Sound for Athearn 2-8-2

[Billm10454]

I bought a used Athearn 2-8-2. It has an 9 pin plug coming from the Loco. There is no board inside the tender. The plug is about a half inch wide. What sound decoder should I buy. I want to be able to control the loco and also have sound. Thanks.

[Yampa Bob]

Hi Bill
I'm not familiar with your setup, but will try to help. The 9 pin plug is a "JST" inline connector, can you tell us if the plug is male or female? It is probably female, ready to accept a plug in decoder with matching male connector, but will require an extension harness to locate the decoder in the tender.

Male to female JST extension harnesses are not readily available, but can be made using a male JST connector available from Litchfield.

http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=999002794&cat=76&page=2

Soundtraxx Tsunami sound decoders (standard 1000 series) are supplied with JST connectors (connected male and female) hidden under the heat shrink at the decoder, with loose wires for hard wiring in the female part. By soldering a male JST to the wire ends, you would then have the necessary extension to reach the tender.

I hope this helps. Please let us know if the above procedure is not correct for your loco, or if you need more information.

Good luck

[richG]

I would use a Tsunami decoder because I am familiar with them. Cut back the yellow shrink a little to expose the 9 pin JST connector that mates up with the connector on the loco. I guess there is a hole at the front of the tender for the wires. Below is a link to a couple of photos of the Athearn Genesis set up. There are many possibilities for speakers but I am not familiar with the tenders.

http://www.loystoys.com/install/install-genesis-462.html

Click on the two small pictures. I figure you plug a decoder in and the tender shell fits over the top of the wires with a little notch for the wires in the shell.. The wires look just long enough to connect the the decoder with the draw bar from the loco to tender.

My Roundhouse steamers use a similar arraignment but a connector smaller than the 9 pin JST connector.

From what I can see, The Genesis steam engine design is more for DCC power and lighting only, not sound. You have to use some ingenuity to install a speaker.

Rich

[Yampa Bob]

The dummy male plug has jumpers so the loco can be run on DC without a decoder.  If the dummy is still on your loco, unplug it and connect the  new male after you solder it onto the decoder wires.

Use a tiny screwdriver to gently pry off the dummy plug, don't pull on the wires as they are fragile and easily broken.

[Billm10454]

Here is a link to my photo bucket with pictures of the connector.
http://photobucket.com/Billm
Just click on My Albums