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Enabling DC running with Soundtraxx Econami steam decoder.


Virgil
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Well I'm not having much luck with my sound ventures recently, or is it me? {:O)

Having very successfully fitted a Soundtrax Econami decoder, adaptor board and sugar cube speaker into a Samhongsa CPR K1a 4-8-4 and with it running and sounding really good on DCC, I then tried enabling DC mode running on the decoder programming.

Not at all straightforward as to enable CV12 must be set to 1 (fine, no problem) then CV29 has to be changed with the number being arrived at by totalling the bit weights which are determined by turning each one of 8 separate bits in CV29 on or off.

I enabled Bit 1 (speed steps) which has a Bit weight of 2, Bit 2 APS (DC mode)  which has a Bit weight of 4 and Bit 5 (EAM) which allows extended addressing . Bit 5 has a weight of 32, the three weights totalled = 32+4 +2= 38.

However when testing on DC power (2 different controllers tried) sound is enabled OK but wheel revolutions are paused at each chuff which itself is only briefly played.

Had anyone successfully enabled DC running with sound on on of these decoders please?

 

Edited by Virgil
To correct mistakes in numbering
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No Bit has a weight of 30 in CV29. So it's more than your maths that's wrong.

 

If you look at the Soundtraxx manual, or the NMRA standards,  you'll see that the Bit weights are

Bit            0      1      2      3       4       5      6      7

Weight    1      2      4      8     16     32    64   128

 

A value, or weight, of 34 turns on Bits 1 and 5 as 2 + 32 = 34, which will not enable DC running.

 

 

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Hi Nigel, I looked at your link and tried the ticked suggested setting of 6 for CV29 with no joy, the resultant being no motion at all on DCC or DC though with background sound as before (air pump and generator). If bit 5 long loco address is included then a total of 38 for CV29 is indicated. This is actually the figure I had arrived at on rereading the Soundtraxx manual, I had not enabled the 28/128 Bit 1 speed step mode (Bit weight 2) totalling 38.

With CV29 set to 38 the chuffs as before stop wheel movement for the normal duration of the chuff.

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47 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Hi Nigel, I looked at your link and tried the ticked suggested setting of 6 for CV29 with no joy, the resultant being no motion at all on DCC or DC though with background sound as before (air pump and generator). If bit 5 long loco address is included then a total of 38 for CV29 is indicated. This is actually the figure I had arrived at on rereading the Soundtraxx manual, I had not enabled the 28/128 Bit 1 speed step mode (Bit weight 2) totalling 38.

With CV29 set to 38 the chuffs as before stop wheel movement for the normal duration of the chuff.

 

CV29 = 6 would be the default in a new decoders.  But that would be a short address (default of address 3, unless the user changed the short address).  

 

There are other CV's for which functions are active on DC:  CV13, CV14,   those may be relevant to what happens.  

 

No I don't own one of those decoders. 

 

 

My calculator is correct, and matches the NMRA standard, and the Soundtraxx manual extract quoted above.     

 

 

- Nigel

 

  

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That's fine Nigel but Bit 5 has to be enabled at 32 weight in order for the loco to run on an extended address.

This is the default setting for the Soundtraxx decoder as it is usual for most users to have several locos.

Regards

Doug

PS I am looking at CVs 13 and 14 to see if they need tweaking. 

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1 hour ago, Virgil said:

I have been trying to upload a short video clip of the faulty running on DC sound with this loco but can't make the clip small enough to fit in the 10 MB limit on this forum.

Can anyone assist with this please?

 

Post the video on YouTube and then paste a link to it here.

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Thanks for the reply and query.

The first controller is an AGW PE143 transistor power unit, and the second is a Hammant and Morgan Duette, both working well and used for my DC locos with no problems and both giving exactly similar results when used with the Soundtraxx decoder.

 

Edited by Virgil
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