Fitting sound to a Dapol OO Gauge Terrier

[TravisM]

I’m planning to by a Dapol OO gauge Terrier in WC&PR livery, numbered 4, mainly as a childhood reminder of walking the track bed in the 70’s as part of a school project.  I’ve already got a Next 18 chip but I was wondering if it’s a easy job to fit sound or should I just leave well alone and stick to DCC?

[No Decorum]

7 hours ago, jools1959 said:

I’m planning to by a Dapol OO gauge Terrier in WC&PR livery, numbered 4, mainly as a childhood reminder of walking the track bed in the 70’s as part of a school project.  I’ve already got a Next 18 chip but I was wondering if it’s a easy job to fit sound or should I just leave well alone and stick to DCC?

You aren’t alone. I have fitted my three Hornby Terriers with silent decoders and I’m well satisfied with the results. I found disconcerting the reports of Dapol /Rails Terriers supplied as DCC fitted were supplied with the speaker wires cut and the speakers removed and put in the box. I haven’t got around to a systematic comparison of my three Hornby and three Dapol Terriers but broadly speaking I prefer the Hornby. They run better. It is hard not to see the gap and distortion in the Dapol version’s roof. One thing which counts against the Hornby models without coal rails is that the solid body goes right up to the lip of the bunker, being topped with a plastic coal moulding. It makes adding real coal very difficult. If the Dapol version could be fitted with sound, it would be one point in its favour. Sorry that my answer doesn’t help your quandary,

[TravisM]

2 hours ago, No Decorum said:

You aren’t alone. I have fitted my three Hornby Terriers with silent decoders and I’m well satisfied with the results. I found disconcerting the reports of Dapol /Rails Terriers supplied as DCC fitted were supplied with the speaker wires cut and the speakers removed and put in the box. I haven’t got around to a systematic comparison of my three Hornby and three Dapol Terriers but broadly speaking I prefer the Hornby. They run better. It is hard not to see the gap and distortion in the Dapol version’s roof. One thing which counts against the Hornby models without coal rails is that the solid body goes right up to the lip of the bunker, being topped with a plastic coal moulding. It makes adding real coal very difficult. If the Dapol version could be fitted with sound, it would be one point in its favour. Sorry that my answer doesn’t help your quandary,

 

Hi there, your answer has been very helpful and I think I'll just stay with being DCC only.  Thanks again for your help.

[JSpencer]

It should be easy. I have a Dapol sound fitted terrier and my impression is, these were not built as such when they left China. I feel the sound chips were added upon arrival in the UK.

 

I have a slight preference for the Dapol versions (I have 3 of each make) as the buffers are better represented and general fact that Dapol got the features geneerally correct for the concerned locos.

 

Overall, the two designs are marginal, though Dapol can definately be easily fitted for DCC sound.

[Kaput]

On 16/07/2022 at 22:52, JSpencer said:

It should be easy. I have a Dapol sound fitted terrier and my impression is, these were not built as such when they left China. I feel the sound chips were added upon arrival in the UK.

 

 

Normal for Dapol, they do all their DCC fitting themselves once the models arrive in the UK.

[Guardian]

I did mount a Zimo Sound decoder MX659N18 into a Dapol Terrier quite a while ago:

 

 

Cheers,

Mark