PS-2 upgrade question

The upgrade replaces all the electronics in the unit, including the sound board. The two systems are completely incompatible. You download a sound set from the MTH website into the unit once you finish the upgrade. You need to see if MTH has a sound set for a C30-7 and if so, listen to it and determine if the sound is satisfactory. If you need to keep your original sound set, there are a couple of different TMCC upgrade kits that use the original Proto 1 sound set. These are long discontinued and hard to find, as both manufacturers (TAS and Digital Dynamics) are out of business. 

I well-remember the C30 that Mike produced and it did indeed have a terrific horn!  At least it sounded fantastic back then compared to what was common at the time.

 

Here's the MTH Brochure for them

The upgrade kit is a complete replacement for the electronics. Step 1 is essentially to rip out everything except for the motors and pickup rollers. You rebuild from there. New lights, new speaker, new electronics, etc...

MTH has put out upgrade files for a large number of engines, you basically just pick the one closest to what you have and load that file. MTH doesnt seem to have a C30-7 file (probably because they havent made a premier version since), but there is an upgrade file for a U30C http://www.mthtrains.com/sites...___NS_081001aFIN.MTH  which is essentially the same thing.

The U30C PS2 soundset is one of the better ones I've heard. With the same really deep, really loud horn as the C30-7 came with. I think you will find that going from PS1 to PS2 is a night and day difference in sound quality.

If you join the MTH RR Club, you can get the PS/2 upgrades for $150, best price going.

thanks for all the info guys!

The TMCC kits that were offered to keep the Proto-1 sound boards have all been discontinued.