2-8-4 Berkshire

[jerrycan]

 Several yrs ago I turned in A loco that malfunctioned after about 25 yrs.  I loved it , was called The Texas Chugger, I was hopping for a repair job, however bassed on age, I was sent an HO 2-8-4 Berkshire #50948 DCC on board.  It has worked fine, I would like to add sound.  Question:  iT'S 6 Socket plug.  Will I be able to just plug in a sound module, or is it more sophisticated than that?  I admit Dummmm on dcc.  My DCC equipment is Bachman also.  Thanx

[bapguy]

If it's DCC on board it should have an 8pin socket. Any sound decoder with an 8 pin socket will work. Make sure there's a place for the speaker to go. Look on the bottom of the tender to see if there's a whole for a speaker.  Joe

[jerrycan]

It was clearly marked on the box and also under the tender DCC on Board but only has 6 pins. anyone any ideas??

[bapguy]

Go to order parts and service, click on HO, then click on the 2-8-4 Bekshire loco. On page 5 of the parts list is the PC board in the tender. Does this look like the one that's in the tender now? If so this has an 8 pin socket on it. This is where the decoder plugs into. The only 6 pins I know of are the wires between the loco and tender. One has 4 wires the other 2 wires.  Hope this helps.  Joe

[jerrycan]

Thanx, Joe -- for that bit of info on the 2-8-4 Berkshire.  It sure helped.  As I said i'm Dummmm om dcc. 

[richg]

The diagram you got with the loco, clearly shows a 8 pin connector. Only six pins are used by the adapter.
There are different options for the tender.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/50901.pdf

Rich

[napa15]

I too have this locomotive (thought maybe a different road name than yours). I would personally recommend the Tsunami Soundtraxx TSU-1000 "Heavy Steam" sound decoder, and a 1.06" oval high bass speaker (which you can also get from Tsunami. You can do the research as to where to purchase this product, and how much it costs. Also, there are other options... cheaper options. I will say that I "skimpted" with the sound decoder I bought for my 2-8-0 Consolidated, and was disappointed. The extra money spent on the above mentioned product, in my opinion, is well worth the quality.

Oh, and the Berk was my FIRST DCC engine.. and it was also my first sound install. So if this rookie could do it.. you can to.