hey fellas,
I want to put a sound decoder in my athearn AC4400CW. what decoder should I go with. i know very little about sound decoders so any help would be great!
Digitrax has just released their sound decoder that is a drop in for the Kato AC4400 ( HO scale), I imagine with a little work you could fit it in the Athearn AC4400. I have ordered one for my Kato, when it arrives I will see if I can figure a way to fit it in my Athearn AC4400’s, if I can I will order more for the Athearns.
Sean,
There are several decoders available today that you can use for installation. Currently Loksound and Digitrax offer decoders with sounds that match your locomotive. Soundtraxx currently offers the DSD-AT100LC decoder with sound, motor control and forward/reverse lighting control. This decoder is offered with generalized General Electric diesel sounds. Soundtraxx also offers the sound only DSX decoder with similar sounds. Your choice should be made on personal preference, budget and speaker compatiblity. I recommend viewing installation samples at Litchfield Station’s web site: http://www.litchfieldstation.com. or at Ogden Lamont’s web site, http://home.pcmagic.net/ogdenj/addsound/addsnd.htm
In the not to distant future (we hope) Soundtraxx will offer a diesel version of the Tsunami decoder. Also QSI industries will offer an aftermarket decoder.
I recommend finding a LHS or a club where you can hear samples of the aforementioned decoder offerings to help in making your decision.
A couple of things to know:
- Loksound decoders are designed for 100 ohm speakers ONLY! Most decoders use 8 ohm speakers. However Loksound offers at least 5 different speaker sizes suitable for HO scale.
http://www.loksound.de/img/Neuer%20Ordner/Lautsprecher%20H0.jpg
- Speaker placement is critical for best volume and sound quality. A baffle is necessary to separate the air on the front side of the speaker from the rear of the speaker to maximize the volume. An infinite baffle is used when space is a premium. Again refer to Litchfield Station photos for reference.
For further information visit the following:
thanks for the infor mation carl! its appreciated.
I would be weary of digitrax because nobody has really used one yet and given a review so you dont know what your getting. MRC is definently out unless you like junk.
So that leaves LOKsound, Soundtraxx
LOKsound is a better decoder, not that Soundtraxx is bad it just doesnt offer the same features (except tsunami but thats steam only at this point). But of course LOKsound is much more expensive and uses special speakers which also should be bought from ESU. Decide how much you want to spend and do some research, there is no right or wrong, its all up to you.
I’d just add that the Loksound speakers come with an enclosure that works very well in most instances. In a wide cab like the AC4400, you may be able to fit the 28mm speaker. I’ve done most of my Loksound diesel installs with the speaker and supplied enclosure mounted in the cab firing downward, with excellent results. I use some blue RTV to seal the speaker to the enclosure and double-sided foam tape to stick it to the underside of the cab roof.
Now all of the LOKsound speaker enclosures have a few sets of slots for the wires. Would you say it is important to use putty or something to seal up the slots?
hey fellas,
I have researched the decoder I want and I think I am going to go with soundtraxx, these are teh irems that I think I am going to need:
i have a question about that decoder, does that replace the board that is allready int he engine? and that can go in a athearn right.
and
is this right, or am I missing something?
yes you can put that decoder in your athearn and you would tear out the old board and put that in its place, but it is made for atlas or genesis so it may or may not snap into place on top of the motor. If it doesnt you can mount it with foam tape. My only concern is where you are going to fit that speaker and enclosure. If you havent yet you need to do some measuring inside the loco. The only place I could see that fitting is in the cab but it may be too big, I like to cut out cardboard in the shape and size of the speaker to check for fit. Also remember that the enclosure will make the speaker a little wider and a lot taller so you want to use the dimensions of the enclosure.
what exactly does the enclosure do?
great idea with the cardboard.
thanks to every one who has helped me out
The enclosure keeps the air from the front of the speaker from interacting with the air in front of the speaker. Without an enclosure, as the speaker cone moves forward, air pushed in front can simply fill the space behind, resulting in extrememly low volume. Case in point, I picke dup a cheap SOundtraxx decoder and the only speaker the vendor had in stock, which is one of the smaller ones - too small for my application but I wanted to have a speaker so I could at least play with the decoder. With the speaker just sitting on the bench, you can barely hear it. If I pick up the speaker and cup it in my hand, a crude and not all that effective enclosure, since it’s certainly not sealed, the volume is many times louder.
–Randy
interesting… thanks randy.
I cut a 1" circle out of cardboard, and it fits easy, I could put 3 or 4 speakers in this engine, plenty of room.
thanks again
JPM335,
I have listened to the Digitrax sound decoder as I have the demonstration locomotive from Kato/Digitrax in my hot little hands. The sounds for the GE units are good; I will try to give you a more comprehensive report soon. The bell, engine rev, and horns sounds are clear and clean. The decoder output is slightly higher than the nonimal level of a Soundtraxx decoder. I hope AntonioFP45 looks in a makes a comment; he is better at horn id than me; He heard the demo unit also. BTW, now that the programmer is available, you can download any of the three sound projects, including the F40PH; buy the programmer and it does not matter which decoder you purchase.
On the Loksound enclosures: Yes seal the slots with putty or simply place a piece of cellophane tape over the slots; this will improve the output slightly. I’ve tried it.
Sean W.
I would not use cardboard for your enclosure; use the hardest material you can find; I recommend using the bottom of a prescription pill bottle or similar object; line it with a coating of CA; this will make it even harder; you will get more output from the speaker assembly. Look at Ogden Lamont’s aforementioned web site for examples. You can also buy the AHD enclosures from a DCC sound dealer. Otherwise create some sort of infinite baffle using part of the shell as the enclosure; just make sure the front speaker air does not mix with the air behind the cone.
Another tip; if there is room try using one or two oval speakers firing down over the trucks; this will give you the best output. the truck area forms gives you a horn /megaphone effect. aiming the sound toward the track also gives you greater output. If you use ovals, I recommend using two 4 ohm speakers in series, Digikey Part Number GC0351P-1-ND. Do not use two 8 ohm speakers in parallel with the decoder you decided to use.