Sound Problems with HO Sunset NP 4-8-4

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Updated: Read QSI Response

Last week we received a shipment of the "Sunset Models" HO Brass NP 4-8-4s. Customarily, when a new loco release arrives we - like kids in a candy store - are eager to sample. Within seconds of operating we knew there was a big problem with the onboard sound.

Since this has a QSI DC/DCC sound decoder and it did not characteristically produce the volume and crisp sounds we have come to associate with QSI, we knew right where to look - the speaker baffling. A quick disembowelment of the tender confirmed our assumption, as essentially there was no baffling.

The Asian manufacturer had made an attempt but miserably failed to adequately create an air tight seal between the front and back of the speakers. Basically the speakers were in free air, thus the front and back waves tend to cancel each other out creating only high frequency low volume sounds. They did create a platform for the speakers but there was no effective seal from the front to back. We spoke to QSI about this and they indicated that they provided all the necessary baffling instructions to Sunset but - as is not uncommon - the Asian manufacturer chose to ignore them! This is not the first time we have seen this, the Broadway Limited and Intermountain F7s had a similar problem.

We explored options for the user to create a good seal with the existing hardware but nothing would be easy to do without major surgery. The only other simple option was to use our SpeakEZ speaker enclosures.

We did have the exact size enclosures, 1.25" dia. for the speakers that Sunset used since we also offer the same identical speakers. Installing these, as we suspected, produced a major improvement in the sound volume, fidelity, and clarity, but still was not up to par with what we felt the QSI unit could produce.

We took the next step and installed 2 1.10" High Bass Speakers with their respective enclosures and gained more bass. To do this we needed to remove the existing speaker platform by removing the two screws that mount the platform to the tender. Note the speakers are wired in series.

We did not particularly care for the original whistle which also was the case for some others who have received the loco. Chris from Portland, OR, suggested to use the whistle from the Broadway Ltd HO GN #700 SP&S (QSI #308) as he felt it was much better. He did this by downloading the QSI upgrade file #308 with his Quantum Programmer into his new Sunset 4-8-4.

To facilitate this for interested users, we had QSI create a new sound file for the Sunset 4-8-4 with the alternate SP&S whistle.

The original Sunset file is ho320-0 (320-0v7-34-4) and the new file with the SP&S whistle is ho320-2 (320-2v7-34-4).

Also, we have received comments re some of the loco's mechanical problems from Chris:

This is a list of things found wrong with 12 of 15 locos tested 2 days after the first shipments arrived:

• Front pilot trucks short out on the cylinders
• Lack of weight in boiler cause the front drivers to ride up on the rails in a 32" radius
• Tenders short out
• Driver rods fall off
• Sound of whistle very bad - like a vacuum cleaner
• Paint falling off drivers
• Bells are tarnished

The speaker P/N is: qsi-hbs110
The enclosure P/N is: qsi-hbs110