adding sound to locos...


wongsing

Member
How hard is it to add sound to a loco that doesn't have it already? I saw on ebay that MRC makes circuit boards that have sound decoders on them already...How hard is it to make them fit? Has anyone tried them, and also, at $40-$100 a pop, how do I make sure I get the best deal with the most realistic sound? Thanks!

-Rich
 
Whoa! Lots a room for answers with this question. You can put sound in any loco as long as you can find room for the speaker. Sometimes that means you have to cut away at the weights. In steamers, you can usually put sound in the tenders. N scale is more problematic.

MRC, at least the older ones are the low end of the scale both in price and quality. $100+/+ would be about what you would expect to pay for Tsunami or LokSound, which typically are the higher end sounds.
 
Thanks for a speedy response...Do you have any videos or do you know of any to where I can see how an MRC decoder sounds? Just wondering... I have some Athearn SD40's, a couple Atlas GP40's (still can't get the shell off of :mad: ) and a P2K SD9...Have you added any sound to any of the above? BTW: Just how "low quality" are we talking? Not even acceptable train sounds, or just bad enough to where you can barely tell the difference between the different horn sounds? Not trying to barrage you with questions, but I'll just do without if I can't have anything even acceptable...

-Rich
 
Maybe some of the members here will post links where you ca go to hear the decoders. I've been there but don't keep them in my favorites.

I have used the Sound Trax LC (low cost) series with moderate success, but I would avoid the MDCs. Other's may have another opinion. The closest I've done to yours is a GP-38. It was really straight forward.

I would talk to Ken at Tony's Train Exchange. He can give you the scoop on what works for what. Lots of good info on the site as well.

http://www.tonystrains.com/index.html
 



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