Dapol Class 221 Virgin Super Voyager DCC Sound Installation

Mistakes may damage your locomotive, controller or other accessories. Use a multimeter to make absolutely sure you have completely isolated the motor from the track before testing. Always use the Programming Track for testing. Our guides are provided for reference only, and you proceed entirely at your own risk. Unsure about something - try our DCC Conversion Service instead.

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This guide shows how to install DCC sound into the Dapol N Gauge Class 221 'Super Voyager' models, including:

• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221109 'Marco Polo' in Virgin Trains Red (ND073A)
• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221110 'James Cook' in Virgin Trains Red (ND073B)
• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221130 'Michael Palin' in Virgin Trains Red (ND073C)
• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221144 'Prince Madoc' in Virgin Trains Red (ND073D)
• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221122 'Doctor Who' in Virgin Trains Red (ND073F)
• Dapol Class 221 DMU 221120 in Cross Country Trains Silver & Red (ND087A)
• Dapol Class 221 DMU 221135 in Cross Country Trains Silver & Red (ND087B)
• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221108 'Sir Ernest Shackleton' in Virgin Trains Original Livery (2D-023-001)
• Dapol Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU 221101 '101 Squadron' in Virgin Trains 'Flowing Silk' Livery (2D-023-002)
• Dapol Class 221 DMU 221136 in Cross Country Trains Silver & Red (2D-023-003)
• Dapol Class 221 DMU 221101 in Avanti West Coast White & Green (2D-023-004)
• Dapol Class 221 DMU 221115 in Avanti West Coast Interim Livery Grey & Red (2D-023-004)

For the best effect, fit a decoder and speaker into both end cars, plus the motorized centre car. This guide shows how to replace the stock 6-pin decoder socket for a more modern Next18 socket. For the guide that uses the existing 6-pin socket, see Dapol Class 221 Avanti Sound Conversion Guide.

Step 1 - Remove Body

Remove the body by gently prising the body away from the chassis just underneath the driver's cab door. The other end should unclip easily after this. Unclip the lighting wire from the socket, and put to one side.

Step 2 - Remove Existing PCB

Remove the 6-pin socket PCB by removing the two small screws. This makes room for the larger sound decoder and speaker. Desolder the red and black track pickup wires from the chassis tabs.

Step 3 - Fit Next18 Socket

In this conversion we will fit a new Next18 socket. Solder the speaker brown wires to the PCB, along with wires for track pickups (red/black), lighting common (blue) and directional lights (white/yellow). Fix the PCB and speaker to the underfloor plastic using glue or black tack.

Either re-use the lighting socket from the original PCB, or solder a new one to the Next18 PCB. They are a standard size available from E-bay or our website. Ensure the blue, yellow and white wires correspond with the original lighting socket. Solder a 1K Ohm resistor inline on the blue wire. Failure to do this may cause the LEDs to be damaged.

Step 4 - Connect Track Power

Solder the red and black wires to the chassis tabs.

Step 5 - Fit Decoder

Fit your Next18 decoder into the socket, there is plenty of room for an ESU LokSound 5 Micro.

Step 6 - Refit Body

Connect the lighting wire from the body to the socket, and clip the body back onto the chassis. Place the model on your programming track, and check that the directional lights and sound functions all work as expected.

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