I put a Soundtraxx DSD-101LC into my Bachmann Spectrum 2-10-2. All has gone fine except that when the whistle is blown, the engine stops. I know this is an out of date sound decoder, but is there a fix for it? Thanks in advance!
- Luke
Modeling the Southern Pacific in the 1960's-1980's
If the decoder and your layout are properly wired and there are no electrical shorts, the locomotive stopping when the whistle is blown is not related to the decoder's age or type -- something else is causing this, such as an improperly set CV.
The first thing to try is resetting the decoder to factory default values and see if this clears up the problem. DSD instructions say to program CV 30 to a value of 2. Place the locomotive on powered track and let it sit for 30 seconds. The headlight and backup light will flash while the decoder resets itself.
Still doesn't work...
I have not seen or heard of this before from anyone. (Not to say it hasn't ever happened before, but I have been in DCC since it first came out.)If you have the steam chugging sounds and the bell sounds with no problem, it would appear that the speaker installation is OK. Did the directions call for a capacitor in series with the speaker? Did you put it in? All of the older Soundtraxx decoders require one.
Make sure there are no pinched wires. It doesn't matter if they are insulated or not. The insulation on the wires is so thin that if you pinch them together they could short. The technical term for this is "Cold flow".If you really want to find the problem without guessing, you are going to have to take the decoder out and put it on a decoder tester to see if it is working correctly. You may be able to just hook it up to a motor without using the lights, and use clip leads to connect it to the track, and of course the speaker will have to be hooked up. If it works OK, then there is something wrong with your wiring, or something may be shorting or making contact where it's not supposed to when installed in the locomotive.There could be a problem with the locomotive too, although slim. I once had a Bachmann loco that was supposed to be DCC ready, but they had a small light board in the firebox that was not isolated from the frame, and that was causing me a problem until I removed it.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I did not install a capacitator. I've installed this same decoder in other engines without a problem.
New Haven I-5 I did not install a capacitator. I've installed this same decoder in other engines without a problem.
That doesn't mean that it is right. And with electronics, you have to be right, or things may go wrong.
Thanks for the advice!
There should be a coupling capacitor hooked between one of the decoder speaker wires and the speaker. (in series)
Luke.
Is this a hard wired or plug in decoder? If it is a plug in did you clip the caps off the Bachman light and motor board before you plugged in the decoder? Here is a link explaining the Bachman caps.
http://tcsdcc.com/public_html/Customer_Content/Technical_Info/Tech_Info/FAQPage.php?q=16
Bachman has been known to hide some caps on the motor itself.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Definitely you need to install the capacitor. The capacitor in the DSD-101LC is NOT a keep alive capacitor to keep it running over dirty spots, it's a blockign capacitor to keep frequencies too low for the speaker from getting to it. Preevneting distortion AND keepign the decoder from overheating. The sounds int he LC decoders are actually pretty good - it's their motor drive that is last century, usign low freqency PWM which can cause motors to hum and in some cases overwhelm the sounds. The sole DSD decoder I have is in a Stewart F7 B dummy, so the motor output is not used, just the sounds. I crammed in a BIG speaker and it sound pretty good, EMD transitions and all. Only the horn is weak, but the horn is weak in my Tsunami equipped FT as well, no matter how much I play around with reverb settings.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.