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What type of Decoder

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  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Louisville, KY
  • 147 posts
What type of Decoder
Posted by C & O Steam on Friday, December 2, 2011 8:17 AM

I have an Atlas Classic GP-7 in Ho that I would like to convert to DCC with sound. Has anyone attempted this and what would be the correct decoder & speaker to use for the project. I have a list from Digitrax that list several decoders for pre-2003 units (DJ123D) and 2003 & later units (DH123P & DZ123PS).

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

M.C. Richmond

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Mpls/St.Paul
  • 13,892 posts
Posted by wjstix on Friday, December 2, 2011 9:02 AM

Several companies make "drop-in" board replacement sound decoders. The advantage of the sound board replacement is it only takes up the same amount of space as the regular sound board, making it a little easier to fit in a speaker. I've found a 1/4" by 1/2" oval speaker and enclosure will fit the engine.

Also, for some reason the light board Tsunami is usually cheaper than a standard (9-pin / "hardwire") Tsunami.

I've done a couple of GPs with the now-discontinued Soundtraxx "LC" lightboard decoder. Sound isn't up to current standards, but it's good. I have a similar Atlas RS-11 that I installed a Tsunami in, that has really great sound. I haven't installed a QSI sound decoder but I have an NW-2 with a factory QSI sound and that sounds good to me too.

Stix

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