Coldgunner Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 My Railroad Mallard seems to have become a testbed for what I can get out of a loco in terms of custom detail and technical prowess. The next stage is an improvement to the already dcc fitted loco (with stayalive mind), in that I want to attempt to fit a sound unit. The chip is located in the main body of the loco. To me it looks like the loksound chip will fit, but I want to know what sort of first hand experience people have with the chip, and ideally fitting to that particular loco. Tender fitting is out of the question, as I've already swapped it and cut the pickups to allow her to tow a modern tender I bought from ebay. Looked at some of the youtube clips available, but I want to know as to whether they are a true depiction of decent sound quality? I don't want my foray into the unknown to start with a duff* setup. *not a class 47 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durranhill Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 If you have not yet bought the chip why not consider a Zimo MX645R 8 pin decoder from Digitrains loaded with Paul Chetters sound files , this has 2 settings of light loading for light engine movement & heavy load for when you have a train on the back . I'm in the process of doing an A3 with GN tender which is the later version with the socket in the tender & also an A4 which has the socket in the loco like yours , I've bought the decoders from Digitrains after hearing Pauls sounds but first I'm taking my time in fitting the speakers in the tenders . The A3 will have a low profile bass reflex due to the lower GN tender while the A4 will have a large ABS-229 bass reflex , I'm also considering altering the bass ports on the speakers so that the sound comes out the front through the coal hole in the tenders , has this been tried before by anybody ?? . Stewart . P.S Paul Chetter has just given me some good info & advice about bass reflex speakers so I will be leaving well alone & fitting them as designed . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Just a thought, as mine is a railroad model and the chip is loco mounted, how will that affect space, will it fit? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Just a thought, as mine is a railroad model and the chip is loco mounted, how will that affect space, will it fit? All versions of A4s from Hornby and Bachmann have loads of room for a standard size OO sound decoder, loco mounted or tender mounted. Also, just because the manufacturer fits a connector in one place or the other does not have to mean you use it in the way they intended. I regularly relocate the decoder position to suit the installation and speaker(s) being fitted. Digitrains have an excellent A4 on ZIMO which has switchable heavy train/light engine exhaust beats (Chuffs) for varity of sound, and probably the best Chime whistle offered by anyone. Tad cheaper than that other brand, too. (The different exhaust beats are created using 170 individually different 'chuff' samples, recorded ant several different degrees of 'cut off'. This is why there is a gradual transition from slow to fast chuffs, not the clunky and obvious 'transitions' you will hear from elsewhere. ZIMO MX645 family all have wires attached as standard to connect direct to stay alive capacitors, and have speacial on-board circuitry to charge and manage the caps. (The other popular brand requires either an add-on board or soldering extra circuitry direct to the decoder to employ a stay alive). Kind regards, Paul Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 That including the speaker too? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Yes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 The first loco I ever fitted with a sound decoder was a Hornby A4, this proved to be a good start into the sound fitting of locos. One of the easiest fits I have done. The sound decoder was a Loksound 3.5 with standard 23mm speaker which I purchased from Olivias Trains, the chip is an 8 pin fitted in the loco with just a little bit of the speaker casing cut away on two opposing sides to allow for fitting directly under the chimney and held in place with a little blutak. The V4 loksound should fit just as easily Ian H (Haymarket Cross) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgmichel Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 The first loco I ever fitted with a sound decoder was a Hornby A4, this proved to be a good start into the sound fitting of locos. One of the easiest fits I have done. The sound decoder was a Loksound 3.5 with standard 23mm speaker which I purchased from Olivias Trains, the chip is an 8 pin fitted in the loco with just a little bit of the speaker casing cut away on two opposing sides to allow for fitting directly under the chimney and held in place with a little blutak. The V4 loksound should fit just as easily Ian H (Haymarket Cross) I plan to fit a loksound V4 decoder with A4 sound to a Bachmann NRM Union of South Africa locomotive. I can't find any clips on YouTube of this or similar work. It sounds as though once I have the loco apart it should be easy, but any tips would be useful. Also, has anyone felt it necessary to install a different speaker to the one supplied by loksound? This A4 has an 8 pin socket, and I have the loksound 8pin decoder, so it sounds like it will just plug in, and I can then just find a way to fit the speaker just below the chimney. It sounds simple. Is that really all there is to it? I guess I should just open the thing up and go for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I'm not sure on the fitting of sound in the Bachmann A4 however, if its like the A1 & A2 it offers a few alternatives. I have fitted sound in all the Pacific's and with Bachmann my advise is fit the speaker in the tender as this gives you a few choices of speaker. I have fitted both standard 23mm round and base reflex type which is just a personal choice you will have to make. The only bit of work you'll have to contend with is feeding wires from decoder to speaker through chassis to tender and cutting out the tender top and sides for speaker location. Once fitted though it sounds really good. Good luck Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgmichel Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Thanks for the input. I will dismantle the A4 and see what the possibilities are. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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