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I am an N scale model railroader. I recently bought BLI's new N scale PRR M1b steam locomotive equipped with Paragon 3 Rolling Thunder on the sound decoder. As I wanted to take advantage of this new feature in N scale, I ordered the Rolling Thunder Sound System. From the outset there were problems getting the loco and sound system to communicate with each other. BLI's official advertising video for the sound system made it appear like the installation is extremely simple. And that you would be up-and-running in minutes. In fact, on the video, BLI's Vice Pres. of Sales, Ken Silvestri, even joked about how easy it is to install Rolling Thunder by holding up the accompanying instruction booklet and stating, "We don't need no stinking instructions." It's true. The setup alone involves simply plugging the power supplies of the subwoofer and receiver into an electric outlet and connecting the included RCA type cable into the receiver and subwoofer. However, when I powered up the loco on my small DCC layout, and turned on the Rolling Thunder system, there was no communication between the loco and sound system. I had to spend several hours reading the instruction booklet and following a "cheat sheet" emailed to me by BLI to re-configure more than a half dozen CVs in the loco and the Rolling Thunder receiver. And still there was no transmission of sound from the loco to the sound system. I finally had to remove the loco tender shell to try reorienting the antenna wire. This finally got the loco sound transmitting to and received by the sound system. However, the deep bass sound of the subwoofer did not impress me. It rumbled and vibrated too loudly with the default settings on the subwoofer. With a lot of tweaking I got the subwoofer powered down sufficiently but it is still not yielding a pleasing sound effect. The loco sound emanating from the subwoofer had to be lowered so much to avoid drowning out the other loco sounds as it ran about the layout. And the subwoofer sound never changed in volume intensity to a fade or crescendo as the loco moved away from or approached the receiver/subwoofer. So, I would not recommend the Rolling Thunder Sound System for N scale. It certainly can be a very frustrating experience getting the system to work. This certainly was not an easy and quick setup. I know that it works very well with BLI's HO locomotives. And perhaps it would work better with an N scale diesel loco.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Very high quality made unit. Disappointed with overall sound effect, fades out very quickly with short distance (less than 5') - required fine tuning which is overly complicated - sensitivity has to be changed using CV's and not simple 'dial' on receiver. Nice concept but overall wouldn't recommend to rush to invest. Sorry Broadway Limited.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This is a truly amazing product. As advertised, you can really "feel" the bass power of a steam engine's thump thump. The instructions are good and in my experience you need to experiment with things like Receiver location, the locomotive's transmitter power (a CV adjustment) and volume/sound settings on the Sub Woofer (via Pots underneath the massive unit). You can also adjust CVs within the Receiver but I've not tried that yet. Broadway Limited plans on coming out with Rolling Thunder accessories such as Thunder and Lightning. As new Paragon3 locos are released, Broadway Limited is also offering upgrade kits to upgrade select Paragon2 locos to Paragon3.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Paragon3 model locomotives sound great, and even better with the Rolling Thunder kit. The deep sounding base, low frequencies, really enhance enjoyment of listening to trains rolling. Kit is easy set-up, easy sound volume setting capability, durable, looks great, and a great value . Close your eyes, hear your trains, and feel the excitement with this kit. I do. And, I'm glad I have one!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
have not opened up the package. Hoping that this unit is compatible with the Broadway paragon 4 sound system. I was seemingly impossible to purchase a new unit, this unit is older and was developed before Series 4 sound system even was in existence.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned