DCC Spectrum

[STEAM JOCKY]

I have several DCC Spectrum trains from Bachmann.  Is there anything I need to plug into them or are they ready to run if I have a DCC controler?  Can I buy a sound component to plug into them to run just on DC?

[ABC]

Your DCC Bachmann Spectrum locos don't need any modification to run out of the box all you need is a DCC controller (if you want to run them on DC I suggest removing the decoders and replacing them with two jumpers for better DC running). You can buy a sound decoder if you want to, but you will also need to buy a speaker and baffle to go with the decoder. If you want to run these on DC, you have to make sure you buy a dual mode decoder because not all decoders are dual mode (that is can run on DC or DCC). A lot of sound decoders are not dual mode, I know a lot of my MRC sound decoders are DCC only and don't work on DCC. Also, you have to ensure there is enough room inside the locomotive for the decoder, speaker, and baffle (so that means you will have to take some measurements to ensure you get a speaker that fits the loco well). Often you will have to do some milling or make other modifications to fit a speaker and baffle in a lot of these Bachmann DCC locos. If the loco does not have an 8-pin socket, then chances are there is not enough room inside the loco for a speaker and baffle without pretty major modifications. Note that speaker size directly correlates to sound quality, especially with bass tones, the bigger the speaker diameter the better the sound. If you buy a sound only decoder (with speaker and baffle), you have to make sure it is DC compatible. An issue is that if you run it on DC it will arbitrarily make sounds and you will have absolutely no control over what sound it makes at any given point in time. Good sound only decoders run around $50+, while good full decoders with sound are $100+, although some higher end sound only decoders may come with a DC sound controller that will allow to use basic sounds like bell, whistle and horn and a couple others.

[Jim Banner]

If you don't own a milling machine or have access to one, you have three other options if you need more space in a locomotive - (1) trade your frame in on a frame that has already been milled; (2) have your frame custom milled by a local machine shop (tends to be expensive;) or (3) remove the metal by other means, including drilling, sawing, filing and/or grinding.  If you are lucky, there will be a chunk of weight large enough to cut a baffle right into the weight.

Another option, particularly in the smallest scales, is to mount a sound only system in a follow car.  By setting its DCC address to match the locomotive pulling it or pushing it, you can use the same sound car with many different locomotives.    With dc, no address change is necessary.  This scheme works particularly well if the sound car is a dummy diesel in a consist with other diesels.  In H0, an empty diesel body usually has room for the sound decoder plus multiple speakers.  And the areas of the speakers add together, so that four 1" speakers are equivalent to one 2" speaker, a size unheard of in H0 but one that is big enough to get some of the rumble into those diesel sounds.  Four speakers that each match the impedance of the decoder can be hooked up in series/parallel to still give the same impedance and still match the decoder.  With care, it is possible to seal up the dummy body well enough that the body itself acts as a large baffle, further enhancing the bass.  What you save by needing only one sound car should more than cover the extra costs of the car/dummy locomotive plus multiple speakers plus an upgrade sound decoder.

Jim