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taz-of-boyds · ‎12-06-2007

Hello, Don't know if this is news to you-all, but I was just at the Oklahoma City Train Show (yes I am far from home), and I visited the Digitrax booth. They now have a decoder for N scale (and HO) with down-loadable sound. I talked to the representative and he said they announced it two weeks ago. None of the brochures covered it, but if I remember the price listed was $60. It comes with a large speaker HO type. Talked to the guy, he said their plan was that you just remove that speaker and attach the speaker of your choice. The list price for the sound loader was $100, I believe this is their standard sound loading device. I did not pick up the part number, but it was all one decoder-sound unit with a capacitor and speaker hanging off of it, and all the wires to connect to the loco motor etc. I could tell you more if they had a brochure to hand out. It did not occur to me but I could have photographed it too, oh well. If it keeps going I guess more details should be printed real soon. Thought I would let you know. Charles t-o-b PS, my first DCC install may be a sound unit in one of my Bachmann 2-8-0's PPS, practicing posting to eBay's crazy oh so easy to use, try to find new topic button system.

ginzokid · ‎12-07-2007

Charles, I'll tell you that afer I installed sound decoders in my Shay and Climax, a task that I found nerve wracking, I will stick to buying sound equipped from the factory locos only. Downloadable? But you do have to buy the extra loader if I understand you. What's the deal there? I guess I'm challenged here. I prefer to KISS! I have enough trouble with my computer already. I'll leave that download stuff to the nerds. B-) -- Edited by ginzokid at 12/07/2007 4:50 AM

taz-of-boyds · ‎12-07-2007

For the downloadable part, looking at Digitrax's other sound units, the decoder comes preloaded with steam and diesel sounds and you select what you want somehow. The downloadable part allows you to load upgrades from Digitrax, or load a custom sound set. One set on their web site is for streetcars. - http://www.digitrax.com/appnote_sfx_traction.php And you do buy a separate device to load sounds if you want something different from the default. A fine point I may have missed: while looking at the Digitrax site it may be that the N scale decoder may be sound only, and require a separate motor controller, blech. At least for space in the 2-8-0's it would be OK with the motor decoder in the engine and the sound in the tender. But it would be an additional pain besides the expense to cram two decoders in an N scale locomotive. One of the other sound decoder companies has loadable sound the Tsunami does not. Always something to puzzle about, Charles t-o-b

ginzokid · ‎12-08-2007

At the present I have no Digitrax decoders. What I do have is BLI, NCE, Precision Scale and Soundtrax. The Soundtrax ones are piggy-backed on Bachmann motor decoders and are not programable. The BLI and NCE have both been upgraded buy the changing of a chip that came from the manufacturer. The Precision decoder has not been upgraded. I think the simplicity of the upgrades that I have done far outweighs the computer programming. As I said before, I'm computer challenged. B-)

dl85vette · ‎12-08-2007

charles, You have quite the challenge ahead. I model modern diesels in DCC and I had a fair bit of work involved putting a MRC decoder with sound into a Kato SD40-2. Looking at those tiny steamers makes me glad I grew up in a diesel era.