dcc in a 4-6-0

[bob kaplan]

I have just been give a Bachmann 4-6-0 DCC ready, and would like to put a sound decoder in it along with a speaker.   Can someone make recommendations since I know nothing of DCC?   Will it be difficult to install the sound decoder and speaker?    Thanks.

[jonathan]

Bob,

Since no one else has responded so far, I'll give it a shot.

I don't have a 4-6-0.  However, I have installed sound in Bachmann steamers.

If your loco is dcc ready, it probably has the 8-pin receptacle in the tender. Also, there is a good chance it already has the speaker mount as well.  Can't guarantee that.

Anyway, I would recommend the Soundtraxx brand.  In my experience, these seem to be the most trouble free installations. I won't speak to problems my clubmates have had with other brands.  The Econami ECO-100 seems to be a good choice (model 881001). It's small enough to fit in the 4-6-0 tender.

Additional purchases will be the 8-pin plug which would get soldered to the econami wires.  Also, you will need a speaker.  Check the area at the bottom of the tender.  There may be a circular mounting area.  Usually Bachmann tenders are compatible with a 28mm (1") speaker.  Sountraxx sets there amplifiers for 8 ohm speakers which they sell of course.  Because this is a smallish tender, the 20mm speaker may be the right fit, but I've never needed the smaller speaker.

I have NEVER had to purchase the additional speaker enclosure, as the tender itself is the enclosure.

Just my thoughts.  Perhaps someone with a 4-6-0 will chime in.

Regards,

Jonathan

[bob kaplan]

Johnathan,
   Thank you for a nicely detailed answer.  It gives me info that I can look and find.   Thanks again.
bob

[Trainman203]

OR...... you can be "chicken" like me and pay a tech guy to do it, there are many.  The way I see it, I am going to do something wrong and ruin the decoder, so I am buying cheap insurance basically by outsourcing the job.

I have 3 econamis and, myself, I way prefer the fuller featured full Tsunami 2, largely because you get a choice of 63 whistles over 16 on the econami.  If whistles aren't important to you, that may not matter. 

[bob kaplan]

Hi Jonathan,
    Are you sure the model number that you give for the ECO-100 is correct?  I have been doing a search and I come up with similar numbers, but not the exact same one.   Thank you.
bob

[jonathan]

I could be off on a digit.  I pulled the numbers from the Soundtraxx website.  Check there just to be sure.

I looked up the 4-6-0 on the soundtraxx site, and these were the items they recommended. 

I did the same thing when I installed sound in my locos.

Regards,

Jonathan

[bob kaplan]

ok.....thank you .... big time.
b

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

Like Jonathan said, Soundtraxx is the way to go for DCC Sound. I myself prefer it to a point where I have Tsunami2 decoders in a couple of my British engines (Tornado and Flying Scotsman) since it has the whistle sound for an LNER A4, but I am getting off topic. If the 4-6-0 is the newer Standard line 52" driver version (or Low Boiler version if you prefer to word it that way), the tender does have a mounting point for a speaker ready to go, however if it is an older Spectrum line version, it won't have a mounting point for the tender and mounting the speaker under the coal bunker is the best choice.