RMweb Gold Revolution Mike B Posted April 2, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 2, 2016 I've just finished installing a Loksound V4 21 pin Sound Decoder in a Bachmann 37 and it's doing some strange things on DC operation. Firstly, the headlights refuse to work. I've checked that I've reconnected the wires round the right way (orange/red/brown) and they're fine. I've removed the switches due to fitting a bass reflex speaker in the tanks so I know that the cab/tail lights won't function. Secondly, when I turn the power knob on the DC controller, the loco sound goes through the start up procedure and remains stationary, then pulls away with the sound in acceleration mode. The sound doesn't follow the controller as I was told it would do. Does the chip need reprogramming? Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I've just finished installing a Loksound V4 21 pin Sound Decoder in a Bachmann 37 and it's doing some strange things on DC operation. Firstly, the headlights refuse to work. I've checked that I've reconnected the wires round the right way (orange/red/brown) and they're fine. I've removed the switches due to fitting a bass reflex speaker in the tanks so I know that the cab/tail lights won't function. Secondly, when I turn the power knob on the DC controller, the loco sound goes through the start up procedure and remains stationary, then pulls away with the sound in acceleration mode. The sound doesn't follow the controller as I was told it would do. Does the chip need reprogramming? Cheers Mike Am I reading this right or is that 'it is doing strange things on DC operation'? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I've just finished installing a Loksound V4 21 pin Sound Decoder in a Bachmann 37 and it's doing some strange things on DC operation. Firstly, the headlights refuse to work. I've checked that I've reconnected the wires round the right way (orange/red/brown) and they're fine. I've removed the switches due to fitting a bass reflex speaker in the tanks so I know that the cab/tail lights won't function. Secondly, when I turn the power knob on the DC controller, the loco sound goes through the start up procedure and remains stationary, then pulls away with the sound in acceleration mode. The sound doesn't follow the controller as I was told it would do. Does the chip need reprogramming? Cheers Mike Perhaps best to check with the supplier of the Loksound V4 re DC ? running/sound issues. If the marker's as well as the headlights don't work, I'd check that the contacts at each nose end are not bent etc and not making proper contact. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike B Posted April 3, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2016 Am I reading this right or is that 'it is doing strange things on DC operation'? Correct - I was told that in DC mode the loco sound should follow the the controller and that it would run as normal but without the obvious addition of certain sounds. When running on DC, it goes through the start up process, following with the horn, then compressor, brakes off and goes in to hard acceleration, while the loco itself, doesn't move at all until the acceleration sound take place. The tail lights won't work as I've not connected them but the headlights should still be operational in the direction of travel. I got the decoder from Coastal DCC so I'll give Kevin a call tomorrow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Correct - I was told that in DC mode the loco sound should follow the the controller and that it would run as normal but without the obvious addition of certain sounds. When running on DC, it goes through the start up process, following with the horn, then compressor, brakes off and goes in to hard acceleration, while the loco itself, doesn't move at all until the acceleration sound take place. The tail lights won't work as I've not connected them but the headlights should still be operational in the direction of travel. I got the decoder from Coastal DCC so I'll give Kevin a call tomorrow. There has been some threads on here about running DCC sound decoders on DC and the upshot was that these are sophisticated and expensive decoders that are not really designed to give of their best on DC power. The decoder is not receiving any DCC commands so will revert to a programmed mode that you have no control over. Only by using a DCC controller will you discover the delights of DCC sound and reach the full potential of your sound decoder. There are innumerable threads on this forum as to which DCC command stations/throttles are 'best' but in general the cheaper ones are not really capable of giving the best result. You want one that will support up to function 28 and has at least 1 amp rating ( you can never have too much power, only too little ) and IMHO it is a Godsend to have a throttle display that tells you which functions are on or off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike B Posted April 5, 2016 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2016 I'll be buying a Power Cab starter kit which will be fine for what I need it for. The annoying thing is that our club layout is DC and I want to be able to rune my loco on it normally. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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