Hello There!
Had a few too many beers and made a random EBay purchase last weekend, and it arrived on my doorstep today. Bought an old Weaver RSD-12 on the relative cheap, and I’ll admit I’m a sucker for some of the old Weaver Alcos in general, especially since I’m just more or less shelf collecting until I finally start building a layout and am not currently into all the newer, fancier stuff. The box says it is ID#1507LP. Cab number 2325.
There wasn’t much description on this one, except that it had “been in storage for a long time” and “look at pics for condition.” Unboxed it, cleaned it up, and it actually runs well on the little test loop on my office floor. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it has sound. Other than dust and a 9V battery that was just starting to leak, there wasn’t much to clean up.
All the above being written, I can’t find much about these units online. My other old Weavers with sound all state “Sound by QSI” on the box, but this one doesn’t. Instead, it just says “Authentic Alco RS-11 Digitized Sound.” I initially put a fresh BCR in it, but it didn’t seem to take a charge and acted… Oddly. Put a fresh 9V battery in it and it seems to run great now.
So… I’m wondering, who made the sound unit in this thing? Had Weaver started getting electronics from Lionel by the time this one came out? I *think * this one is from around 2006, but I’m not sure. Is it okay just to put a regular 9 Volt in this thing, or am I doing harm?
Any input is appreciated! Just recently signed up and still figuring this site out; apologies if I’ve posted this in the wrong area.
- Jonathan
