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Sound Decoder Question For Kato SD90/43MAC Loco
Liam writes”
“I got a Kato HO SD90/43MAC on eBay (#176-5611) and want to fit a sounder decoder. Stupid question I know, but does a sound decoder also have a regular DCC decoder? Which one should I get and will the speaker, which I presume comes with it, fit ok?
5 Responses to Sound Decoder Question For Kato SD90/43MAC Loco
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HI. Good question. Most decoders sold today are DCC with sound, but I believe Soundtrax & Digitrax do still sell separate sound decoders (usually with a speaker) which you can attach to your existing decoder. I’m not familiar with the Kato SD90/43MAC (out of my era) but if it is anything like the SD40-2’s they are notoriously tight for room to the point of having to mount it in the fuel tank which required milling. There are much smaller speakers available today that may fit. Out a ball of Silly Putty on top of the rear weight and remount the body. The resulting thickness of the putty will indicate how deep of a speaker you can put in
Liam, take a look at the TCS decoder website. They explain installation of a sound decoder specifically for your loco in great detail. All sound decoders from TCS, Digitrax etc are dual function and some specifically made for your loco.
For the Kato sd90/43 mac, All I needed for my GP 60M was the Loksound decoder and speaker with speaker box. So it should not be much different for yours, Just the DCC decoder and sound and that’s it.. My GP 60M was dcc ready so I just contacted Fox Valley for reference for my model of locomotive and I was fitted with the exact model of loksound decoder and speaker.
Is that kato Mac loco HO scale?
Check out duford motor works on facebook. He does outstaning dcc w/sound installs using loksound equipment.