swiftbeam Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 Hi, I know my way around a model and soldering iron, but I'm totally new to fitting DCC decoders with extra wires and speakers. I have got a Lok-Sound decoder (21 pin with 5 extra wires) with sound and twin speakers ready to fit into an 0 Gauge Dapol 08 (in the post). The box just contains the decoder and a pair of speakers and no instructions. I've been on DC kits site and can't find any instructions. Is there a page somebody could send me to, to see where the wires go, basically how to fit this system? Many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 The bonnet top simply unclips and the decoder plugs into the socket on the board. Easy peasy. You do have to solder the speaker wire to the board. I attached my speaker to the bonnet top with black tack. However, for reference, wiring is standard and you should follow this: Also just discovered recently is Loksound Autotune which you may need (I did for my Loksound V4 equipped 0 gauge J39): http://www.sbs4dcc.com/tutorialstipstricks/esuloksoundmotorautotune.html Very simple procedure. I followed it today and my loco performance was magically improved. There should be a sheet with basic info including a list of function keys. I very much recommend Zimo from Digitrains (I have Zimo in my 08). I had to switch to Loksound because Digitrains won't ship to N. America. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 2 hours ago, brossard said: Also just discovered recently is Loksound Autotune which you may need (I did for my Loksound V4 equipped 0 gauge J39): Back up your CV settings before using Autotune. I ran it on my HST & it gave it a top scale speed of about 25. Hopefully that is a 1-off but I was able to restore the previous CV values because I had backed them up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swiftbeam Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 Thanks for the replies. The picture shows exactly what I got from Legomanbiffo, no more, no less. The decoder box says 97418 LokSound V5 21MTC 11x15mm BUT is actually 11x30mm ? What I have does not seem to match up with the replies above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 Hmmm, that never occurred to me. Seems a sensible thing to do in any case. I have to confess I don't even know how to back up CVs. However, my loco appears to run satisfactorily. The 08 max speed, with the Zimo, is scale 20 MPH (the only time that I have found the 28 step feature useful). John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 36 minutes ago, brossard said: Hmmm, that never occurred to me. Seems a sensible thing to do in any case. I have to confess I don't even know how to back up CVs. However, my loco appears to run satisfactorily. The 08 max speed, with the Zimo, is scale 20 MPH (the only time that I have found the 28 step feature useful). John Noting them down individually is a way to achieve it, but a bit drawn out. If you have JMRI, read them all in to that. You can then write them all back if required. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 (edited) I thought that JMRI or something like that would be involved. I don't have it. Yes, writing them all down would be a way but incredibly tedious. Much as I appreciate Autotune, I haven't had to use anything like that with Zimo, the locos work perfectly straight away. John Edited November 23, 2019 by brossard 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliebanger Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 On 23/11/2019 at 04:24, brossard said: I very much recommend Zimo from Digitrains (I have Zimo in my 08). I had to switch to Loksound because Digitrains won't ship to N. America. John John, I spoke with Jeremy at Digitrains today regarding shipping to N America. It seems this was suspended due to an insurance issue last year. This has since been resolved so they are now shipping transatlantic again. Best regards, Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 1 hour ago, pauliebanger said: John, I spoke with Jeremy at Digitrains today regarding shipping to N America. It seems this was suspended due to an insurance issue last year. This has since been resolved so they are now shipping transatlantic again. Best regards, Paul Thank you very much for that Paul. Nothing firm in my plans for additional locos right now, but I do fancy getting myself a Christmas present. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swiftbeam Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 On 04/12/2019 at 07:57, Richard Croft said: ESU have started manufacturing their decoders with 3 wires for a stay alive (red, white and black) soldered on and some also come with wires for aux 3 and 4 (green and pink) which adds to the confusion further as 90% of people won’t use these wires, if your decoder was supplied with 2 large speakers it’s likely that DC Kits Removed the speaker that came with the decoder and just left 2 wires, these would be brown and are the only 2 wires you need for a standard installation, the wires at the other end can be tied or taped up out of the way. Richard You are exactly correct, this is exactly how I got my decoder. I contacted DC kits and they confirmed that the two brown wires were all that was needed to connect the two separate speakers, and the other three are for a stay alive. I did that and everything worked as it should. My new 08 burst into life and all was well :-) Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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