DCC Decoder or Sound Decoder is there a difference?

[NWP SWP]

Are DCC decoders and sound decoders separate entities or one in the same? Also where would I find the wire connectors for an Intermountain AC-12? The ones that go on the wires between tender and locomotive.

[gmpullman]

Hi, Steven

 There are at least three groups of DCC decoders,

Mobile decoders, stationary decoders and function only decoders.

Of the mobile decoders there are sound and non-sound or silent. They have motor control and any number of outputs that can be used for lights, smoke units or, in some cases uncouplers, etc. (within the current rating of the output).

Stationary decoders can read a DCC signal and perform other functions as turn on or off building lights, trigger sound modules or signals or throw switch machines. Some recent switch machines come with a decoder built in.

Function only decoders can be used along with mobile decoders or by themselves, to add extra lighting functions. Soundtraxx has a function only sound decoder, the Sound Car which can add sound and lighting functions to a freight or passenger car.

Broadway limited used to have a sound decoder with out a motor decoder. It was called BlueLine and due to programming headaches, wasn't very popular. You still needed to add a motor mobile decoder to it.

This site answers some basic DCC questions:

 

http://www.dccwiki.com/Decoder

 

 

NWP SWP

Also where would I find the wire connectors for an Intermountain AC-12?

Contact Intermountain. They are very cooperative about supplying spare parts. Tell them about your auxiliary tender project. They may have some help for you.

https://www.intermountain-railway.com/ho/ho.htm

 I read part of what you are planning to do with an auxiliary tender but I'm not sure why you would need another decoder for the aux. tender? Normally the locomotive's tender will stay with the engine. The auxiliary could more easily be taken off if necessary. You can power the back-up light on the auxiliary tender with a simple 2 wire plug off the back of the existing tender.

Good Luck, Ed

[NWP SWP]

Actually the decoder question is for another project I'm planning. (A 6 cylinder articulated 4-8-8-4T with a tender and auxiliary tender. I was going to use the two decoders both set for a three cylinder locomotive that way you get the impression of an articulated. And one having all the other sounds programmed and the other having just the chuffing.) I thought about the two wire route but I found a few problems: 1 if I simply splice the socket for the auxiliary tender into the main tender light wires the main tenders lights will come on as well as the auxiliarys, 2 I don't want to program a separate function for the auxiliary tender, 3 I would have to put couplers on the auxiliary tender and if I stop on a decoupler uh oh.

To help clarify I'll explain it this way.

The locomotive is A it's DCC equipped tender is B and the auxiliary DC tender is C. The wire socket is 1, the wire plug is 2, and the drawbar is 3, the drawbar pin is 4.

Locomotive A is placed on the track and the tender C is placed behind it, plug C2 is placed into socket A1, drawbar A3 is attached to pin C4, then tender B is placed behind tender C, plug B2 is placed into socket C1, and drawbar C3 is hooked on B4. Plug C2 is connected by wires to socket C1. Tender C must be insulated via the removal of its pickups.

[wjstix]

You wouldn't need two sound decoders to do what you want to do. Just use one sound decoder, and set it to make six 'chuffs' per revolution.

Many steam sound decoders have an option for "articulated" sound where the front and rear cylinder's 'chuff' is out of synch, or go in and out of synch as the engine runs...assuming your engine will be a simple articulated (i.e. each set of drivers gets steam directly from the boiler. Otherwise, you'd just have six chuffs per revolution. Remember it's the steam exhausting the stack making the "chuff" sound, regardless of which cylinder it's coming out of.)

[Overmod]

He'd still be better off with the equivalent of a six-chuff cam PER ENGINE (you forgot both engines are DA) for two reasons.

First, the engines will only circumstantially come into phase when running.

Second, I expect the exhaust tracting to be of different length and characteristic, so his 'double licks' might be subtly different in alternating tone... perhaps best approximated with two syntheses made subtly different in timbre or effective duration?

I am still waiting for true sound replication of cutoff linked to speed and drawbar effort.  (Of course I'm also still waiting for scale reverser operation, something at least 70 years overdue, and not that difficult in principle.  And an end to slotted-head 'rod pins' too, to be curmudgeonly)

[rrinker]

 People have added servos in the loco for actual reverse option a long time ago - of course it was an O scale model. It was in MR way back when, an O scale Northern, with servos to operate the valve gear as well as move the bell and do other things. With modern micro servos (heck they have an RC plane 'kit' which you make a paper airplane and attach the RC gear to) it should be doable in HO. Don't think N scale yet.

                          --Randy