If I'm running along at a mid-to-high throttle setting, and then quickly throttle down, there is a long delay before the sound (rpm) of the prime mover begins to spool down. Is this delay adjustable? (Loksound V5 XL with Alco 251B 6-cyl sound file.)
This is the fourth attempt to reply. I keep getting the dreaded 403 forbidden.
Do you have a programmer or using CVs?
Pete.
Hello Pete. I use the Lokprogrammer to do my programming. Thanks for the reply. -Dave.
Hi Dave.
In the sound slot setting tab. Prime mover sound slot. The lower slider adjust down a couple notches. It says minimum speed but it should work for your timing. It works for my version 5 decoders.
Hi Pete. Sorry for the long delay in my response. I appreciate your advice. I can't say that I understand what those min/max sound speed sliders really do - they are both at their defaults (in the center). Does "sound speed" refer to the rpms of the prime mover? In any case, I will certainly give it a shot the next time I have the programmer hooked up. Thank you! -Dave
woodsman If I'm running along at a mid-to-high throttle setting, and then quickly throttle down, there is a long delay before the sound (rpm) of the prime mover begins to spool down. Is this delay adjustable? (Loksound V5 XL with Alco 251B 6-cyl sound file.)uno online
If I'm running along at a mid-to-high throttle setting, and then quickly throttle down, there is a long delay before the sound (rpm) of the prime mover begins to spool down. Is this delay adjustable? (Loksound V5 XL with Alco 251B 6-cyl sound file.)uno online
If you want to adjust the delay of the prime mover sound, you can change the value of CV 124, which controls the startup delay. By default, this CV is set to 20 or 28, which means that the locomotive will only start moving after the prime mover has reached notch 1. You can disable this delay by setting CV 124 to 16, or reduce it by setting it to a lower value than 20 or 28.
Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure this is related to my problem as I described it above, but I'll play with it anyway.
I don't think adjusting Start Up Delay has anything to do with your problem.
Under Sound Settings in the Lokprogrammer, Heavy Loads and Coast Mode.
There is a setting Coast Mode Decrease sound acceleration. I have no idea what that really means, it looks like a non sequitur but it might decrease sound on deceleration.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Thanks Henry. With my current sound file, LokProgrammer does not show any Coast Mode or Heavy Mode settings in the Sound Settings menu.
woodsmanWith my current sound file, LokProgrammer does not show any Coast Mode or Heavy Mode settings in the Sound Settings menu.
You might need to download the latest version of Lokprogrammer.
Your question peaked my curriousity and I asked on the ESU Groups.io. So far the answers are addressing if a Loco of that vintage still needed the power for braking and cooling, so maybe it didn't really spool down. I'll keep you posted
I'm curious as to how much momentum you have programmed in to the CV 4 deceleration rate that you can turn down the throttle expecting the prime mover to 'spool down' while the train stays in motion? It must be pretty high?
Have you tried using the ESU Full Throttle F9 'drive hold' feature and dialed down the prime mover while it is active and the engine still in motion? How soon does the RPM sound take to go to idle? With drive hold active you should be able to run the prime mover through its entire RPM range without affecting motor speed.
Good Luck, Ed
There is a parallel discussion on the ESU Groups.IO Forum about Dynamic Sound Function.
ESU offers no explanation of this feature, at least for those of us who are confined to the English language.
" Dynamic Sound Control has been released for the first time, which enables a load-dependent sound using our Primary Load and Optional Load functionality. This feature is currently intended for LokSound users who are keen to experiment. We will provide further information very soon in the ESU forum."
Recognizing that what one reads in the forum, any forum, may be misinformation, what I have gleaned is that it requries the latest update to the lokprogrammer and firmware upgrade to the decoder. It is said to work with all sound packages.
It requires an "Auto Tune" -like procedure were CV 200 is set to 255 and with the loco on the track one presses F1. It then works off BEMF logic or Function keys 4 and 9. I'm afraid I can't do justice to the conversation over there and my layout is without power at the moment so I cannot experiment.
The Auto tune procedure is mentioned in the ESU Factory forum, not by ESU, but from someone who knows a guy who talked to an ESU rep. There is much more discussion in Groups.Io
Hi Henry,
I downloaded the most current version of Lokprogrammer just before I responded to you. The lack of those settings may be due to the sound file I'm using. I posted my question in the forum at the esu website, but received no replys (as of a couple of weeks ago - I gave up checking...).
Thanks for your reply!
Dave
Thanks for your reply, Ed. Momentum is set near the max, as is typical when using the Protothrottle. Having the prime mover spool down while the train remains in motion is exactly how a prototype loco behaves. I do not use 'drive hold' or its esu equivalent. Take care, Dave.
Moving the slider under the prime mover sound slot did nothing to help you with the spool down sound? That's strange because it works for all my version 5 diesel decoders.
Hi Pete,
I haven't been able to try it yet (or the other suggestions above) - it will be some time before I'm able to get back into it. I will post the results here when I do. -Dave
Finally had a chance to play with those sliders (min and max sound speed). While they have no affect on my "spool-down delay" problem, I do like what they do. If effect, they control the rpm of the sound at the lowest and highest throttle settings. The decoder then interpolates how the rpm of the sound reacts at all intermediate throttle settings. I used the 'min sound speed' slider to lower the idle rpm a bit, which I like for this old Alco sound file.
After playing with it today, I can better define my original problem: If I quickly increase the throttle to a high setting, and then quickly move the throttle back to idle, the rmp sound does not begin to spool- down until it has finished spooling-up to the high setting. This is not how a real loco reacts, but I may have to live with it. However, if I've been running at a high throttle setting for a while, there is no spool-down delay when the throttle is quickly reduced to idle, which is correct...
I'm pleased you have some of the issue settled. Now that you explained it, I understand what you are hearing. You may want to lower the momentum and deceleration a bit to see if it is better. I generally have mine lower and feather the throttle instead of lots of momentum.
Thanks, Pete. A lower momentum setting would make the 'spool-down delay' less of an issue. But, I'm pretty adicted to the Protothrottle, and to take advantage of its prototypical behavior, high momemtum and decel settings are needed. Oh well...;) -Dave.