Bluebell Railway SECR, ‘H’ Class Sound

[DeeJayEye]

Has any owner of this loco opened it up and if so is there room inside to fit a speaker and of what size?

[Bulleidboy]

Hornby Magazine did an in depth article on fitting sound to the H Class Wainwright. It was quite a job, with the decoder socket being removed and the mounting lugs being reduced in height, so a bit of butchering to be done. There are a number of YouTube videos showing what it sounds like, but have not found one showing how to fit it.

 

[JJ73]

Here is an idea - instead of opening up the Loco - why not get hold of an old Carriage & insert the speaker inside the Carriage instead of the loco???

[DeeJayEye]

Hornby Magazine did an in depth article on fitting sound to the H Class Wainwright. It was quite a job, with the decoder socket being removed and the mounting lugs being reduced in height, so a bit of butchering to be done. There are a number of YouTube videos showing what it sounds like, but have not found one showing how to fit it.

 

Thanks, I must ahve missed that in the magazine, mind you it was 18 months before my model actually arrived.

[DeeJayEye]

Here is an idea - instead of opening up the Loco - why not get hold of an old Carriage & insert the speaker inside the Carriage instead of the loco???

I'd rather not have the trailing wires but thanks for the suggestion. The loco has to be opened for the dcc deoder anyway.

[Bulleidboy]

If you still have it, it was in the January 2018 edition of Hornby Magazine. In very simple terms, the speaker (Sugarcube) was placed on the cab floor, the decoder lugs were cut away, and the sound decoder, with wires shortened drastically, was hard-wired in place, and located in the original position, but lower as lugs removed. If you decide to go without sound, a direct fit decoder seems to be the best solution - not a lot of room for the harness.

[SteveM6]

Fitting decoders to tank locos is becoming increasingly difficult when it comes to finding space.  And sound is virtually impossible unless you spend more on a decoder than you spent on the loco itself!

Hornby have made a big investment in TTS (I know they are not perfect, but they are affordable and more than adequate for many users) but surely the time has come for them to miniaturise them for expansion into smaller locos - and supply them without the speakers.

And manufacturers really do need to ensure that their DCC ready locos really do allow sufficient space to fit a decoder.

[Hairy]

YouChoos have a installation guide on their website.