Adding sound to my GP38-2

[DRErb]

Just new to model railroading purchased a Bachman GP 38-2 with Dcc on board .I have purchased a Digitrax SDH166D sound fx ,is it possible to add to my loco?

[HoModeler]

Just new to model railroading purchased a Bachman GP 38-2 with Dcc on board .I have purchased a Digitrax SDH166D sound fx ,is it possible to add to my loco?

Yes it can installed in your loco... I have a GP 38-2 just like yours & I installed sound in mine...I am not sure if it's a plug & play some decoders have to be hardwired into the loco.... Lately I been buying my locos with DCC & Sound already installed from factory... I feel its a lot easer to do that than buy and engine DCC ready & than you must invest $ into a sound decoder & have it installed....

[DRErb]

Thanks for the response but wondering what I have to do ,do I remove existing board first?

[bapguy]

Does it have a decoder with a pig tail with an 8 pin board on the end that is plugged into the board or just a board? If the board has an 8 pin plug you need an adapter. If not you need to remove the board and hardwire the decoder.   Joe
Adapter:  DHWHP 9 pin to DCC medium plug long harness or DHWHPS 9 pin to DCC medium plug short harness
http://www.digitrax.com/products/mobile-decoders/?page=2
  Joe

[jward]

you will have to remove the existing board, completely disassemble the locomotive, cut away part of the frame to make a place to mount a speaker, reassemble the locomotive and probably hardwire in a sound decoder and speaker.

another option is to do like homodeler does and pay somebody with experience and the proper tools to do this for you. there is a lot of work involved in a sound installation, the decoders aren't cheap. expect to pay more for the sound install than you did for the locomotive.

[HoModeler]

Thanks for the response but wondering what I have to do ,do I remove existing board first?

If you are not experienced in DCC & Sound Decoder install's "DO NOT ATTEMPT"  As jward said... The Decoders are expensive I pay $95.00 to $98.00 & $60.00 for Install & Programming to the Loco's #.... Baseline price I pay total is $150.00 - $155.00 to add Sound to my locos But there have been cases where I paid more in labor fees cause the Speaker was tough for the Tech to mount inside the locos shell...The guy stands by his work & if something goes wrong the tech useally in most cases will repair or correct the problem free of charge...I have also started to buy my Loco's with DCC & Sound already installed for the simple fact I don't have to spend money on a Sound Decoder & pay Install Charges...

[brokenrail]

Better Idea then Mr. Wards .If you get a large sugar cube speaker with a large enclosure it will fit on the frame inside the cab then you will not have to cut into the frame that gives it weight ,that gives it better electrical connection to the rail and will also give it better low end sound and volume.Also most enclosures are black in color so it will not show.Wile your in there you can cut a piece of card board card stock that will fit above the cab glass inside the cab to block the light out of the cab for a better headlight. Some gp 38 frames have a spot in the tank for a speaker if it is a later version.If so you can get a speaker and mount it there.The sugar cube will out perform most cone speakers twice there size.You may be able to fit 2 ,but always wire them in series or you may have performance problems with your decoder.
Johnny Adam