Adding sound to DCC Locomotive

After purchasing a DCC sound locomotive, I want to upgrade my existing DCC-Equipped locomotives with a sound board.
I thought I would start with my Bachmann DCC-Equipped EMD GP40 locomotive that came with the Digital Commander set that I bought last year.
Is it as easy as removing the existing DCC board (H633Y+PCB01) and replacing it with a suitable replacement?

I’ve not done anything with a diesel, but don’t forget you need a speaker too! :wink:

Keepalives are also nice to have with DCC sound locomotives because any electrical glitches (even tiny) are really noticeable with sound locos.

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Also, check the sound decoder makers and see if they (or Youtube) has examples of sound installs in that particular loco model.

I understand that I will need a speaker. I have been to most of the major sound decoder websites and it looks like I need to replace the complete DCC board. I was hoping to only replace the 8-pin plug in decoder since this model is already DCC.

Welcome to the forum, RddMtDave!

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The H633Y+PCB01 is not a decoder but rather a light board. The decoder is that black heat shrinked thing on top that is plugged into the light board.

While not exactly the same, this TCS install may help:
https://drupal.tcsdcc.com/installation/ho-scale/1213

Peter

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This install may be better as the original board looks like what you have.
https://drupal.tcsdcc.com/installation/ho-scale/1218

Peter

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Hello All,

I have had great success using Digitrax SDXH167D Series 7 Sound Decoders with an 8-pin to 9-pin harness.

Check out this thread for more information on how I accomplished this.

Sound Upgrade H10-44 in HO

If there is enough space a PX108-10 Power Xtender can be added to this decoder.

Hope this helps.

Easy? Well, that depends. If you are good at soldering, you can remove the board and hard wire a sound decoder and speaker. I wouldn’t call it easy, but it is doable.

Rich

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