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Where are the TTS sound files?


Nictor

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I have a couple of TTS loco's and I am very happy with them. I am thinking of buying some decoders and converting some of my other DCC chipped locos to TTS sound.

I would have expected Hornby to have a sound file for each decoder here on the website. No joy. I have to go to YouTube and hope that someone has uploaded a video there.

This seems like a classic case of the age old British manufacturing malaise. Good idea at a reasonable price and then abysmal marketing!

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If you take all the posts and replies in context, Nictor has made it very clear he is referring to samples for the purpose of previewing the sounds before purchase.

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I can understand why Hornby don't provide previews of the sounds, because Hornby have spent money creating them and probably have intellectual rights of some kind to them. They would not want anyone to have the ability to free download them to install onto their own blank sound decoders (such as Loksound for example) which would also need specialist expensive programmers unavailable to the average modeller. The Loksound programmer is over a hundred pounds or more the last time I researched them. So not even a realistic option for DIY installation anyway. Anybody who is going to pay out for expensive programmers, is probably going to want better quality real recorded sounds. I believe many of the TTS sounds are electronically synthesised.

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One way that Hornby could make the preview of sounds pre-viewable on the Shop site but without the risk of them being pirated, would be to have a constant background talk-over laid over the top of the sound, that would make them completely unusable by someone with a pirating objective. The talk-over could be just a repeating loop statement of what the sound being previewed is.

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Some special effect sound sites "pond.com" for example (non railway) do something similar to preview sounds prior to paying to download them. The paid for versions obviously don't have the background talk-over in them and are downloaded in a higher quality digital sample bit rate. As an analogy, you preview them in SD (Standard Definition) but download them in HD (High Definition).

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Thanks for all the answers and sorry for the debate.  Just wanted some sort of basic indication as to what each decoder sounds like. Changing all my locos to DCC sound and Hornby TTS is ideal for me as I am not a 'rivet counter' and don't want to spend huge sums of money on getting just the right sound for each specific loco. Quite happy to stick a class 20 one in my railcar if it sort of sounds right to me but would like to be able to sample all of them.

i.e. I would buy three of one, four of another and so on if I was happy that that would fit in with what I wanted. TTS is great as you can probably get 3/4 for the price of one expensive one. I just want choo choo and chug chug noises that sound sorta right....lol.

 

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No need to apologise for the debate. As for the chips well if you like what you already have i cant see why you may be disappointed with any of the others.  I would guess that most tts sound chipped loco's  will have been put up on utube. Which would give you a idea of there sound.

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Hi Sarah,

Thanks for the link to the TTS King. Having listened to it, I think it is near enough what I need for my LNER Thompson Class B1. I know that the B1 has two cylinders and the King has four, but the chuffing is very similar. It's only when you have a three-cylinder loco when the chuffs come in three's that you would notice a difference. So I've ordered one...

Ray

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To add to this...

 

I have today received my King Class TTS Decoder.

 

It comes with a round speaker in an enclosure, a fitting ring, and screws! 😀

 

The Castle TTS decoder has a plain round speaker, no enclosure, fitting ring, or screws.

 

(Not a problem, as mine went into a BM Dukedog! This comes with the enclosre in the tender, a fitting ring, and screws! 😉 )

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I am a little concerned about the "chuffs-per-revolution" thing myself. I am interested in putting a TTS decoder system in one of my A4's, and wonder if it's anywhere CLOSE to six cuffs per rev. Some of the videos I've seen, sometimes it sounds closer to ONE! While this may not matter so much at high speed, it would be rather obvious at startup... and unacceptable...

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@Wobbly........unfortunately there is no synchronisation in TTS decoders.........at walking pace you may get just 1 chuff per rev........at medium speed it becomes much more acceptable.........HB

That's kind of odd, since the "A4" kit should represent a three-cylinder locomotive with approximately 80 inch drivers. They're all gonna have six chuffs-per-revolution. Why is that a problem? Is the chuff rate on all TTS decoders the same, regardless of the locomotive? At really slow speed, that would stick out like a sore.... thumb... the "3cylinder lope" is what makes the A4 sound unique, to me...! I'm afraid if that is indeed the case, I won't be buying one...

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Wobbly, you may like to investigate the Econami range of sound decoders from Soundtraxx, readily available in US.......they are 21 pin decoders and are well specified with a selection of loco classes so you get the correct chuff........I have a UK version with a choice of UK locos which you may have to import....... US versions get some of those 'Big Boy' sounds etc..........HB

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