I have a LIONEL HUDSON engine from a train set that I won on Ebay a few years back, and doesn’t Chuff or at times doesn’t have sound, it is a TMCC engine. Had the cherry switch checked and a new one put in by authorized dealer and still doesn’t work right. The engine works great but has no sounds. Instead of sending it out again and spending big bucks getting it fixed by Lionel, would it be better to drop one of these boards in? How tough is it to install and will it work? Thanks for your info.
I bought a sound board from ERR last year. At $55 shipped, it wasn’t a bad deal. I installed it into my CNJ Beep. The instructions were very easy and the install took 40 minutes and that’s because I was paranoid to do it. 3 wires and a speaker. TMCC may be a bit more involved, but my experience was I should have done it sooner…it was just that easy.
I had a thread on here a few days ago about the same Sound Commander 2 board. I plan to put one in a 1972 MPC ALCO. Just got to find the Hot wire from the truck pickup and the ground. If you get on their web page it has the installations instructions as well as a sample of all the sounds. For the money it looks like a good upgrade to me. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Steve,
If you have an OHM Meter you should be able to easily identify the HOT wire. I would check the motor terminals since they should be exposed enough to touch with the meter probes.
This is a great question. Has anyone tried installing this system in Post War American Flyer Trains? Also do you need the TMCC system to activate the sounds or will a ZW switch activate the whistle and horn?
Laz, Just remember they ain’t quite equal to RS but for the price and simplicity of installation they are still a winner. Their post sale service is also top notch !
I’ve purchased and installed about 6 of these boards. Steam (w/ chuff) and Diesel. Easy to install. I like them a lot. If Jon had more steam sounds available I’d buy more rite now. I don’t yet have Railsounds to compare them to, but for the price I think they are sweet. Just one thing. There has to be at least 7-8 volts to the track before the sounds come on completely. Some locos will start moving before the sound comes on. I just installed a couple 3 amp diode pairs (cheap) on one leg of the motor to offset this.
Go to the ERR site & listen to the sound files. Steam & the GG1 sounds are decent, the diesel sound , eh - no engine rev steps, just seems to get louder, nice horn & bell though.[:)]
Try spraying the volume control with some TV tuner cleaner and turn the knob back and forth a few times. I had the same problem with a new engine and that cleared it up.