I purchased a diesel horn sound module from RAM Track while at Milwaukee’s Trainfest in November. Due to numerous things I didn’t get around to trying an install till late December early January.

Somewhere in the install process I am told I shorted the board on something as it quit working. Twas my error and I should have known better than to work on a cluttered bench top. I sent it back and they confirmed it was blown and offered a new one at 1/2 price. If it had been repairable it would have been cheaper. If it had been their error it would have been free. I told them I would think about it and get back to them.

I am going to decline their offer and thought I’d post why. The sound was OK. For the price it was what could be expected. The instructions were OK but not crystal clear and the design makes an error in following them result in at least a return to reload the sound chip.

The module is designed to work with the power connected and a trigger to start the sound. Connect them in the incorrect sequence and the memory chip gets wiped and has to be returned to be reloaded. Because the instructions are not as well written as they could be, triggering the sound the wrong way is not an unusual situation. It should be made capable of handling either without any problems. If it needs additional protection circuitry then add it and prevent the problem from damaging or wiping the chip.

Another issue is what they DON’T tell you until after you have a problem. I bought the sound module and a track power regulator. Nowhere in the literature or during the lengthy discussion I had with them at Trainfest did they say anything about incompatability or problems with different power supplies.

When I told them about what sounded like interference noise coming thru the module they blamed the MRC power supply I was using. SO I tried a better supply…also by MRC. Same problems. Again it was due to the CHEAP power supply not putting out pure DC. As the module blew shortly afterwards I was unable to test the regulator and module with my two outside high quality filtered supplies. I can’t say whether they would have done any better.

It gripes me when they KNOW there is a problem but keep quiet about it until after if causes a customer problems. Why not be right up front with it? Say “this won’t work well with “such and such” power supplies due to…”. Of course then I wouldn’t have bought it. It was the noisy interference that caused me to repeatedly test the module on the bench thinking I had wired something wrong. That it ended up shorting out especially perturbeds me.

I’ll save my money and buy Sierra or Phoenix, be more careful as to where I work on it and hope their stuff is better capable of handling the interference. From what I have seen on the net it appears they are more up front with compatability issues their equipment is going to be working with.

Andre’