Soundbox - Sound for the Un-Soundable

[hminky]

I have a web article about making a soundbox at:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/soundbox/

Harold

[noblerot]

Thanks for the post. I think this is a great idea, especially for us N scalers

[93cram]

Great link thx ! 

I've already consisted a sound decoder with a DCC engine for test purposes, but haven't set all that neatly in a casing like shown.
Consisting was done the 'poor way' by setting the same address for both decoders.
I used some good PC speakers and sound was really fine IMHO.
I now have two Loksound decoders waiting (an EMD and an ALCO) for the same job, but next time, I'll go for a casing and use advanced
consisting ! 
 
Marc

[esa123]

I love this idea and have an extra sound decoder I'd like to try it with. One question, does the power cable in the instructions mean from the DCC tracks or from an accessory power source? I would assume it would be from DCC track power so the decoder could be commands but just checking to make sure.

Thanks,
Erik

[93cram]

Erik,

FWIW, I just connected the stationary sound decoder to the DCC bus.
Your computer speakers still need a 12 volts power source though.
Hope this helps,

Marc

[esa123]

Thanks for the response, I did played with hooking one up about twenty minutes after my post and did exactly what you did so thanks for the help!

Erik

[93cram]

You're welcome Erik 
What did you think about the sound ?

Marc

[esa123]

I have to finish hooking up the box tonight (just tested the decoder yesterday) but it will be to speakers with a subwoofer and I'll post pics with video once completed.

Stay tuned!

[93cram]

Great ! 

[TiVoPrince]

Wondering
if using a G scale decoder could drive my A/V receivers analog input.  No worries about bass since my office system has a big awesome subwoofer.  My only real concern is that decoder sound is clipped like mp3 files and has little data under 200 Hz where subwoofers thrive...

[esa123]

Ok, so I got everything wired last night and the box works great! Videos below show what was created with some explanation as to what I did. I'll try to get some more sound comparison videos up after Thanksgiving (I'm actually posting this while on the way to grandma's house - literally)! BTW, the engine shown in my video (GP38-2) isn't what I initially tried in stalling the decoder in. That was a Kato C44-9W which unfortunately needed a lot of work to fit both the speaker and capacitor within it's frame. I did test the GP38-2 with the same decoder address as my sound decoder and they synched nearly perfectly with motion/sound but took the decoder out prior to making the video to work on an LED install. Also, I made the video late at night so the volume on my computer speakers was turned down really low (something about a sleeping family) but I can assure you the sound output was more than adequate for what anyone might need and the subwoofer was great. Let me know what you think?

Best regards,
Erik

[93cram]

Thx for the update Erik,

Very nice video, clear and concise explanations, some really good stuff ! 
The sound is great IMHO, and the illusion works since when looking at the engine, there is a weird feeling that it doesn't move although it 'sounds'  ;D

Marc