Has anybody successfully added DCC motor control & sound to a Proto 2000 SW9/1200?
(I have successfully done DCC motor control, so I know that can be done-- even without removing the weight)
But what about sound-- if yes, what decoders & speakers are recommended and where should they be placed? What about the weight? I'm assuming you have to give it the ole' heave-ho in order to shoe-horn a speaker in there?
Is that the speaker or the decoder or both?
I agree. loksound micro decoders are phenominal performers, even at the somewhat steep price.
Until recently I had standardized on them for any diesels in my fleet. They work especially well in switchers, because of their small size and the back-EMF. I bought a SW9/1200 on sale when Walthers was in the middle of buying LifeLike. It says Proto, but not Walthers OR LifeLike on the box. I got a very good deal, and then found a bit of a glitch. This was the QSI DCC/sound equipped model.
What I found was that one wheel was equipped with a traction tire, and it caused a lack of pickup going over Atlas #6 super switches. I took a chance and replaced that axle with an Atlas/Kato part without the tire and now it is fine. I don't need my switchers to pull 30 car trains up 4% grades, but I do need them to crawl through switches with 6 to 10 cars in a flat yard.
Actually that loco is the reason I'm not totally standardized on Loksound. After the fix, I found it to actually be a much better performer than my BLI NW2, also with factory QSI (shouldn't they be about the same?).
I just purchased a Proto H10-44, and it is even better. Great Job, Walthers!
The thing I like most about the Loksound is the way you can get them to ramp up the RPM of the engine before the loco starts to move, and drop to idle before it comes to a stop, just like any real loco I've ever seen. The BLI QSI NW2 won't do that to save it's life after dozens of hours trying. The P2K QSI SW9 is OK, and the H10-44 is very much improved in that respect.
I'm even thinking about using the SW9 drivetrain in a Kato NW2 early body. The SW9 is slightly too new for me. I bought it because it was real cheap, and I was going to try to use the DCC/sound guts in a Walthers SW1. Turns out they use every available milimeter inside the shell. That SW1 will now definately get a Loksound Micro. I have also used them in an Atlas RS1 and a P2K S1.
Try a Loksound, you won't be dissapointed, but you may need someone with a programmer to find you a different horn.
Good luck.