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| To respond to this month's Editorial, send comments to: Editorial@modelrailroadnews.com |
Not a Tragedy... |
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| We learn to accept some things at a fairly early age. For all the successes we know as children, we have to face our share of life’s disappointments. They accumulate until we have no choice but to handle it. As a result, the lawsuit between Mike’s Train House (MTH) and Quantum Sound Industries (QSI) doesn’t qualify as a tragedy, but it does supply another little disappointment. The issue really isn’t sound, which is the forte of QSI, it is the application of certain types of circuitry used to control speed in a decoder. It would be tempting throw out the word “Back EMF” but it’s really the use of BEMF principles to make a speed regulatory circuit. Apparently, MTH has applied for and received a patent for this development, although I don’t know that for certain. I can only say that the MTH lawyers certainly seem to think such is the case. They have filed suit against QSI for incorporating this technology in their decoder products. As a result, until the lawsuit is somehow settled, QSI has removed this circuitry from their present production. No big thing, you say? Not only does QSI produce all of the sound decoders used inside Broadway Limited Imports groundbreaking locomotives, it also supplies them for Lionel’s recent Challenger. Further, they are slated to provide the same service for Atlas and Life-Like in the near future. Not only do these sound decoders work very nicely under DCC, they also operate with sound under analog DC, the same stuff we HO guys have used for over a half century. The missing circuitry is only a small part of the total QSI product, to be sure. Even with it gone, these decoder sound systems still function under regular old DC as well as DCC. All of the sound stuff works just as it always did. The decoders still make the locomotives go and stop, just as always. You only notice the performance in a couple of places. First, their speed control circuitry doesn’t work anymore, so you can’t switch it on and have the train maintain the same speed up and down hill. Some folks really liked that feature while others didn’t use it. Second, locos which once started on Speed Step 1 and crawled along at one or two scale miles per hour may not start until Speed Step 7, rolling at 5 to 6 scale miles per hour. Obviously, this isn’t the end of the world. It doesn’t qualify as a tragedy. I inquired into how long it will be until the lawsuit is settled. No one is quite sure. Generally, attorneys are paid for “billable hours” and the longer this takes, the more they get paid. We have heard that “justice delayed is justice denied” but the other side of that is “quick settlements are often painful.” QSI is well advised to move slowly and cautiously. The other question I asked was if a person could somehow get an upgrade whenever the lawsuit was settled? There is a socketed chip on the QSI board which can be removed and replaced, theoretically allowing an upgrade to the software. QSI will only say at this time that this is an option under consideration. Who should pay for such a thing? It really isn’t QSI’s fault that they were sued. As a buyer of their products, it isn’t your fault, either. I would be inclined to feel that if QSI is held harmless in court that perhaps the other party should foot at least some of the bill, though I wouldn’t count on it. Of course, the entire problem could be resolved right away if Mike’s Train House simply dropped their suit. No, I don’t know all of the issues involved, but I know it would be a wonderful gesture. How about it, Mike? |
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| John Sipple, Editor | |
| To respond to this month's Editorial, send comments to: Editorial@modelrailroadnews.com | |
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