N-Scale DCC Sound Decoders

[The Parker Family]

Model Railroader Forum Users,

I am thinking about upgrading an Atlas N-scale U23B with a DCC sound decoder.
Because sound equipped locomotives are new to me, I have a few questions
about this.

First and foremost, do you feel that it is worth the price to put a
sound decoder into an N-scale locomotive? Do the sound decoder speakers
for N-scale locomotives offer basic sound or are they truly "ear" catching.

If it is worth the cost and sound quality, what are my options to
install a sound decoder into an Atlas N-scale U23B? Following is a list
of the features I would like to have on such a decoder.

Rule 17 lighting effects

Function Mapping

Support of added lighting effects, specifically an LED for a nose
headlight and two LEDs for ditch lights (Ditch lights is not a must)

GE V12 FDL prime mover sound

Thanks,
Theodore M. Parker

[NSColsMP6]

The Parker Family

First and foremost, do you feel that it is worth the price to put a
sound decoder into an N-scale locomotive? Do the sound decoder speakers
for N-scale locomotives offer basic sound or are they truly "ear" catching. 

 

Seemed to me that basic N-scale decoders were about $30, and most of the N-scale locomotives I see cost about $30 more than their DC counterparts if they ship with DCC, so I assessed value with that baseline since I know I want DCC period.

I looked around and found that MRC has drop-in sound decoders for quite a few locomotives. In my case I had two atlas GP's.  I found a source online that sold the MRC drop-in decoders for about twice the price of a basic decoder. (I opted to have the frames milled by Aztec, so that added a few dollars to the project)

I've seen N-scale freight cars new at the local hobby shop for the about the same as the added cost of upgrading to a decoder with sound.  In my view, that was a small price to pay for a first experience with a sound-equipped locomotive.

 

The Parker Family

If it is worth the cost and sound quality, what are my options to
install a sound decoder into an Atlas N-scale U23B? Following is a list
of the features I would like to have on such a decoder.

I'm not sure what sound quality is possible from a speaker so small, but to me, my sound-equipped GP's sound like what I imagine a locomotive would sound like if it were miniaturized to N-scale. 

Also, they're kind of quiet, so if you run them at home where you can control ambient noise you might enjoy them more than if you plan to run them at a train show or loud model railroad club.

* * * 

I recently acquired 3 more Atlas GP's and I'm considering other brands of drop-in decoder just to sample the marketplace. The MRC sound decoders have a lot of sound features, but I'd like to compare some other features as well.

I'll probably try the most popular 3 non-MRC drop-in decoders, and maybe upgrade the locomotives to sound-equipped locomotives as a "phase 2".

[retsignalmtr]

I installed MRC sound decoders in two Atlas locos just to see what the sound quality was and the ease if the install. I used an SD 35 and a B 23-7 which had Digitrax DN163AO's in them. After having the frames milled by Aztec the MRC decoders went in very easy. The sound was good I thought for the size of the room my layout is in, but when I took them up to my club the sound was lost in the room and could not be heard at all just a few feet from the layout. After six months the decoder in the SD35 would no longer control the loco. All attempts to reprogram did nothing. The decoder only makes the sound of an idleing loco with no movement. The other loco still moves under control and makes the sounds (horn, bell, reving engine sounds) but it stalls quite often ( loco stalls, sound goes off, then sound revs up and loco starts to move again ). Track and wheels are clean. I would not buy another sound decoder for N Scale. I was thinking of buying an HO Tsunami sound decoder and installing it somewhere on my layout, connected to the DCC buss and programmed to a loco's address to see how it sounds.