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I picked up one of the new PS-1 sound boxcars, in my case the UP 'flat spot' sound car.  Decent looking car with nice detailing and paint.  I flipped it over and a couple of interesting discoveries.  First of all, it was made in Vietnam, I wonder if China is getting worried?

Next, no labels on the switches!  So I look at the tiny piece of paper that I overlooked the first time, and it identifies the switches as MIN/MAX and SOUND/NO SOUND, seems pretty typical.

HOLD THE PHONE!  They don't actually work that way!  There is no switch setting that produces no sound!  There is actually three different sound settings, one with the flat spot and a whole lot more background sounds.  One with lots of background sounds and normal rolling sounds, and then when you switch to min, you get flange squeal and a little background sounds, the other switch doesn't affect that track.  In order to accomplish no-sound, you will have to turn the volume down.  Of course, I'm happy with that, I like the idea that you have three different sound features instead of just two.

Lionel 2026190 UP 'flat spot' PS-1 Boxcar First Look N1Lionel 2026190 UP 'flat spot' PS-1 Boxcar First Look N2

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@Randy_B posted:

Interesting. Did you happen to see the Great Northern car? That was the only one I was considering and wasn't really in it for the sounds except for the cost of course!

What's really going on at Lionel? I'm starting to get concerned.

I sent my GN car back. It didnt help that the sounds didnt work, but the lettering was flaking off all over the plastic sheet in the clamshell. Somewhat unfortunate as it seemed like a nice car, but I wasnt going to chance the whole run of GN cars not having well adhered lettering. I think Petersen Supply made all of the GN circus cars with Atlas boxcars at one point, maybe try and find that version.

I took a peek inside and got a nice surprise.  They used the full RS-Lite sound board in this car, not the conventional one that is missing a couple of features.  The one feature that this one has is the battery provision.  I had the car cut out the sounds a couple of times, so I added my YLB battery, problem solved!

The trucks were mentioned previously, these cars have the removable couplers and the Kadee mounts are in the box, so you can easily convert to scale couplers with nothing but the actual Kadee couplers, a nice touch.

Lionel 2026190 UP 'flat spot' PS-1 Boxcar First Look N3

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@superwarp1 posted:

My two bay hoppers were also made in Vietnam.  Those lobster claw couplers.  have you tested them out like my Milk car review?

I just did a functional test dragging two track cleaners behind it to see if they'd work.  They couple very easily and didn't come uncoupled until I activated the tab.  I don't have a uncoupling track yet, so I didn't test that function.

Can't we get a video of the sounds shared here?

I hate to hear comments over the sounds and not able to hear them!

Here are three videos, first the "minimum" setting, then the max without flat spot, and finally, the flat spot sounds.  I can clearly see that turning down the volume would be a good idea if you have several of these!   The two MAX settings are really busy!

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Moving production to Vietnam has been a trend for a few years now.  HO and N has several products produced there.  They are much more business friendly in many cases compared to China these days and the labor is cheaper.  Like any new factory, there is a little learning curve.

I like the concept.  I'm not huge on sounds, but as Engineer-Joe stated turning down the locomotive volume and having the actual train sound as a whole is pretty interesting.  I wonder if the Lionel two rail wheel set work with this.  It did not with my N5b Cabin, but that car may not be compatible with the Lionel conversion kit.

The only issue I see is getting the hall effect sensor working on the truck to signal motion, other than that it just needs power.  Pretty sure it could be AC or DC, the first thing that is encountered on the sound board is a bridge rectifier.

I converted the set of Visionline tank cars with sound to 2 rail. I enjoy their sounds on my 2 rail layout. I power with AC.

Gun runner John pointed me to the video (thank you), I was on a different string about the flat spots.  My comment was to anyone on the thread that has one of the newly released cars if they could shoot a short video of the car being pulled at a medium low speed by a diesel.  It was hard to tell with the handmotive what the sound was really like.  Thanks!

Well, since I don't have one, that's not going to happen. I'm sure that there is some others here that would like to hear the car in a train. And, maybe someone else could post a video.

A small flat spot makes a very distinctive rhythmic sound rolling through the night. Larger flat spots not so much.

I wonder if the tinny sound is the result of a small speaker trying to deliver the sound.  Perhaps we just aren't getting the lower frequencies with such a small speaker?  I looked on the lionel website hoping the sound file would be available to listen to on larger speakers on the product page, but it's not.

John, I'm now imagining you creating the SuperSound amplifier board and speaker combo, which seems pretty easy to me if you're doing it

I have a few of the various cars but not the flat spot. I find that overall, when spread out within a train or multiple trains they do add more dimension to my trains beyond the engine sounds. I think part of the key is getting the adjustment right & volume.

I personally would like to hear more squealing & less clunking.

Most of the freight trains I've watch over the years have nearly a continuous clickety clack & squealing sound. Isn't there some way to incorporate real train sound into the layout with some type of recorder?

@JD2035RR posted:

John, I'm now imagining you creating the SuperSound amplifier board and speaker combo, which seems pretty easy to me if you're doing it

It's always easier under those circumstances!

@DETROIT posted:

To the defense of Lionel on at least one account, I think the stations sounds on the 21" passenger cars is really good.  Some of the recordings are a little corny but the flange squeal and clickity clack are pretty good and well timed. IMO

Lots of the Lionel sounds are great, especially many of the Legacy steamers.  We're just talking about this specific example.

@ironman1 posted:

I personally would like to hear more squealing & less clunking.

Me too, and that comment was made for the last run of sound cars, apparently reception at the other end was not optimal since we didn't get it!

@ironman1 posted:
Most of the freight trains I've watch over the years have nearly a continuous clickety clack & squealing sound. Isn't there some way to incorporate real train sound into the layout with some type of recorder?

Sure there is, I just need to get the actual real trains sounds that are royalty free and I'll create one.  I already have the sound card!

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For those who are interested here is the Santa Fe version of the car.

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When the car was in a consist I found that the wheels would be floating above the track, thus I put 2 1/2 ounces of weight over each bogie.

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But alas, weight was not the issue. The couplers are shaped differently and don't mate well with other cars which is discussed in another thread. One nice thing about the couplers is that they stay coupled in a train. I have yet to have them open up when in a train that is being pulled.

When moving slowly the car sounds like is is being dragged along the track as the previous video shows. However, when moving a little faster it has the rhythmic clank sound along with squeaking and squealing.

Save for a couple of gripes, I am satisfied with the PS-1 sounds boxcar. The car's sounds complement well with the other sound cars that I have purchased in the past.

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@SIRT posted:

Thanks for those SIRT.
The "Freight Sounds" are very good! The "Flat Spot" has to go, it still sounds like a steam engine!

@SIRT posted:

Nice job'. sounds good when properly presented'... A little like a chuff.  But mixed in just the right spot in the consist I think it will be fine'..  Thanks for posting the videos'...

I have to agree with all of the comments.  After waiting for more than a year, my flat spot boxcar finally came.  The car makes lots of noise but the flat spot sound is lost in the cacophony.  In the MIN mode it does sound like chuffing, rather than a flat spot.  Whoever mixes the sounds at Lionel screwed this up.  Probably the same guy who who put the 244 engine sounds in the S-2 instead of the 539T - another sound disappointment.

Now this is funny.

I like these cars and considered getting one. However, I too think Lionel missed the mark with the flat spot sound.

So I have a programmable door that plays steam engine sounds when it goes off. My dog always goes nuts when she hears the doorbell. Well, I was listening to one of the videos in this thread that was playing the flat spot sounds. My dog hears it and gets up barking thinking the doorbell went off. So, my dog Loco agrees the flat spot recording does sound like a steam engine. 😁

@Big Jim posted:

The "Freight Sounds" are very good! The "Flat Spot" has to go, it still sounds like a steam engine!

That's what it sounds like to me, too. You start looking for a distributed power steam engine in the consist!

If you had a steam engine without sounds, you could put the sound car at the end of the train with the steam engine pushing, and it would probably work out fine. 

You are correct D. The cars audio pot must be adjusted to your train operation and room. I  have adjusted it just under the diesel sounds and other sound cars in a carpeted room .  Best to have it at the end of a train. With 7 trains running at once, it will probably blend in even more. The car was also intended for scale operators.

I just got two of the flat spot cars today.  I had to play around with the volume to get the right effect when running in a train.  When I was just pushing it around it sounded terrible.  When I put it in a train the sound of the wheels drowns a lot of the noise out.  I adjusted the volume to a level that the sounds can be heard as the car passes, but get lost as it traverses the layout.  Here is a short video I just made.  The Santa Fe and Union Pacific boxcars have the flat spot sounds.  There are also a couple of other sound cars dispersed throughout the train.  Overall, I think these cars add a lot to the aural aspect of the hobby.

Tom

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