MRC Prodigy

[Anonymous]

Hello

I recently purchased a MRC Prodigy system for $100. I also bought a Bachman Shay that says DCC ready.Anybody have any experience installing a decoder in one of these?
Also what is the best decoder I can get for it.

I would like to add sound and smoke to it also if that is posible.

Thanks,
EJ

[cacole]

SoundTraxx make a sound decoder that fits inside the Bachmann Shay, but the MRC Prodigy, unless you have their newest release, will not activate the sounds because it cannot operate the functions required by a sound system, F2 through F12. Adding a smoke unit will be a near impossibility due to lack of space for the unit.

[Anonymous]

It's the old prodigy.I thought it was all I needed..Oh well.

As far as a decoder for the shay, is there alot of work installing one or is the Bachmann Shay really DCC ready IE: plug and Play?

What brands should I avoid and what brands are good?

Thanks,
EJ

[cacole]

Assuming that you have the 3-truck Shay, there is a standard NMRA 8-pin socket in it. Mine were not DCC ready versions, so I had to solder the sound systems into mine. Read through the documentation that came with your Shay and it should show where the socket is and how to open it up. A TCS T1 decoder would probably be your best bet if you don't want to go with SoundTraxx.

[CFournier]

I bought a Prodigy last week, the first model, not the Advance Prodigy.
Are you saying that I can't use a decoder with sound??
The salesman at the LHS did not tell me that!!!
Chris.

[Anonymous]

Yep it's the Bachmann 3 truck spectrum shay. The documentation is poor.

Chris - I was under the same impression.

EJ

[rrinker]

You can 'use' a sound decoder with the original Prodigy, the wuestion is, how much 'use' can you get out of it.

Many of the sounds in a sound ecoder are automatic, that is, all you need to do is run the engine and you get the sounds. Cuff sounds, diesel engine sounds, brake squeal, air pumps, etc. are usually in this category. Those sound swill work fine with the original Prodigy.
Then there are the user-controlled sounds, like whistle/horn, bell, etc. The original Prodify has buttons for lights and F1-F4, which is good enough for the whistle and bell plus 2 other functions. This is probably enough to have fun, although the Soundtraxx and QSI Quantum sound decoders have additional user-controlled sounds beyond this that you will not be able to access.
A bigger problem comes in programming the sound decoders. Much of the sound is customizable with some programming of the decoder. The original Prodigy is quite limited on what you can program, and you will not be able to make these settings. You will likely need access to another system to get the programming right, once done, you would be able to operate it just fine on the Prodigy.

The Prodigy Advance has none of these limitations. But it costs more - but then again, so does every other manufacturer's system that allows programming of any CV and control of 8-12 functions.

--Randy