What to Buy? LM3 or LM3S

[Coupe633]

I am about to jump into Railpro head first and have a question that I have not seen answered anywhere. It may seem elementary but I am currently all DC and decided to go with RailPro rather than any DCC system. I have a number of older Atlas locos (Yellow Box Roco motors) that I plan to add speakers and it would seem obvious to me that the LM3S (sound) module would be the right choice to purchase for those locos. I also have a number of newer Broadway Limited Blueline and Paragon locomotives that already have speakers and sound. It would seem logical to me that I would want to go with LM3 modules since these locomotives already have sound boards in them. Would this be the correct purchase for me or am I missing something crucial here. I am asking these simple questions because I have not been able to find any information on this topic anywhere in the user group. Thanks for your input.

[CPRail]

Hello and Welcome to the world of RailPro!

I too was all DC and chose RailPro. If you want sound, you'll need a LM-3S regardless. You cannot use the sounds that are currently on your sound equipped locos, but you can reuse the speakers. You'll need to load the required sounds onto your LM-3S module using the RailPro Assitant. The new ULT sound files are fantastic.

I personally don't have any Broadway Ltd locos, but I'm sure someone on the group has done a conversion and can help you further.

Don't be afraid to ask any questions - there is a TON of knowledge in this group!!

[KPack]

Like Ian said, you need LM-3S if you are doing sound.  You cannot use any existing sound decoders in locomotives.  Keep the factory speakers if you like.

I have one Broadway Limited SD40-2 that I installed Railpro in.  If I remember right it took a bit of work.  I think I had to grind off the mounting tabs for the factory decoder on the frame weight.  I ended up removing the factory speaker enclosure and using something else instead.  It was one of my earliest installs and is a bit of a mess inside the shell. 

-Kevin

[Coupe633]

Thank you so much for the clarification on the LM3S. The LM3 & LM3S are independent of any digital equipment already installed on a locomotive and the LM3 cannot drive a sound decoder of another brand? I do wish that Ring Engineering would make this clear on their site and published articles but alas I have my answer. It makes sense to keep the speakers as they are analog and will work with what ever is connected to them. I am sure that I will have more questions on installation and should be able to find them on this forum. I'll be starting with the easy ones first but I am not afraid to use my soldering iron.

David