Our new decoder is a sound, lights and functions decoder which is designed to piggy back onto simple loco decoders. At less than half the price of most conventional sound decoders, it is a very affordable and flexible way of converting existing DCC steam locos to sound.

The decoder is highly adjustable by changing CVs. No separate programmer or computer is needed to vary the characteristics of the sound to match a particular loco.

Available functions are sound on/off, lights on/off, safety valve on/off, short and long whistle, two function outputs, a guard's whistle and shunting mode. For those running American locos, there is also a bell on/off. An automatic whistle can be selected when running at exhibitions, etc.

There is a YouTube demonstration of five locos running on this British layout. In the video, the Hornby Britannia, Grange and Castle have the sound decoders installed in the tender. The Bachmann Pannier has the decoder and speaker installed in the following van. The Hornby 14XX tank has the decoder and speaker installed in the following autocoach.

Modellers with limited budgets can install the decoder into rolling stock, running behind the loco, such as a water carrier, goods van or a baggage van. This lets them to run any loco in their collection with sound just by coupling up the selected rolling stock and adjusting the CV settings to suit. The Pannier Tank in the video is an example; the sound decoder is installed in the brown van behind the loco.

The operation of the function buttons is shown in this Hornby Britannia video.

N gauge layouts can be accommodated by installing the sound decoder underneath the baseboard and using one or more speakers.

MyLocoSound have a bass reflex speaker available which gives a very good quality chuff and whistle and will fit within H0/00 rolling stock or larger. Alternatively, any eight ohm miniature speaker, available from hobby shops, can be used.

Full details of the decoder and installation options can be obtained by viewing the instructions here.

For pricing information and your nearest MyLocoSound reseller, select the appropriate "How to Purchase" option in the menu above.

If you prefer not to install decoders yourself, then ready to run solutions are available here