I installed a Loksound Select decoder today in an Intermountain F3A locomotive. I bought the decoder from Intermountain to replace a non-sound decoder that I previously installed. The loco runs smoothly and all of the light functions work, but I am having no end of problems with the sound. I am not even sure where to start.
One issue is the volume. Try as I may, I cannot raise the volume of the prime mover, the bell, or the horn. It is not very loud.
Another issue is that when I press the horn function, the horn sounds for a few seconds, then there is a complete loss of sound although the loco continues to move.
I will stop there for the moment. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Rich
Alton Junction
Rich:
I'm assuming you have done a reset, yes? If so, and the problems persist, you might have a bad decoder.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter Rich: I'm assuming you have done a reset, yes? If so, and the problems persist, you might have a bad decoder. Dave
Rich - I don't remember .... do you have a Lokprogrammer ?
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Mark R. Rich - I don't remember .... do you have a Lokprogrammer ? Mark.
This doesn't happen to be a Select Micro, does it?
My thought was (if you had a programmer) was to try loading a different file. Could be a corrupt file.
Another thought .... that speaker you used has a fair bit of flex to the cone. Its movement isn't impaired in any way, is it ? The cone WILL move further forward than the rim of the speaker.
maxman This doesn't happen to be a Select Micro, does it?
It's not .... but what would that have to do with it ?
As far as volume, it's also possible that the speaker is bad, or the baffle enclosure is not creating a tight seal around the speaker.
I believe I had a bad speaker one time with a Loksound decoder. Do you have another 8ohm speaker you can test with that, Rich?
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Mark R. My thought was (if you had a programmer) was to try loading a different file. Could be a corrupt file. Another thought .... that speaker you used has a fair bit of flex to the cone. Its movement isn't impaired in any way, is it ? The cone WILL move further forward than the rim of the speaker. Mark.
tstage As far as volume, it's also possible that the speaker is bad, or the housing is not creating a tight seal around the speaker. I believe I had a bad speaker one time with a Loksound decoder. Do you have another 8ohm speaker you can test with that, Rich? Tom
As far as volume, it's also possible that the speaker is bad, or the housing is not creating a tight seal around the speaker.
I get the sense that the sounding of the horn is causing a momentary short. When I sound the horn, it cuts out all sound after a moment, but the loco keeps moving and the lights stay lit.
I am puzzled by the fact that the bell sounds great but the horn is barely audible.
Does the bell sound project through the speaker, or does it somehow project right off the decoder?
Rich,
Pretty sure the bell sound comes out the speaker, too.
The tech mentioning getting a good seal is important.
But the earlier comment by Mark about the speaker needing clearance in front may also apply.
Usually, if the speaker sits on the floor or the bottom of the fuel tank to fire through holes in the floor, then you'll need a ring to raise the speaker so it's off the floor and can be seated so it seals. In other words, you often need some sort of spacer underneath the speaker and it's enclosure so when the front of the speaker is at higher volumes it won't touch the floor. This often results in symptoms like yours.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I started a thread earlier today with some photos of the installation.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/p/253035/2825887.aspx#2825887
The speaker sits in a specially designed baffle which is secured in place.
Mark R. maxman This doesn't happen to be a Select Micro, does it? It's not .... but what would that have to do with it ? Mark.
Because we were trying to load some sounds to two Select Micro decoders last week and were unsuccessful. The symptoms were similar in that the lights worked okay and the loco moved. The only sound we could get out of the decoder was a single chirp when the horn sounded.
We called Loksound and were told that there had been a batch of Select Micros that had gotten out that were defective. We are waiting for the replacements.
That's what it has to do with it and was the reason why I asked.
When I spoke to the technician at Intermountain today, I mentioned the problem with the horn. He seemed unfamiliar with the problem. That would be interesting if this decoder is part of a bad batch.
maxman Mark R. maxman This doesn't happen to be a Select Micro, does it? It's not .... but what would that have to do with it ? Mark. Because we were trying to load some sounds to two Select Micro decoders last week and were unsuccessful. The symptoms were similar in that the lights worked okay and the loco moved. The only sound we could get out of the decoder was a single chirp when the horn sounded. We called Loksound and were told that there had been a batch of Select Micros that had gotten out that were defective. We are waiting for the replacements. That's what it has to do with it and was the reason why I asked.
Fair enough - I only knew it wasn't by the other post showing his installation. By the way, I had six of those bad batch Micros myself last month ! The good folks at ESU promptly replaced them.
richhotrain When I spoke to the technician at Intermountain today, I mentioned the problem with the horn. He seemed unfamiliar with the problem. That would be interesting if this decoder is part of a bad batch. Rich
That problem was only with the Select Micro decoders. The wrong (earlier version) software was loaded onto the decoder that later version sound files wouldn't work properly with.
Think it is a bad decoder or a bad speaker?
Further to Mark R's comments about the speaker not having enough space for the cone to move properly, I noticed that you showed a picture in your other thread of the speaker mounting ring removed from the locomotive. Did you install the speaker and enclosure without the speaker mount? If so, your speaker cone might be doing exactly what Mark suggested. I'm totally speculating here, but is there a possibility that, if the speaker cone is trapped, the decoder is somehow reacting to the inability of the speaker cone to move through its full range by shutting down the sound?
Is the tan "dome" on the right the speaker enclosure?
If so, does the speaker point up or down inside it? (In other words, as shown or flipped upside down?)
The speaker enclosures that I bought for my Loksound decoders in the past were always cylindrical, ~3/4" deep, and the rear of the speaker snapped into it for an airtight fit.
hon30critter Rich: Further to Mark R's comments about the speaker not having enough space for the cone to move properly, I noticed that you showed a picture in your other thread of the speaker mounting ring removed from the locomotive. Did you install the speaker and enclosure without the speaker mount? If so, your speaker cone might be doing exactly what Mark suggested. I'm totally speculating here, but is there a possibility that, if the speaker cone is trapped, the decoder is somehow reacting to the inability of the speaker cone to move through its full range by shutting down the sound? Dave
tstage Rich, Is the tan "dome" on the right the speaker enclosure? If so, does the speaker point up or down inside it? (In other words, as shown or flipped upside down?) The speaker enclosures that I bought for my Loksound decoders in the past were always cylindrical, ~3/4" deep, and the rear of the speaker snapped into it for an airtight fit. Tom
Tom, you mentioned that the speaker in your installation snapped into the enclosure. That does not happen here. I may try to call the technician again tomorrow to discuss this.
tstage Do you have another 8ohm speaker you can test with that, Rich?
Do you have another 8ohm speaker you can test with that, Rich?
The LokSound decoder is designed to use 100 ohm speakers instead of the 8 ohm speakers. No capacitor is used between the decoder and the speaker which saves some space. Using a higher impedance speaker, less current is needed to drive the speaker. Less capacitance is needed meaning a smaller decoder.
I knew that was true for the older Loksound sound decoders (V3.5/2.0) but thought I read that the newer ones could use the 8ohm speakers, like TCS & Soundtraxx.
[Edit: Rich, 4ohm is actually listed for the Loksound Select decoder;same for the Loksound Silect Direct. If you're using a 100ohm speaker then that may be part of the problem.]
I found the following blurb on speakers on the ESU site:
"LokSound V4.0, LokSound micro V4.0 and LokSound V4.0 M4 decoders need the new speaker with an impendance of 4 Ohms. With the present 100 Ohms loudspeakers you would hardly hear anything." [Underscored by me]
While the Select decoder is not directly mentioned, per say, I'm guessing it's the same as the V4.0 decoders.
Maybe the problem?
Tom, thanks for that info. I actually cannot say for sure how many ohms are associated with the speaker that was sent to me from Intermountain. I was just going on the assumption that it was 100 ohms, as stated on the Intermountain web site. Is there a simple way to determine the ohms on a speaker?
Do you have a multimeter handy?
How to measure speaker impedence