Dapol Class 121

[Andy_Richards]

Looking to fit sound to my Dapol Class 121 which landed on Christmas Day. Any tips or watch outs before I buy my sound decoder.

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Andy

[Philou]

I have one - I don't remember any particular pitfalls regarding the sound decoder. However, the fitting of the speaker is another thing. Depending on its size, you may need to do some work with the chassis. When I ordered my decoder and speaker from Charlie Petty (dckits) and specified that it was for the 121, he provided a speaker that just fitted. In hindsight, I probably should have gone for something bigger for more 'sound'.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[ColinK]

I fitted sound to mine using two sugar cubes in the luggage compartment.  While the sound quality is fine, the volume is too low as the sound cannot get out.  Perhaps it needs some open windows or holes in the floor.

[charliepetty]

On 26/12/2019 at 22:30, Philou said:

I have one - I don't remember any particular pitfalls regarding the sound decoder. However, the fitting of the speaker is another thing. Depending on its size, you may need to do some work with the chassis. When I ordered my decoder and speaker from Charlie Petty (dckits) and specified that it was for the 121, he provided a speaker that just fitted. In hindsight, I probably should have gone for something bigger for more 'sound'.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Have you made the Sound Chamber kit 'Air Tight', this will make the speaker far louder.

 

Charlie

[Philou]

@charliepetty Now you ask - I don't know. Probably not as I was happy that I got the speaker to fit without any hacking to do. If I recall, I believe the solution is to 'seal' with PVA? As there is no layout at the moment, it'll be one of those 'roundtuit' jobs - one of many others to optimise sound. I shall need to investigate the possibility of bigger speakers for some of the stock I have anyway.

 

Charlie - for those (including me) who have yet to create 'airtight' speakers, would it be worth your while just to pen here what to do?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[charliepetty]

Its not that complicated really!   The ESU Decoders come with a SugarCube Kit, this comprises of:

 

3 X Black Sound Chamber Sections.

1 X Black Sound Chamber Lid Section.

 

This can be built up as large as will fit in your model, extra sections OR kits can me purchased if required.

 

When I build them up, all 4 pieces slot sogether. I press them together between my Thum & Finger and using my other hand I put a blob of superglue on my finger, then coat this over 'ALL' sides of the 4 piece housing.  Make sure 'ALL' joints are covered in this black housing.

 

When dry, I fit the Sugar Cube Speaker, again attaching it too the black housing with a drop of superglue on my finger.

The Silver Foil Diaphragm faces into the remaining open end of the Black glued together housing.

 

When testing it to confirm its working, I dip my finger its a small blob of white PVE glue, then I coat 'Every' joint carefully with this glue.

 

When done this should be airtight.

 

Charlie

 

 

[Andacami]

Save starting a new thread on the same topic; what is today's best Sound Decoder for the Dapol Class 121/122 (4D-015-010D)? Or, do I even need one...? And yes, aware that the OP is just over four years old 😉

 

The new-to-me unit I have has the Dapol Imperium decoder (21pin MTC) which allows basic motor control and all of the coach, cab and driving lighting - it seems to do this well enough and with the assumption that standards have been adhered to, changing the Acc and dEc (Gaugemaster Prodigy) CVs have the desired effect; there is, of course, no detailed user manual that I can find. On the one-pager that came with, there is a suggestion that soldering a speaker (THIS?) to (the near impossible to solder to) LS- and LS+ joints is possible.

 

So, is it as simple as grabbing a £10 speaker and doing as the paperwork suggests? if so, why no instructions as to how to initiate sound(s) also, normal sound functions are light functions currently so one assumes a level of function key reprogramming would be required... Alternatively, it could be that the decoder just outputs basic sounds that cannot be controlled and therefore as alluded to above a new ESU LokSound and megabasss is the way to go.

 

Before I splash out £10 or £130, I'd be grateful for folks' experiences, please. It's a great model and with proper sounds and a little weathering, it's looking like the star of the show on my (to be built) layout.

 

Cheers!

[Andacami]

UPDATE:

 

Seems the model and its factory-fit decoder I have is not sound capable at all (some of you knew this of course). So I need a Zimmo or ESU Loksound.

 

Again, what are folks' experiences before I buy...? 

[Albie the plumber]

You're spoilt for choice for DMU sounds .

My '121 has Jamie Goodman sounds and it  sounds great! 

Legomanbiffo , Wheeltappers and Digitrains (Paul Chetter) also do excellent sounds that allow manual gear changing .

As to what is the best , we'll,  that's for you to decide as sound is so subjective .

YouTube has clips of all the above to help you make your mind up .

My model had a sound chamber to enhance the sound from the speaker but you could do away with it and try one of the many  speakers available these days , space permitting ! 

Hope this helps .