LOKSOUND decoders


Y

yard master

Member
I started to fool around w/my Kato sd40-2 last night,nice loco but the sound they put in it is more like a jet plane then a train (my opinon only). After looking on net I found manuel and was able to turn diesel volume down. Then I see my headlight is flashing ok no biggie I took care of that,I started to run the loco and was pleased w/ what I had done when the loco stalled over turnout & when it restarted NO SOUND? I pressed the #8 key (nce power cab) and the muted sound started again. Here is where the issue is now my horn is different LOKSOUND has what they call "prime movers" 0-4 which have up 15 different horn sounds to them after reading I though I understood that the horn CV was 48 + the # of the horn selected 1-15? I picked one liked it and again started to run train....again stall now my horn is like a fog horn of a switcher. If I take it off the track (loco that is) put it back on while holding the enter botton down it goes back to what I had , but not the same horn? I know very long winded,but can someone PLEASE GIVE ME SOME HELP W/THIS DARN LOCSOUND DECODER??????? AND EXPLAIN THIS PRIME MOVER THING AND HOW I NEED TO USE IT TO ACCESS ALL MY HORN FUNCTIONS .


Jay
 
Function8 is startup and shutdown of everything except the horn and bell.
When you go through the list of prime movers, horns, and brake squeals, add up all the numbers that are next to the ones you want, and enter that value in to cv 48. After you do that, make sure you remove the engine from the rails for about ten seconds so it will save your preferences.
 
I see that but now i am getting no sound even pressing #8 key....except random sound every few secounds? I added up all the values it does not change anything......GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
 
You may be another one of those people who effects digital programming negatively. I can't program the clock on my oven without having my garage door open and close when I use the water dispenser on the fridge.
I have to rely on other people to provide the correct numbers then just duplicate their solutions.
 
Look up the decoder full factory reset function and start there, when you get this far into the mud you need to back up and not mash the gas looking for a different line forward.
The ticking is probably that air system bleed tick sound it can be set to make when the engine is stopped.
 
Ken I take offensive to your statement!! I am not bashing DCC at all , I think its great , some people (me) learn at a slower rate then others or not as "smart" as others I AM JUST AS GOD MADE ME! I was just trying to get some help her , guess I went to the wrong place? I wont bother people w/my train issues here any longer
 
I think Ken was just commiserating with you, hate to tell you how many times I've done resets to get out of a mess. And when some device say's it's "smart", I cringe 'cause I know that it's gonna be much smarter than me.
 
then Ken I AM SORRY! and please forgive me? I think part of the issues was me trying to program on main instead of program track? I know now can change horn sound and...ect and the writen stuff seems more clearer ok well less muddy..LOL Really this stuff is fun wish my learning curve was not so steep....thank god 4 factory reset
 
Yard master, it is a good thing rest does not wear out or I would have worn my first 2 decoders out.
I am with toot. Ken was not bashing you at all. He was talking about himself. I for one am just like him. I don't wear a watch because I can't set one.
My wife has to set the bedroom clock cause I can't seem to get it right.
Glad to hear you are making progress.
 
Todays high tech devices are very sensitive to voltage spikes. These can easily happen if the engine stutters over dirty track, shorts out on a turnout or even when placing the engine on the rails. These voltage spikes can scramble memory settings. I remember even older decoders randomly taking off at full speed from a voltage spike.

I understand these occurrences are sometimes unavoidable, but it is important to minimize them as much as possible. Make sure your track and wheels are as clean as you can keep them. If you engine keeps derailing on a particular turnout - figure out why, and fix it. I also got in the habit many years ago, when placing an engine on the rails, I shut off the track power until I am sure all the wheels are properly on the rails, then turn the power back on. Fidgeting with the trucks to get them on the rails can create many power on / off cycles to the decoder until the wheels make permanent contact. I've had power flashes like that in my house that has destroyed a computer .... your decoders are no different.

An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure, as my Dad always used to say ....

Mark.
 
I have figured it out?? once LOKSOUND decoders have way more functions then some others I have used. Needing to go to CV 32 & make sure its set to volume,sound,speed, first was confusing. Then using CV 48 and adding horn # + prime mover + bell speed+ breaksqueal #s as one number was difficult BUT I THINK I GOT IT??? THANK 2 ALL 4 THE HELP

Jay
 
About the only things that are common to the various brands of decoders are the few that are stipulated by the NMRA, and that they must all do those things with any system. Outside of that it's open slather. Is why you need the manuals for each brand and/or type. A bit like the new microwave we had to buy the day before Christmas. Same brand, but they reversed the positions of the stop and start buttons (now of course also touch pads) on the control panel. Highly bl&&%y annoying.
 
if youve ever done computer programming, you will know the YAHOO and the YAAAAHH!!! like I have...in the end, you'll get....YAHOO!! I never knew about the remove engine from track thing, but just kill the track power, not all decoders are like that, usually the memory is permanant right away, perhaps they are doing some small RAM or something.
 
Every time a decoder first receives power from the rails, it goes through a checksum process. This process is kind of like the boot process of your computer where it checks for everything that is configured is loaded properly. If this process is interrupted midway, it can cause things to get scrambled.

That's why sometimes (if you have DC enabled) you will get a runaway during a short power burst. The decoder misses the checksum aspect during the interruption that it is supposed to see a DCC packet and instead thinks its supposed to see DC voltage and takes off at full speed based on the full track voltage.

These decoders are sensitive devices and should be treated as such.

Mark.
 
yard master said:
then Ken I AM SORRY! and please forgive me? I think part of the issues was me trying to program on main instead of program track? I know now can change horn sound and...ect and the writen stuff seems more clearer ok well less muddy..LOL Really this stuff is fun wish my learning curve was not so steep....thank god 4 factory reset
Click to expand...

No offense taken. Digital anything can be frustrating when we don't clearly understand the basics.
 
If your LokSound decoder can accept a power saver module -- I really like those things. All the locos with it NEVER stall or reset even on dirty track. I'm slowly converting the whole fleet. The trick is finding the room for one. If you pick a loco up off the track it keeps running for a few seconds!

I think LokSound makes some fine decoders and it will be great once I have standardized everything to that brand. I got tired of remembering the nuances of all the other brands and some were poor choices to begin with.
 
I've installed numerous ESU and TCS stay-alive modules on Loksound decoders with good results.

Mark.
 
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