MLS Premium Sound Card

JimmyB

JimmyB

Now retired - trains and fishing
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I recently bought one of the new Premium MLS sound cards, and unlike the previous card this has an additional "Operating Setting", which you get to via "Menu". I was also provided with this advice:

Note: Some TV remotes do not have a Menu button or they have a Menu button which the soundcard is unable to understand. If you hit this problem then you can get into Operating Settings by doing the following:
 Press Mute to get into Sound Setting. The LED will blink slowly.
 Press the Zero button.
 You will now be in Operating Setting. The LED will blink fast.
 When you are done, press Mute to return to Sound Setting.
 Press Mute again to return to run mode.

My sound card sometimes responds to "menu", bur never responds to "mute + zero" I am confident the the remote is working, a) the remote LED blinks. but b) all the other controls work fine.

So has anybody else bought on of these, and have you any help an advice, many thanks.
 
I have 3 of the new "premium" models installed so far Jimmy. I found out about the need for a different remote when I tried to use my old one with this card. I have bought the newer model remote control from Fosworks, rather than mess around with a generic TV one. The card is very straight forward to set up and offers a very wide range of sound and fine tuning options so you can get as near as possible to what you want. A feature I really like is that you can speed up the chuff rate, independently to the voltage input, handy if you are fitting it to geared locos like a Heisler, Shay or Climax.

Couple of negatives - there seems there might be an issues with the programming - possibly isolated in my case - one on my cards has had to be returned and exchanged as the sound quality was poor with the recorded whistle sounds having a somewhat distorted start when triggered. I am also having trouble setting a timed bell sequence but I suspect I might have to RTFM more closely.

Overall a good progression from the original and offers great value. OK, it will never match the Phoenix and my old beloved Sierras but at £65 a bargain compared to others at a £100 premium over its price. I'll try to put a short video of my Heisler on here. Max
 
As promised a video - first up Heisler with MLS Premium card. Chuff is set to voltage control here but is actually installed using locos own triggers. I might just alter the loco andcthe guard's whistle.


For comparison my Climax with the Sierra Climax card using the locos chuff triggers


Max
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Very different chuffs... one sounds much more realistic...
Click to expand...
Greg, let me explain our approach at MyLocoSound. Whilst most manufacturers produce soundcards for one specific locomotive, our approach is different. We provide a range of sounds and let the customer use a TV remote control to choose which ones best match their particular locomotive. In the video above it sounds like the owner has made no changes at all to suit the loco and has just used the default sounds which we set when the soundcard is shipped (which are for a much larger conventional loco). I checked some Youtube videos of the Climax and, as a result, suggest that the owner should use whistle number 9 (Nathan 6 chime), bell number 1 (brass), brake pump number 3 and the light loco chuff. The chuff rate should also be increased a lot for a geared loco.
On the otherhand, if the owner is not bothered about realism they can just choose their personal preferences.
 
Moonraker said:
Greg, let me explain our approach at MyLocoSound. Whilst most manufacturers produce soundcards for one specific locomotive, our approach is different. We provide a range of sounds and let the customer use a TV remote control to choose which ones best match their particular locomotive. In the video above it sounds like the owner has made no changes at all to suit the loco and has just used the default sounds which we set when the soundcard is shipped (which are for a much larger conventional loco). I checked some Youtube videos of the Climax and, as a result, suggest that the owner should use whistle number 9 (Nathan 6 chime), bell number 1 (brass), brake pump number 3 and the light loco chuff. The chuff rate should also be increased a lot for a geared loco.
On the otherhand, if the owner is not bothered about realism they can just choose their personal preferences.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I have played around with it bit and have still to settle on a set up for this loco. It's early days for me with the Premium. I have actually speeded up the chuff a bit with this Heisler installation - note an earlier comment. I have one fitted to a Shay too but the installer wants to replace it as he thinks it might be faulty. I'd like to get it as realistic as possible, at least to my ear, so your suggestions are most welcome. I realise I am not going to get the performance of a card, like the Phoenix, at around 3 times the price of the Premium, so I am not unhappy. I have a number of locos I am converting at present, both geared and rodded, that will use the MLS Premium card. I'll probably have 8 by the time I am finished. Max
 
Moonraker:

Sorry, I meant to respond because I clearly heard a difference, and I completely agree with you, sound is to taste, and to a certain amount perception. Often what I like more is not the choice of one of my friends.

No disrespect meant, quite the opposite, very few sound units have the ability to customize sounds without loading a new file with a $200 programmer, and still all they can do is change out sound files.

You have a great niche that really no one else occupies in my opinion.

Greg
 
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