Piko #36221 Steam Sound Unit

[Madman]

Has anyone installed one of these sound units in a loco that is battery powered and controlled by one of the R/C products out there ?

 

[dunnyrail]

Has anyone installed one of these sound units in a loco that is battery powered and controlled by one of the R/C products out there ?

Do you mean Piko?
JonD

 

[pugwash]

If he means Biko is it a sound unit that makes anti-apartheid speeches?

 

[PhilP]

Do you mean Piko?
JonD

Looks like it..

 

[Madman]

Yes, it's Piko not Biko. Sorry about that. So the sound unit works on DC track power. But I noticed he mentioned a decoder circuit board at 9:20. I'm not at all familiar with decoders so why would one be needed if you were running straight DC ? Also, something I did not mention in my initial post was that the R/C equipment I use puts out PWM to the motor. Some LGB steam sound boards don't work with PWM. They start off at fast chuff and stay that way even when the loco is slowing down. One exception is the LGB motorized sound tender. It works perfectly with my R/C board.

 

[WillemD]

The video above shows the [HASHTAG]#36220[/HASHTAG] soundkit, which is for both DC and DCC (and more expensive). It is different from the [HASHTAG]#36221[/HASHTAG], which is for analogue use only.

 

[Neil Robinson]

Last year I fitted Piko sound units to three locos for a mate. The units he provided needed to be plugged into SUSI sockets so I also fitted suitable DCC decoders. Even though these decoders were set up as analogue compatible the sound only worked on DCC. No problem as far as he was concerned but it suggests further research may be required in your case.

 

[Zerogee]

I believe (though I stand to be corrected if someone knows better) that the Piko sound units - at least the DCC ones - are rebadged Uhlenbrock sound cards, and as Neil mentions above will only function when plugged into the SUSI port of a suitably equipped decoder. No experience of the analogue versions, sorry.

Jon.

 

[dunnyrail]

Yes, it's Piko not Biko. Sorry about that.

No worries, if you have a mind to you can update the Thread Title. Just choose Edit then More Options and the Title is available to update. Took me ages to work out his to find it. Only you or a Mid can do it.
JonD

 

[Moonraker]

Dan,

You would be better off selling the PIko unit on eBay and purchasing a MyLocoSound soundcard which is designed for analogue DC, both trackpower and battery radio control, leaving some money left over.

Apologies for my vested interests but I thought it worth saying.

Regards
Peter Lucas
MyLocoSound