Very nice!

One of the (very few) drawbacks to modeling in N-scale for me, has been sound (or lack there-of).  John's article is a big step in showing how sound can be installed in these very small locomotives.  Very informative and easy to follow.  I would not be afraid to attempt this on one of my locos.  

YouTube Links Not Working

Good article, but getting 404 Not Found error for YouTube links.

Full links work! Example:

N scale sound

Article looks great but I have one quesion:  Where is the capacitor?  I've never seen a sound installation without a big cap to keep the sound decoder running properly.  Have you had any issues without one?

Capacitor

In my N scale E8 that I added sound to, the installer (Litchfield Station) drilled a hole the size of the cap into the weight, dropped it in with the connectors up, and Bob's your uncle!  Never even thought such a simple thing, but that's how they added the cap.

I didn't use a "keeper"

I didn't use a "keeper" capacitor in the RS11 install.   This is a "road" unit on my layout, and I don't get any dropouts on the sound as long as I keep the wheels and track clean.   The LokSound doesn't seem to be nearly as sensitive to momentary electrical loss as some other sound decoders I've tried - I think that it has a bit of capacitance already "on board" to help with this situation.

However, for units that I use for switching, I do add a cap.  This is typically a 220uf 16v. tantalum capacitor, which isn't very big (typical size is 3mm x 4mm by 7mm).   Here's a photo of how I installed one of these caps in an N scale Atlas RS3.  The cap is mounted at the end of the speaker box, and on the end of that is the SMT LED for the headlight:

John Colombo

Easy to Follow

The N scale sound article was easy to follow.  This was a great article.  Do more like this. Being an N scaler I have been getting behind on sound for N scale. I need to spend more time on you tube.  

Mike Lee 

N scale sound article

At the risk of jumping to conclusions that are not indicated, can I assume that this installation is strictly for DCC applications and not for DC?

I may be wrong, but . . .

ERNIEF: I think that depends on the decoder. Many sound decoders are dual mode, and will respond in a limited (but still noisy) fashion to a straight DC input, if the decoder is programmed properly. Tom

Red/Blk Wires

What a great job. If only my eyes would cooperate for such small projects! Being new to this whole install thing, I can't help but ask about the soldering of the red and black wires to the small piece of pc board. Is that small piece already wired for electrical pick-up from the wheels?

W. Hudson 

Electrical current is

Electrical current is transferred from the rails to the wheels, and from the wheels to brass wipers that contact the frame.  The frame in turn has "fingers" on each side that are designed to press against a circuit board, which in turn delivers the electrical current to the motor, or in this case, to the decoder board.   This has been standard N-scale diesel design for many years now, and this small piece of circuit board was cut from the board that came with the engine.  

John Colombo

A truly skilled installation

After many HO scale sound installs that can be challenging, my hat is off to anyone who can install in N scale. I have long felt that HO was the smallest I ever wanted to attempt but, you've shown me it is possible. Them O scalers and G scalers are spoiled!

O scale spoiled

When it comes to sound, you are absolutely correct, but when it comes to everything else, hmmmm...

Knowles Fox speaker replacement?

Thanks for your efforts in raising the bar for N-scale on-board sound. 

In the article you mention that you used a Knowles Fox speaker, which has since been discontinued and replaced by the "Wildcat". Is the Wildcat sound as good as the Fox, or should we be looking for a better alternative?