (Jan 2, 2008)

Make the move to Zimo, ESU, or Massoth. 

Plenty of great alternatives. Enjoy the hobby! 

Alan


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

I am also a 3+ year customer of QSI, and like their products, probably won't buy the new Titan, but have asked about getting a goose sound for over a year, keep getting the answer, after prodding them a bit, that it is on their agenda and is in the works for some time in the future. To all of you dealing with QSI , it's the Tony way of dealing with things, put off, shove off, and don't hold yer breath!! They probably will eventually come, but as I said I like QSI products but the distributor/owner/whatever "not so much" he let me down and showed his colors early on in my dealings with him personally!! My opinion, and I'm stickin to it!! LOL Regal


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The main reason I am waiting is that, next to Phoenix, QSI has by far the best sound library of US sounds. All the german decoders have a very poor library, and re-use the same sound for different locos. 

You get a sound file that takes a lot of tweaking, like removing the coal shovelling sound from an oil burner, the european whistles, and all kinds of other stuff, but basically the sounds are just plain inferior, since most work from public sounds and most are contributed by private individuals (some of whom now are charging extra money for their files). 

QSI seems to be the only manufacturer ACTIVELY recording US sounds. 

Also, I want plug and play / drop ins for the USAT locos. 

So, I wait... I waited 6 years on promises from SoundTraxx for a LS Tsunami, so I can wait a little longer. 

Greg


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