I figured out why the headlight won't come on. One of the wires has broken away from the connector plug between the locomotive and the tender. The decoder is in the tender. No amount of programming would solve that problem!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Hi rrebell,
I learned very quickly to pay attention to all those details. The very first kitchen that I was involved with turned out to be a disaster (I didn't design it but I had to approve the design and I didn't know diddley squat about anything). It was a nasty experience which I never wanted to go through again so I studied the intricacies of kitchen design very carefully. The kitchen renovations that I have been involved in since then have not suffered any serious problems. In fact, on a couple of occasions, I have had to explain to the designers and the installers how to do what I wanted them to do, and everything turned out fine.
hon30critter rrebell If you are getting someone else to do the kitchen install, yeah they can run those prices up. I did oner a few years ago for my neice, cabs cost only arround $5,000 as we went with a very nice one from China (their are very bad ones from there too). The counter top cost more than the cabinets and I did the install and most of the design. For designing make sure they have enough room for what they want, you would be surprised at how many cliets over the year tried to put in an island that just did not fit, also try to get usable corner cabs, some have very bad access Hi rrebell, After mulling over doing most of the work ourselves, we decided that wasn't an option. Cole is far too busy at work and they have a new baby so finding the time to work on the kitchen would be very difficult. The job would take forever. We have hired a custom cabinet maker and a general contractor to do almost all the work. They work together on a regular basis, and the numerous reviews of their work are extremely positive. Of course the cost has gone up exponentially, but we can afford it (Dianne and I are paying for the new kitchen). The money would otherwise simply be sitting in investments. We would rather see it put to good use now instead of Cole and Kaitlin having to wait 20+ years to inherit it. As far as kitchen design goes, I have done enough of it that I got offered a job by Home Depot when we were making some changes to our own kitchen a couple of years ago. I knew almost as much as their designer did. Cole and Kaitlin wanted an island but I talked them out of it. There simply wasn't enough room. Cheers!! Dave
rrebell If you are getting someone else to do the kitchen install, yeah they can run those prices up. I did oner a few years ago for my neice, cabs cost only arround $5,000 as we went with a very nice one from China (their are very bad ones from there too). The counter top cost more than the cabinets and I did the install and most of the design. For designing make sure they have enough room for what they want, you would be surprised at how many cliets over the year tried to put in an island that just did not fit, also try to get usable corner cabs, some have very bad access
After mulling over doing most of the work ourselves, we decided that wasn't an option. Cole is far too busy at work and they have a new baby so finding the time to work on the kitchen would be very difficult. The job would take forever.
We have hired a custom cabinet maker and a general contractor to do almost all the work. They work together on a regular basis, and the numerous reviews of their work are extremely positive.
Of course the cost has gone up exponentially, but we can afford it (Dianne and I are paying for the new kitchen). The money would otherwise simply be sitting in investments. We would rather see it put to good use now instead of Cole and Kaitlin having to wait 20+ years to inherit it.
As far as kitchen design goes, I have done enough of it that I got offered a job by Home Depot when we were making some changes to our own kitchen a couple of years ago. I knew almost as much as their designer did. Cole and Kaitlin wanted an island but I talked them out of it. There simply wasn't enough room.
Hi again ckape,
hon30critterIt is definitely a stereo file.
Wrong! It is a mono file.
I have the playback speed corrected but there are still a few problems:
1. When I play the sound files through the computer they are very loud, but when I play them using the locomotive speaker they are not loud enough to suit me. I am using a Scale Sound Systems square speaker 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm x 1.75 mm. The speaker sounds fantastic when a standard sound file is played through it.
2. The sound won't stop playing when I push F8 a second time.
3. The headlight won't come on even after I reset the decoder. I have tried both forward and reverse. Edit: I figured out the headlight problem. One of the wires has broken where it is soldered into the connector between the locomotive and the tender which is where the decoder is located. No amount of programming would have solved that!!
Hi ckape,
It is definitely a stereo file.
One of the members on the ESU forums may have answered the question. He suggested that the file may not be the proper bit size. I'll see if that solves the problem.
If it's twice the speed I'd wonder if it is somehow interpreting a mono file as stereo when it does the conversion for programming
I'm going nuts!!!
I have fine tuned the locomotive sound file. It sounds great, that is until I program it into the LokSound V5 decoder. The sound plays at twice the speed that it is supposed to.
I haven't got the slightest clue what is going wrong. I have posted a note on the ESU LokProgrammer forum. Hopefully someone can help me sort this out.
hon30critterAfter spending (read - wasting) a couple of hours scratching my head, I finally realized that I had the locomotive set in reverse!
Mike
Sorry about the long pause between posts. I have been too busy with other things.
I finally forced myself to have another go at programming the snow train sounds into one of the locomotives. I had reported earlier that the sound files weren't working with the new Scale Sound Systems speakers. They sounded horrible. I discovered that it was the sound files that were corrupted. The LokProgrammer was playing the sounds at twice the proper speed. I ended up having to uninstall and reinstall the LokProgrammer software and the problem went away. The speakers are quite impressive when you feed the correct sound into them!
I still have a bunch of other programming problems so I will have to re-read the notes I was sent by Peter Ross in New Zealand last spring.
I also replaced the headlight LED. The original was a dud. I had a heck of a time getting it to work. If I applied power directly it would come on, but when I tried to turn it on using the decoder it wouldn't light. After spending (read - wasting) a couple of hours scratching my head, I finally realized that I had the locomotive set in reverse! The headlight works fine.
Cheeers!!
rrebellIf you are getting someone else to do the kitchen install, yeah they can run those prices up. I did oner a few years ago for my neice, cabs cost only arround $5,000 as we went with a very nice one from China (their are very bad ones from there too). The counter top cost more than the cabinets and I did the install and most of the design. For designing make sure they have enough room for what they want, you would be surprised at how many cliets over the year tried to put in an island that just did not fit, also try to get usable corner cabs, some have very bad access
hon30critter I'm going to take a little break from the snow train project so I can concentrate on a couple of other things that are going on in my life. On the positive side I have been spending hours on my son and daughter-in-law's new kitchen. We are at the point where we have to make a myriad of decisions about all the little details, and we have to finalize some big decisions as well. I am enjoying helping them make those choices but I am spending several hours almost every day do the research and find examples for them to consider. On the negative side, the cost of the kitchen has far exceeded our original budget. We were rather naive when we first set out what we thought we could do the kitchen for. To add to my stress, my recent knee replacement has gone sour and I am once again feeling a great deal of pain in my right knee. This has put me into a bit of a slump mentally to the point where, when I sit down at my workbench, I just don't feel like doing anything. It is also preventing me from working on the garage improvements or constructing the benchwork for the yard. I am really unhappy about that. We are also waiting for an inheritance. It is being held up by the Canada Revenue Agency. It is a sizable amount of money and the longer the CRA delays the process, the more stressed I become. I will resume the snow train project once the other things have settled and I have been able to calm down a bit. I apologise if my sabatical will disappoint anyone. Cheers!! Dave
I'm going to take a little break from the snow train project so I can concentrate on a couple of other things that are going on in my life.
On the positive side I have been spending hours on my son and daughter-in-law's new kitchen. We are at the point where we have to make a myriad of decisions about all the little details, and we have to finalize some big decisions as well. I am enjoying helping them make those choices but I am spending several hours almost every day do the research and find examples for them to consider.
On the negative side, the cost of the kitchen has far exceeded our original budget. We were rather naive when we first set out what we thought we could do the kitchen for.
To add to my stress, my recent knee replacement has gone sour and I am once again feeling a great deal of pain in my right knee. This has put me into a bit of a slump mentally to the point where, when I sit down at my workbench, I just don't feel like doing anything. It is also preventing me from working on the garage improvements or constructing the benchwork for the yard. I am really unhappy about that.
We are also waiting for an inheritance. It is being held up by the Canada Revenue Agency. It is a sizable amount of money and the longer the CRA delays the process, the more stressed I become.
I will resume the snow train project once the other things have settled and I have been able to calm down a bit.
I apologise if my sabatical will disappoint anyone.
I had some spare time tonight so I went to work on the headlight problem. As Mark P. suggested, the LED was burned out.
Replacing the LED required a bit of surgery. The LED is buried in the back of the smoke box behind part of the weight. I was able to remove just enough of the weight to get the LED, and the circuit board it is mounted on, out to the front of the smoke box. Somebody at the factory must have made a mistake because there was actually some slack in the wiring!
I clipped off the old leads just below the LED. It will be easy to solder the new LED to the old leads. I still have to figure out polarity and what resistor to use.
The new LED is a warm white 0402, and it will fit right into the back of the headlight now that the light pipe is gone. Bonus!
York1The kitchen issues are not important
Hi John,
Actually our son's kitchen is probably the most important thing happening in my life right now. Certain parts of it have been stressful but overall I'm really enjoying it. I look forward to sitting down each night and doing research to help them make decisions. I'm also enjoying addressing all the little details so that there hopefully won't be too many surprises once the kitchen is done.
tstageI don't know if you already do this, Dave. Use the barrel of your soldering iron for shrinking heat shrink:
Hi Tom,
I have never thought about doing that. It's a good idea. Thanks.
I replaced the spoiled heat shrink tubing with Kapton tape. For the second decoder I used my paint srtipper heat gun at a moderate distance and it worked perfectly.
Dave, so sorry to hear of your health issues. The kitchen issues are not important -- take care of your health. Thinking of you.
York1 John
Do what you have to do, Dave.
A quick comment/recommendation on your earlier post below...
hon30critter I managed to destroy one piece of shrink wrap tubing that came uninstalled with the LokSound micro decoders. I tried to use a hot soldering iron and it came in contact with the tubing thanks to my shaky hands. It instantly created a large hole.
I don't know if you already do this, Dave. Use the barrel of your soldering iron for shrinking heat shrink:
It's not as hot as the tip but you can use it to physically make contact with the heat shrink without fear of melting a hole in it. Just keep the barrel moving back 'n forth over the heat shrink- shaky hands and all.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
No worries Dave. Take care of yourself physically and mentally. The trains will come when it's time. We'll be here to cheer you on when it happens.
Wishing you well.
Those of you who have been following this thread will know that it has very much been a case of 'one step forward, two steps back'.
Well, here we go again. I finally got the LokProgrammer issue sorted out and that allowed me to load my custom snow plow train sound files into the new decoder. I am using a Scale Sound Systems speaker and, based on how it sounded in the decoder test using the generic sounds that LokSound decoders come with, I though my custom sound files would sound fantastic! NOT!! The speakers play exactly what is fed into them. My sound files, which had sounded reasonably good with the first speaker, now sounded horrible. Where the poor quality of the original speaker hid most of the defects, the SSS speaker makes them loud and clear!
The files will require a lot of work to get the volume, treble and bass correct. That's going to take some time. I'm basically back to square one. I'm actually not too upset. I'm learning a lot and its fun.
PruittMaybe the headlight is burned out?
Hi Mark,
I'm exploring that possibility as we speak. The problem is getting at the LED to test it. The headlight is mounted on the top of the smoke box and there is a light bar that runs down into the smoke box. The LED is located behind the smoke box and seeing the LED is easy. The front of the smoke box just pops off. However getting to the LED isn't easy at all. The LED is surrounded on three sides by the weight in the boiler. In order to get at the LED, the front of the locomotive has to come apart. I don't want to risk doing that. I am afraid that I will break something or I won't be able to get it back together properly.
I see two possible approaches. One is to ignore the original LED and just install a new one inside the smoke box directly below the headlight. I would use part of the light bar between the new LED and the headlight. I will have to find a route for the wires but I don't think that would be too difficult. There is a gap in the top of the boiler that runs all the way to the back plate on the firebox. I just have to figure out how to get the wires through the firebox and down to the wiring harness that connects the locomotive and the tender.
The second approach would be to remove part of the weight so that the original LED can be pulled out. The problem here is that the weight has to be cut/ground away while it is still in the locomotive and that will surely result in a locomotive full of metal filings. Somehow that seems risky to me.
I think I'll try the first approach.
hon30critterThat leaves two wires coming from the locomotive. Logic would suggest that those two wires would be for the headlight (there is no reverse light on the tender). I hooked up the blue and white wires from the decoder to the the two unidentified black wires but the headlight did not work. I reversed the white and blue wires thinking that I might have the polarity wrong, but the light still did not work. Next, I applied power directly to the two wires using a 1K resistor, but the headlight did not come on regardless of the polarity of the power input. The locomotive is a Bachmann 4-6-0. Any suggestions? Cheers!! Dave
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
The LokProgrammer problem has been solved. All it required was telling the LokProgrammer which USB Com Port to use.
I have run into yet another problem. My computer no longer recognizes my LokProgrammer. I started a thread in the Electronics and DCC section. If you have any suggestions please post them here:
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/296598.aspx
[Link removed by moderator]
I'm rather annoyed that my LokProgrammer isn't working. I did a brief test of the decoder and Scale Sound Systems speaker and the sound just blew me away! It is so 'full' and robust that it is hard to describe. Once I solve the programming problem I will make a video of the new speaker in action and post it beside the old speaker. I can hardly wait!
I can't get the headlight to work on one of the snow plow train locomotives. The problem started when I managed to mess up the original plugs between the locomotive and the tender. My clumsy handling caused one of the wires to break off of the plug in the locomotive. My attempt to repair the damage only caused more problems. I ended up having to hard wire the connections coming out of the locomotive. That in turn required that I install a set of connectors in the tender. Here is the set up:
Fast forward to the present. All the wires in the locomotive are black. I have figured out which wires are for power pickup and which wires are for motor control. That leaves two wires coming from the locomotive. Logic would suggest that those two wires would be for the headlight (there is no reverse light on the tender). I hooked up the blue and white wires from the decoder to the the two unidentified black wires but the headlight did not work. I reversed the white and blue wires thinking that I might have the polarity wrong, but the light still did not work. Next, I applied power directly to the two wires using a 1K resistor, but the headlight did not come on regardless of the polarity of the power input.
The locomotive is a Bachmann 4-6-0.
Any suggestions?
This is the second tender decoder installed. It is one of the cleaner wiring jobs that I have done:
I still have to figure out which terminals the blue and white wires should be soldered to. It annoys me that the locomotive manufacturers use all black wires to connect to the tender. Why can't they use colour coded wires inside the locomotive and just paint them black where they are visible?
The tender has been shortened so I still have some cosmetic work to do.
I have a couple of bottles of the Testors Clear Parts Cement. I will give it a try.
Thanks,
Dave,
The SSS baffles are probably ABS, as JT designs and 3D prints those himself. Gorilla Silicone adhesive should work for that and starts the cure in 30-45 min. I use it for attatching any flat weights in my rolling stock.
You might also try the Testors Clear Parts Cement. That's cured when it changes from white to clear.
tstageI would highly recommend twisting and braiding wires to keep them under control.
On one of the tenders the clearance between the Scale Speaker System speaker and the shell is very small on the top and on both sides. There is just enough space to accommodate the thickness of one layer of decoder wires. If I were to twist them, the shell would not fit down all the way without pinching the wires.
tstageKapton tape also works very well for securing decoders when space is a premium...and when it's not.
Unfortunately Kapton tape will not stick to the speaker enclosures, nor will any other tape I have tried. The enclosures feel like Delrin. They are very slippery. Glooz-It will stick and it can be peeled off fairly easily. CA will stick but I don't want to go that route anymore.
The second tender has a lot more space inside so braiding or twisting the wires is an option. I'm also considering CAing a piece of heat shrink tubing to the side of the speaker enclosure and using it as a conduit. I won't shrink the tubing tight onto the wires so they can still be slid out if necessary.
Why not use a couple of spots of low-temperature hot glue to 'tack' the wiring in place while the silicone or whatever is curing?