MTH Proto Sound Upgrade

IMO, I think it depends whether or not you can find the same type of item ( a remake) with PS2/3 already installed for little more money. How much to upgrade vs buying a newer one. On the other hand, if you really love that loco and want to upgrade it, GO FOR IT!!

I agree with Penn-Pacific. If a newer PS2/PS3 model is available, and you like it as well as your PS1 version, it might be cheaper to go with that one instead of upgrading. If those are not available and/or you like the engines you have and want to keep them, then by all means go for the upgrade. If you really like the engine and just want to keep it, then the upgrade is certainly worth it at any price. Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about it as long as you are happy with it. 

If you can do the upgrades yourself, joining the MTH Rail Road Club will save you a few bucks on the upgrade kits. They may be in short supply right now and not sure about diesel kit availability. If you can't or don't want to do the upgrades yourself, then contact forum members GGG or gunrunnerjohn about doing them for you. They are very good and also very reasonable.

I agree with the other two guys if you really like the locomotive go for it and do the upgrade your self and enjoy doing it, remember it's your hobby why not enjoy making the upgrade,and just ask the experts when your done the wiring upgrade and ask the repair tech's how to verify you wired everything right. ounce you power it  up and the wired something wrong you may fry the boards, be careful and take your time. I'm presently getting ready to upgrade 3 big boy o gauge engines 2 for ps 2 3 volt upgrade and one for ps3 upgrade when the kit finally shows up. I've been into electronics's my whole life and always enjoy electronics.

It will always mean more to you if YOU did the mod yourself! good luck, remember you have many forum members here very Igor  to help you in any way they can!

Alan

That's the RK version of the Genesis, so I'd probably not spend the money to upgrade that one.  I upgraded one of those to TMCC, but then pulled it out to use the boards in a scale Premier Genesis, much better detail and also scale size.

FWIW, I picked up my Premier Genesis for $135 at York in the spring, and sold the PS/1 boards for $60 in a flash.  For $75 I had a nice well detailed locomotive with smoke, markers, ditch lights, and lighted number boards.  That one was worth upgrading.

See that's my thing. I like the sounds on this engine because they are correct for the real P40's. Also the PFA announcements are for the Sunset Limited. 
But the PS1 has been giving my trouble as of late. It won't run hardly at all now and the sounds are always distorted. I checked the battery and that was not the issue. While this is the railking version and I do mostly scale stuff I do want to try something as this was my first Amtrak set I got starting O-scale. 
So i'm stuck. do I just leave it? Do I put PS2 or 3 in it? Should I put TMCC in it?

One possibility is seeing if you can get hold of a Digital Dynamics Equalizer board.

The company that made them (Digital Dynamics) is not in business anymore but somebody may have one if you post a request on the Wanted to Buy board. It wont fix the sound problem completely, but it did enable users to run their PS1's in command mode (via TMCC, these boards came out before DCS was released..) and still keep the original PFA sounds.

It's a long shot, but it never hurts to ask.

I would give more detail in the problem and what it is doing as it could be a battery issue. If you still have the white battery, toss that right in the garbage. The best way to test is with a new 9volt and see how it runs and sounds

The PS-1 boards can be repairable.  It is probably one or the other that has a fault.  So if your comfortable removing the electronics, they can be shipped separately.  Or send the whole engine.

Good new battery, maybe a corroded harness are easy things for you to look at.  After that, the insulated regulator may be bad, or you have a bad trace or cap on the bottom board.

The one thing about PS-1 engine is they were made in Korea for the most part and the quality of the engine seem much better to me.  Thicker metal, more attention to construction, etc....

It is really a personal thing on upgrades.  Some folks want there original trains to continue on, others have concerns with price point, and the list goes on.

What seems more unique is MTH had some models and road names other don't, and sometimes that drives the decision also.  

SO in your case I would try to fix it first.  It really is the only way to keep the PS-1 specific sounds.   G

The worst case scenario for the PS/1 repairs is to move your sound chip to a new set of boards.  The PS/1 board sets can be had fairly inexpensively, I see them routinely in the $40-60 range.  That would be the easiest and cheapest fix, and you'd retain the sounds.