Soundless trains are unbearable, if you don't agree with that you probably won't be reading this. Trains make noise, models need sound. This article was originally written in 2006 to add diesel sounds to HO equipment. Putting speakers in HO diesels only produces a wheeze not that throbbing wall of sound real diesels produce. The soundbox concept works well for diesels.
I tried steam sounds using the soundbox method also in 2006 and found them wanting. I was using an On30 locomotive tender with Tsunami sound and an IHC Old Time 4-4-0 with tender drive, the basis for the "ill-fated" OO/HO 1870's venture. I could never sync the sound with the IHC locomotive because of it's bad running qualities.
Recently I wanted to do some HO 1870's and the main 4-4-0 is the Bachmann OldTyme one. The new ones run reasonably well. D-oh!My steam soundbox/tender worked with the Bachmann HO 4-4-0. The exhaust sound would synch with the sound in my On30 sound equipped tender with only minor fiddling. The mind's "ear" placed the sound emanating under the layout with the moving loco. EUREKA!!! Sound for the un-Soundable. The locomotive just has to be "MU"ed in a consist with the Soundbox.
I use computer speakers, they are amplified and have a 3.5mm or 1/8 phone jack.
I will probably replace these with a system with a Subwoofer.
A small project box a Radio Shack #270-1802, 2x4x1 is needed.
A 1/8 mini-jack Radio Shack #274-249
An optional grommet
A sound decoder, spend the money for a 16-bit sound one.
A length of power cable
Drill cooling holes in the project box top and a hole in each end to accommodate the grommet and the mini-jack.
Solder one of the leads across the two lugs for the stereo speakers. Solder the capacitor to the common at the top of the jack and to the decoder board.
Put a knot in the power lead after putting it through the grommet hole.
Solder the power leads to the decoder.
Use a piece of double sided tape to mount the decoder to the project box.
Mount the decoder to the project box with the double sided tape.
Mount the jack to the project box and make sure nothing is touching something it shouldn't.
I put a piece of tape over the speaker leads on the decoder and screwed the top on the project box.
The power leads, the red wires here, attach to the track bus.
I have found the best place for the speakers is under the benchwork facing the wall. The directionality of the sound has to be broken up.
I tried the speakers above the layout and it was too distinct in direction. This is not a setup for a large layout or a large roster of locos but I like the effect.
The decoder is given an address and the locomotive is run as a consist with the sound box decoder.
The locomotive has to start at a low voltage otherwise it can't be synched with the soundbox.
Below is the original diesel soundbox article
Substitute a Sountraxx Tsunami for the diesel decoder for steam.
