Ok, I have been entertaining the thought of putting DCC decoders into DC steam locos, or just adding sound decoders to DCC equipped steam locos. When I asked about this on the forum, one of the main reasons given to not do this was the high cost of the decoders. The tsunami decoders were being discussed. However I have found MRC decoders for $70( decoder and sound, I think) or $33 (just sound to be added to a DCC engine). Are MRC decoders a bad idea? If I can get a really good price on a new DCC engine I will be very tempted to buy it and add the $33 MRC decoder. It is item number 1665. Am I asking for trouble? I am also led to believe that you can install a sound decoder into a boxcar and have it as the first car behind your engine so that it seems like the sound is coming from the engine. Has anyone had any experience with this? Opinions?
It just seems to me that if you are adding sound to a DCC steamer it would not be very difficult to install the sound unit in the tender? Am I over simplifying the process? I have a Bachmann 0-6-0 with DCC and am wondering if I could put the MRC sound unit in it?
Any and all help or advice is greatly appreciated.
wdcrvr
If you do a little research on these forums, you'll find that MRC decoders have a horrible reputation -- quickly burn out, need constant resets, poor engine performance, poor quality control, etc.
The sound only decoders work just fine. I have a couple of them no problems. I have MRC dual mode decoders also I never had any problems, and they have been running for 3 to 4 years now. I beleive their older decoders gave themselves a bad reputation.
Do yourself (and your blood pressure) a favor. Avoid the MRC decoders. Every one I had burned up on me within a week.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
I've installed a number of sound decoders in my engines. Some were add-on sound-only units, and others were complete decoders. I've got a few of the Digitrax sound-only models, an older Soundtraxx LC, and two Tsunamis.
By far, the winners are the Tsunamis, both diesel and steam. The sound is just that much better. Overall engine performance is great, too. In comparison, the low-budget models are just "sound effects," as much background noise as anything else.
The difference between better and not-so-good sound decoders is generally the way the sound is digitized and stored. The good ones use 16-bit sampling and memory, while the weaker ones use 8-bit. The "finer" sound of the 16-bit systems is obvious, even if you're not an audiophile.
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