Any one know of a sound decoder for the Porter as an add on?
You can add almost any sound decoder if you place it in a tender behind the engine. My advice would be pick up a new porter with sound from the favorite spot. The engine with sound will most likely cost less then an add on decoder and save you a lot of work.
I have not seen the Bachmann oem decoders for sale anywhere.
The factory sound decoder equipped Porter has an Exciter mounted to the cab making the cab itself the speaker.
Porter was a replacement for a Davenport I sent in for repairs. Haven't found any sound equipped Porters for sale so going to have to go with another sound decoder.
Do you know if the decoder can be swapped with a different one?
The factory decoder is hard wired into the porter. The extra wire is minimal, you can desolder the wires from the board but you will need a steady hand. Also the wires to the decoder are not color coded so you better refer to the instructions and then color code the wires as you remove them. From there get the smallest sound decoder you can.
I still think it would be cheaper to buy one with sound. Go to eBay and search on seller thefavoritespot they have some buy it now for the price of a decoder.
You can buy online direct from The Favorite Spot (http://www.thefavoritespot.com/)website. No need to go through eBay. Shop around for best pricing.
Already checked them out and they don't have any with sound.
Not good about the wires not being color coded.
My local hobby store has a club and they do DCC so maybe they can help if I can find a sound decoder.
Bachmann partners with SoundTraxx
Consider SoundTraxx
Part # 881001, ECO-100 Steam - Dimensions: 27 x 10.5 x 5mm
Part # 810112, Oval, 8 Ohm Speaker - 25mm x 14mm
I suggest you also consider using a sound exciter instead of the speaker.