# EMD SD40-2 Drop in sound decoder



## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

i have a EMD SD40-2 KATO that i bought it has a DC/DCC light decoder board in it so far the only drop in decoder i have found is MRC 1802 HO Drop-In Sound Decoder for Kato SD40-2.

anyone else know of a better drop in decoder for this KATO EMD SD40-2 or is this my best bet?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I sell a Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder for that model #828063.


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## Prospect193 (Nov 30, 2011)

Plus Sean is an excellent installer, Including LED's to light it up like a Xmas tree. There are many here who can agree with me on that!!!! 

Cheers
Pat


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

that one only has front and rear lights no ditch lights

What about using the Digitrax DH165 k1a with a SFX 004 Sound bug would you recommend that?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

The Tsunami does have the outputs for ditch lights.

Well if you want cheap sound, go with the sound bug, they only thing that sounds worse is the MRC decoders!


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

i have 1 Tsunami 750 med steam and you can barly hear it i have it cranked up all the way


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

What speaker do you have on it and does it have a proper enclosure / speaker baffle.
You are the first person I have ever heard say it's too quiet, most of my customers want me to turn it down for them, because it's too loud.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I have fitted my five HO diesels with Tsunamis a while ago.Two of the Kato (SD40-2,AC4400) had machined speaker housings in the fuel tanks so that I could install one inch round speakers in them.Then I've installed Tsunamis in both my BLI SD40-2 wich already had large speakers.All four are way too loud...Then with the SD80 that didn't have machined enclosures,I had to settle for a smaller rectangular speaker...though it does sound great,the sound volume is noticably lower so yes,the speaker has a major effect on sound levels.
I also have a TSU-750 in an N scale 4-8-4 with an enclosed half inch speaker and it sounds very good too.

For decoder selection,do yourself a favor and stay away from both MRC and Digitrax sound decoders.I've had both and they all ended in my thrash can.MRC don't sound too bad but have a very high failure rate while Digitrax's sound very poorly......


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

I don't know i didn't do the instillation since i have never worked with Rivossi engines b4 i know everything is in the tender i may have to take it apart and see what the guy did!


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Being that it's HO and a Tender Install I wonder why he used a TSU-750?
The 750 is a great decoders but can run very warm. 
The TSU-1000 would be a better fit for that install.
Britblad,
If you would like it setup so that you get the best sound out if it, send the tender over to me and I'll give it a compleate workup. I will get it sounding right for you. There is no reason you should be getting bad sound out of such a great decoder. And if for some reason it does have a bad decoder I am a dealer and can get it fixed or replaced in a jiffy!


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

the reason for not using the tsu 1000 is that is heavy steam this is a med 4-6-2 and i cant disconnect the tender from the engine


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

The offer still stands, just send both the engine and the tender and I'll put the service disconnect plug on it for you. so in the future you can disconnect them for service!
 or  or and most common 

The TSU-1000's come in all the same sound sets (heavy, medium, light steam and others too) as does the TSU-750's, the only differance is the decoder package size.


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

i opend up the tender and the speaker is stuck to the roff of the tender its one of the small Oval ones that sell on e-bay all the time i forget the co name also i see no capacitor in there!

Should i get and en closer or buy a new speaker and en closer ?

I can do it from this point it was the physical wiring inside i dint know how to do!


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## feldon30 (Dec 30, 2012)

Getting good sound out of a loco engine is more art than science. Simply sticking a speaker in a sealed plastic box produces predictable results.

You dropped the cash on a Soundtraxx decoder. I'd go the extra mile and have a guru like NIMT (Sean) get the right baffles, speaker placement, and unobtrusive holes drilled in the tender so that your decoder sings. I'd take up Sean on his offer.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Are there holes in the top of the tender?
I hide the speaker holes in the coal or wood loads, unless there are holes already in the bottom of the tender.
A good speaker and enclosure are the keys to good sound.
Oval speakers are easy to make an enclosure for, just make a little box. Make it as big as you can and air tight. 3/4 of the time i put the face of the speaker facing inside the box, protects the baffle and the sound is the same either direction.
And the capacitor has nothing to do with sound, it does have to do with it holding power on bad tracks (keep alive), do you see any loose wires that could go to a capacitor?


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

yea and i found the cap that was suppose to be soldered there as well it was in the bag i wonder why he dint put that on


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I can answer that!
Bad and/or Cheap and/or Lazy Installer!
I'm not perfect but I always install the caps, speaker enclosures, and disconnects!


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

i wasnt worried about the disconects i have some you sent me b4 i was gona put them on 1 day.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I just think if you're going to pay for an install, that you should get everything that should be installed; installed, and everything installed properly!


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## britblad (Jan 2, 2012)

True once i get it working i will pay for it lol The local train shop owner is very nice let me take it home even tho i hadn't paid for it completely yet! not to mention most of the 125 is the decoder!


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