what sound decoder for mp15ac athearn

[rogerw]

Hi all. I want to add sound and dcc control to my mp15ac. Is the locsound a good / best choice for this?Any thoughts, feed back would help .Thanks Roger

[woodone]

If it were me I would wait untill Soundtraxx (Tsunami) comes out with there non turbo version of the 645 prime mover.
Right now there 645 prime mover decoder is with a turbo. MP15AC s used a EMD 12-645 which was supercharged, and NO turbo.
I would also sugest that you use the Atlas light board stlye decoder. You will need all the room you can find to fit the speaker and a decoder into this switcher.
You will more that likley have to give up some cab interior detail, as that will be the best place to install the speaker.
I think that you will like the sound of the Tsunami.
You can go to there web site and listen to there decoder sounds. http://www.soundtraxx.com/
Hope this might help. It will be a tight fit

[Squidbait]

This one will give you the simplest install, and the sound's not bad. It's no Tsunami, but it's also ~$20-$30 cheaper, and comes with a speaker.

[rogerw]

thanks for the input. I have heard some good things about the tsunami woodone and heard some bad things about the mrc decoders squid ,so it may be worth the wait. thanks again

[Squidbait]

The Tsunami is definitely the cat's whiskers as far as decoders go. I see they have a drop-in for Athearn Genesis units now, but as Woody pointed out, there's no non-turbo EMD 645 yet.

I have one of the MRC drop-ins for an Atlas S2, and it's not bad. I haven't played with it a lot, but my only criticism so far is that the sound is a bit tinny... but I think baffling the speaker will help that.

I've done many Tsunami installs, but mostly steam. If you've ever done a standard decoder install, it's not bad - the trick is not just making room for the speaker, but giving the speaker an enclosure large enough that you get decent volume from as broad a frequency range as possible.

[woodone]

Squid:
Try using the shell of the locomotive as an enclosure. And don't forget the back of the speaker puts out just as much as the front.
On diesel locomotives that have open fan grills, I mount the speaker face up over the grill openings, ( on the inside of the shell) Plug any grill openings that the speaker does not cover.
The loco shell becomes the enclosure, plus some of sounds will exit from the drive openings. This works great on Athearn units and some of the Atlas shells
as long as we are working with HO.

[Squidbait]

Sorry, I should have been more specific - when I said making the enclosure, I meant making sure there was enough sealed space inside the shell to act as an enclosure. Too much, and you have an open-baffle arrangement that won't give you any volume, too little and you have the same problem. Sometimes I've found I've had to use soft foam sheet from the craft store to seal up the end of the shell where the speaker is, or the cab, just to get enough volume.

Of course having done mostly steam, I'm spoiled, since it's pretty easy to get a good-sized sealed enclosure in a tender!

[woodone]

Have you tried any of the high bass speakers yet. They work GREAT! Speaker is 27MM diameter, and is about 1/2 inch tall. Sorry about the MM and inch shown, I was to lazy to find the MM for the inch measurment.

[Squidbait]

Have you tried any of the high bass speakers yet. They work GREAT! Speaker is 27MM diameter, and is about 1/2 inch tall. Sorry about the MM and inch shown, I was to lazy to find the MM for the inch measurment.

No... who makes them?

[woodone]

Have you tried any of the high bass speakers yet. They work GREAT! Speaker is 27MM diameter, and is about 1/2 inch tall. Sorry about the MM and inch shown, I was to lazy to find the MM for the inch measurment.

No... who makes them?

sending you a PM.

[rogerw]

woodone can you post a link . i would like to see them also .

[woodone]

There is link at the top of the DCC section. DCC Helpful Links by Deano. Take a look at Litchfield Station. Lots of DCC information. Keep in mind that they offer free shipping on orders over $75.00.

[rogerw]

thanks, will check it out