I have a couple of older Athearn AC4400's that had Digitrax decoders (SD104K1A and FN04K1 combo) board style decoder... I have done nothing but fight for space inside these locos ... I want to put new ones in (not board style) what sound decoder would you reccomend? I'm leaning toward digitrax or Tsnami but not board style! I have room at either end of the loco but not enough room to put a board on top of the motor and be able to secure the loco top! Wiring is especially an issue when you add ditch lights, front and rear light, and speaker with capacitor!
TCS has a how-to for a WOW121-diesel in an Athearn AC4400 on their website:
https://tcsdcc.com/installation/ho-scale/25
They used their motherboard for the installation, which comes with built-in keep-alive caps. However, it's not a requirement - just a convenient interface. You can always hardwire the decoder to save on space, if you choose. And it looks like the specific speaker they used fits up into the shell nicely.
I would go with either a TCS Wow! or a Loksound 5 decoder for the excellent motor-control. However, someone stated here recently that the Tsunami2 decoders have much improved motor-control over the original Tsunamis so that's another option. I have no experience with the latter other than hearing them at train shows. They do sound good.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Maybe older versions have a much higher weight. My late 80's Athearn F-7 will need the weight milled to get a decoder in there. Fortunately I have a friend with a milling machine.
Decoder buddy also makes a base circuit board, with and without keep alives, that you can plug a decoder into. I have no advice on adding all the extra lights used in modern era locos.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I usually put in "hard wired" decoders, but not always.
Two problems with them:
One is how to physically mount it. It won't just "clip" on. I think a lot of people use Kapton tape. I do that, but more often build a clamp or box. Which can take up room.
The other is how to join the wires from the decoder to the wires from "out there". I build little terminal strips with screws. A simpler option would be a PC strip with solder pads. You have to mount that too. Or at least deal with it. I am NOT a fan of soldering the wires together, painting them with insulation, and squishing them in. But that's maybe just personal. If it works for you.....
I do it. But it's a bit more complicated than the board-mount style.
I suppose you can solder all the connections and just cram it all in to the top and hope for the best. I lean more towards planning and neatness, myself.
Ed
Agreed that hardwiring decoders takes more planning than plug 'n play ones.
For securing a decoder to the top of the motor I use Kapton tape - i.e. if I don't have a lot of overhead room. And, if the decoder is not covered in shrinkwrap, I cover the bottom side with Kapton tape so that it doesn't short to the motor housing. Otherwise, I use double-sided carpet mounting tape (Duck brand) or the thicker Gorilla-brand mounting tape for securing decoders.
For wiring, I solder the connections together and use heat shrink to cover & insulate them. In the event that I want wire connections to be detachable, mini-connectors work great. (They come in strips and you can break them apart of whatever connection width you need.) You solder one set of leads to the pin portion of a connector strip and the other set of matching leads to the socket of another connector strip of equal length. The pin & socket ends of the opposing connector strips then slide into one another to make the electrical connection.
For neatness, twisting (2 wires) or braiding (3 or > wires) helps keep wiring tidy and manageable. But, again, it's extra work that takes some pre-planning. I can't think of a time that I've ever regretted doing it though. And I never fear that the wires will "wander" too close to "spinning obstacles" like drive shaft couplings.