Has anyone installed DCC and Sound into either of the Proto 2000 GP60, SD50 or the SD60. If you did could you tell me what decoder, speaker and speaker enclosure you used and what did you do to get the speaker to fit?
Regards,
Rod
If no one else chimes in with an answer, call Bruce Petrarca at Litchfield Station. If a sound decoder will fit, he’ll know which one it is, and also which speaker to use, because he performs custom installations.
Are you prepared to do any grinding on the weight. All of the hood units require an oval speaker. I use the small oval available from most of the suppliers. I have installed a bunch of them, but not all in Proto 2000 units. Some of the speakers I have firing up through the fans, and some I have firing down through the trucks, where the fans are solid plastic. If I recall the Proto 2000 units are pretty well filled with weight under the hoods, and will require some grinding. The Athearn Ready To Roll units have more room. But all the hoods are the same dimensions on the inside.
I have used both Soundtraxx and MRC decoders. I have seen some bad comments about the MRC decoders, but I have had no problems with them…yet. One nice feature of the MRC decoders is the option of three different light hookup points, so you don’t have to mess with resistors. The MRC also has really good volume. And they are a lot cheaper, so if they do crap out, you aren’t out that much. I got the 1634 for $29.95. Not bad for sound.
I am a professional installer and here is an option (the one I use for my customers).
I use the Digitrax SFX104K1x_FN04K1x combo decoder and I mount the speaker just beneath the windows in the cab. It gives you full benefit of sound with downloadability to customize your decoder to match your road/prime mover option.
David B
What speaker do you use ? I can get a 15mm in without cutting down the weight. If I cut across the top I can probably get a 15 x 25 mm. I am not sure how much better that would sound to make it worth the work.
Holy old thread, Batman!
The supplied 1.1 will fit in the cab with a little coxing.
David B
Do you replace the bulbs in these units for use with that combo or does it have resistors built in that work with the P2K bulbs?
Thanks,
Joe
I installed a Soundtraxx LC101 in my Proto SD60M. I installed the speaker (.8" IIRC) in the weight cutout behind the cab. The decoder went above the motor. I had to build a speaker box out of styrene to get the sound level right. I also drilled small holes in the long hood above the speaker. The sound has to be turned down to about 60% now. I thought I had pics on my Mac but it looks like I don’t.
A 15mm is the largest that will fit behind he cab without milling the weight. I found an article at Litchfield Station where they got a 16 x 35 mm speaker in with minimal milling in the back. I don’t have one of these speakers to test the sound difference. I think I’ll order some oval speakers. The 15 mm just doesn’t seem to compare to my other factory installed QSI and BLI sound locomotives.
I know this is old but I just wanted to say I added a SoundTraxx Tsunami TSU-1000 to my Proto 2000 SD50. I actually have 3, 2 with the same road number though so I only run the 2 that are different. Only have sound in one though.
Had ad to do a bit of chopping of the frame weight to get the speaker to fit under the fans and to allow room for the decoder but it sounds great and runs awesome! I mostly have steam locos but these diesels are really powerful pullers! Seriously!
I’ve done the HO Proto 2000 SD50 & SD60. I removed the circuit boards and hard wired in a LokSound Select 6Aux version. I replace bulbs with LEDs. For speakers, I milled the weights down to provide height for max depth speaker enclosures over the drive shafts and gear towers. I put 2 pair of sugarcube speakers in each, with a 0.040" stryrene enclosure built and CA glued (plus silicone sealed) together. The front enclosure had two 11x15mm speakers and the rear enclosure has two 13x18mm speakers. I used my bench grinder to mill the first weight to suit, but don’t recommend that process except for minor milling. I got a machine shop to mill the 2nd for $20. Since then I’ve found an acquaintance who happily does the milling I need done.
I’ve put dual sugarcube speakers in RS-1, Rs-2s, and a Kato SD40-2 underway. And three speakers in a GP30. And four in the SD50/60s, an SD7, Erie Builts and Kato C44-9Ws.
Your speaker ohms and decoder need to be compatible. The LokSound Select is targeted for 4 ohms, but specs for 4-8 ohms, and references indicate 16 ohms is fine also (since the sound volume usually gets turned down). The sugercubes I use are 8 ohm, so two in parallel makes 4 ohms, three makes 5.3 ohms and four makes 8 ohms. For multi-speaker wiring info, check out the Streamlined Backshop site:
http://www.sbs4dcc.com/tutorialstipstricks/wiringmultispeakers.html
I know this is old but I just wanted to say I added a SoundTraxx Tsunami TSU-1000 to my Proto 2000 SD50. I actually have 3, 2 with the same road number though so I only run the 2 that are different. Only have sound in one though.
Had ad to do a bit of chopping of the frame weight to get the speaker to fit under the fans and to allow room for the decoder but it sounds great and runs awesome! I mostly have steam locos but these diesels are really powerful pullers! Seriously!