I have an older HO Athearn GP35 with the brass flywheels. I was wondering what a decent decoder would be. With or without sound. With sound what type of speaker would be good for it. Thanks
With any decoder and this engine there is some work you will need to do. You will need to isolate the motor. Digitrax makes a wiring harness that does just that. You hook up the wires per the instructions. The harness has the two motor clips with it. You can purchase the wiring harness seperate or with a Digitax decoder. I don't have Digitrax decoders, but I do have TCS in four units and they have been flawless.
As far as sound, Soundraxx or QSI are great brands. I don't have any of these yet, but I have never heard anything bad about them. I have two Loksound decoders. They operate fine, but are difficult to program.
As far as a speaker, you will need to measure the inside of the shell. A good oval speaker with enclosure should be good. The main thing is knowing the ohms of the speaker. 8 ohms is pretty common and is used with Soundtraxx and QSI. 100 ohms is used by Loksound.
Will