Intermountain SD40-2

[NS-CRE]

The font...hahaha. You are right. Way too large on the cab.
What to do, what to do???
A really good friend purchased a sound equipped unit for me as a gift, he can't get the prime mover sound to work. Everything else does, cept no vroom vroom.

Send it back?
Keep it and trouble shoot it?
Make it sleep with the fishes?
 
Wyt

I'm interested what he found out about the lack of prime mover sound.  I bought one of these yesterday and I am experiencing the same thing on my Digitrax layout (Chief system).  F8 does nothing.  F7 (which is supposed to reduce the momentum for switching) is turning on the dynamic brake sound, which is supposed to be F4.  F4 appears to do nothing.  F1, F2, and F3 (bell, horn, coupling) work as intended.

I have done factory resets to no avail.  I have tried programming with my DT400 on a programming track in Paged programming mode.  I have tried the same using DecoderPro.

Now for the more puzzling part.  I took the locomotive back to the hobby shop to have it checked out, thinking it was defective.  Everything works perfectly on the store's Digitrax layout.  F8 (prime mover) was apparently left on when we finished the test at the store, because when I brought it back home I had prime mover sounds. However, the prime mover sounds went away again as soon as I did decoder programming.

Marcus

[jdcolombo]

I'm interested what he found out about the lack of prime mover sound.  I bought one of these yesterday and I am experiencing the same thing on my Digitrax layout (Chief system).  F8 does nothing.  F7 (which is supposed to reduce the momentum for switching) is turning on the dynamic brake sound, which is supposed to be F4.  F4 appears to do nothing.  F1, F2, and F3 (bell, horn, coupling) work as intended.

I have done factory resets to no avail.  I have tried programming with my DT400 on a programming track in Paged programming mode.  I have tried the same using DecoderPro.

Now for the more puzzling part.  I took the locomotive back to the hobby shop to have it checked out, thinking it was defective.  Everything works perfectly on the store's Digitrax layout.  F8 (prime mover) was apparently left on when we finished the test at the store, because when I brought it back home I had prime mover sounds. However, the prime mover sounds went away again as soon as I did decoder programming.

Marcus

Whenever a DCC engine works fine on another Digitrax system but not on your own, my first suspect is an address conflict in the command station.  This can be caused by having the engine number selected on another throttle, or even sometimes just by not having it dispatched and cleared from the command station memory.  To check for this, try reprogramming the engine address to some number you've never used before (it can be either a two- or four-digit one, just try to make sure you've never used that number before).   Now select the engine on a throttle and try the functions on the decoder.  If they now work, you have an address conflict.  To fix it, first try to clear all your locomotive slots by closing Op Switch 36 on the command station.  That usually works - it will cause you to lose any consist info, however, and you'll have to rebuild consists by hand (unless you have used Advanced Consisting, instead of Digitrax Universal consisting).  If that doesn't work, then the next step is to do a complete reset of the command station to factory defaults by closing Op Switch 39.  If you do this, then you will lose all consist info, route info, etc. and will have to rebuild all this by hand but it is the only way to know for sure that your system is "clean."

If selecting a known unused address DOESN'T work, then your best bet is to proceed directly to a command station reset (op switch 39).  If the loco is working fine on other Digitrax systems, it is not the loco or the decoder - it is something in your own system, and the only way to know for sure that you have taken all steps to fix it is do a command station reset, however much of a pain it may be.  And if THAT doesn't work, then the final troubleshooting tip would be to disconnect your Loconet from the command station, plug a single throttle directly into the command station, select the engine, and then see if it works.  If that fixes things, then you have a Loconet problem, which could be literally anything - bad wiring somewhere; a detector or signaling system acting up, or literally anything.  At that point, the best bet is to reconnect the loconet one piece at a time and try your engine after each reconnection.  Eventually, something bad will happen, and you'll have found the problem.

John C.

[ski]

Is this is a fairly common issue with Digitrax or does it happen with other DCC systems?

I have had some sudden sound issues with an ESU decoder/loco and I am using a Digitrax Zephyr....

[AKNscale]

I'm interested what he found out about the lack of prime mover sound.  I bought one of these yesterday and I am experiencing the same thing on my Digitrax layout (Chief system).  F8 does nothing.  F7 (which is supposed to reduce the momentum for switching) is turning on the dynamic brake sound, which is supposed to be F4.  F4 appears to do nothing.  F1, F2, and F3 (bell, horn, coupling) work as intended.

I have done factory resets to no avail.  I have tried programming with my DT400 on a programming track in Paged programming mode.  I have tried the same using DecoderPro.

Now for the more puzzling part.  I took the locomotive back to the hobby shop to have it checked out, thinking it was defective.  Everything works perfectly on the store's Digitrax layout.  F8 (prime mover) was apparently left on when we finished the test at the store, because when I brought it back home I had prime mover sounds. However, the prime mover sounds went away again as soon as I did decoder programming.

Marcus

Have you reset your command station?

[NS-CRE]

Whenever a DCC engine works fine on another Digitrax system but not on your own, my first suspect is an address conflict in the command station.  This can be caused by having the engine number selected on another throttle, or even sometimes just by not having it dispatched and cleared from the command station memory.  To check for this, try reprogramming the engine address to some number you've never used before (it can be either a two- or four-digit one, just try to make sure you've never used that number before).   Now select the engine on a throttle and try the functions on the decoder.  If they now work, you have an address conflict.  To fix it, first try to clear all your locomotive slots by closing Op Switch 36 on the command station.  That usually works - it will cause you to lose any consist info, however, and you'll have to rebuild consists by hand (unless you have used Advanced Consisting, instead of Digitrax Universal consisting).  If that doesn't work, then the next step is to do a complete reset of the command station to factory defaults by closing Op Switch 39.  If you do this, then you will lose all consist info, route info, etc. and will have to rebuild all this by hand but it is the only way to know for sure that your system is "clean."

If selecting a known unused address DOESN'T work, then your best bet is to proceed directly to a command station reset (op switch 39).  If the loco is working fine on other Digitrax systems, it is not the loco or the decoder - it is something in your own system, and the only way to know for sure that you have taken all steps to fix it is do a command station reset, however much of a pain it may be.  And if THAT doesn't work, then the final troubleshooting tip would be to disconnect your Loconet from the command station, plug a single throttle directly into the command station, select the engine, and then see if it works.  If that fixes things, then you have a Loconet problem, which could be literally anything - bad wiring somewhere; a detector or signaling system acting up, or literally anything.  At that point, the best bet is to reconnect the loconet one piece at a time and try your engine after each reconnection.  Eventually, something bad will happen, and you'll have found the problem.

John C.

John,

Thank you for your detailed explanation.  I have been suspecting that it could be something in the system itself since the locomotive performs differently at different places.  I'm taking it to another layout tomorrow to try it out. 

I did try connecting the DCS100 directly to the Loconet, completely bypassing the signaling and detection system to see if those systems may have been causing an issue.  Even then the same issues persisted, so I'm convinced now that the signaling and detection systems have nothing to do with it.

I'm nervous about resetting the command station for fear of losing all of the signaling that has been set up, but I'm not sure that's a valid concern.  I know I would lose locomotive consists, and although that's a pain it is not the end of the world.  If I wouldn't lose all the hours of work setting up the signals and detection, I'd be willing to risk it.

Perhaps I'm just not cut out for sound! 

Marcus

[jdcolombo]

If you just clear loco slots with Op Switch 36, you shouldn't lose anything other than consist info.  If you have to do a complete reset, not sure exactly what you will lose, since I don't have a signaling system yet.

John C.

[NS-CRE]

If you just clear loco slots with Op Switch 36, you shouldn't lose anything other than consist info.  If you have to do a complete reset, not sure exactly what you will lose, since I don't have a signaling system yet.

John C.

Today I took the engine to another layout to do yet another test and everything was perfect.  I brought it back home, where my woes continued.

I didn't take the plunge and do the full factory reset of the DCS100, but I did do an Op Switch 39 reset, which cleared all consists, routes (which I didn't have any programmed) and completely purged the loco roster.  Hopeful, I fired her back up with the same bad results. 

I then decided to disconnect everything and run my DCS100 directly to one single piece of flex track.  I plugged my DT400 directly into the DCS100.  This would rule out any interference with layout wiring or Loconet issues.  Even then, I get the same bad results. 

So now I'm convinced it's the DCS100 that is causing the issue.  It is one of the first on the market, from the original Chief system.  My next step is to contact Digitrax.  Perhaps these oldest DCS100's can't handle the functions of today's advanced decoders.

Marcus

[mu26aeh]

First, did you a 39 or 36 reset ?  You mention 39, but John said 36.   

Secondly, paging @Bendtracker1 .  This sounds similar to your issue

[NS-CRE]

First, did you a 39 or 36 reset ?  You mention 39, but John said 36.   

Secondly, paging @Bendtracker1 .  This sounds similar to your issue

36 purges consists, 37 purges routes, 38 purges the engine roster.  39 does them all at once.  That's what I did.

Marcus

[RBrodzinsky]

Marcus, you may just have given us a clue. You say you have a DT400. Can you borrow an updated DT402 and try? I had a lot of problems with my old 400 and getting LokSounds to respond properly so finally sent it to Digitrax for the upgrade. No problems since then (and never a problem with my newer 402). Not quite the same symptoms you described, but could be related. [and I am not talking about functions the 400 cannot even access ]

[Bendtracker1]

First, did you a 39 or 36 reset ?  You mention 39, but John said 36.   

Secondly, paging @Bendtracker1 .  This sounds similar to your issue

Yup it is the same issues I was having with the unit I was playing with.
After getting back from IMRC and found out it still didn't work I gave up on it and send it off to SOO (the true owner of it)  Today he texted me and said it was working just fine, all functions seemed to work as they should.

Lee at IMRC tested mine on three separate systems they have at their shop: Digitrax, NCE and ESU.  He even reloaded the chip file and it worked just fine out there.

@RBrodzinsky
When I was playing with the unit, I had just upgraded my Simplex system to Duplex and I was using a DT402D that was plugged into the system (not wireless).  I even tried all of my DT402d's as well as all of my UT4d's with no change.

I am really thinking it has something to do with the command station and needing reset like @jdcolombo mentioned.

[reinhardtjh]

So now I'm convinced it's the DCS100 that is causing the issue.  It is one of the first on the market, from the original Chief system.  My next step is to contact Digitrax.  Perhaps these oldest DCS100's can't handle the functions of today's advanced decoders.

This is almost certainly your problem.  The earliest DCS100's have firmware that cannot access anything in the F9-F12 range.  Additionally, there were some that had a bug that caused F5-F8 to act as F9-F12 so that you had no access to F5-F8 instead (which seems to be your problem).

If you open your DCS100 and look inside^* there is a socketed chip, about 3/4" square with a two letter code written in Sharpie.  Mine is code "FF". The latest, according to the Digitrax Tech note KB584, is code "FG".  If yours starts with "E" then you've got the bad firmware.

Another sign is the connector for the wires for "POWER IN", "POWER OUT", "PROG A", etc.  Is it removable or is it fixed?  If the latter, then you definitely have an old unit and it should be sent to Digitrax for upgrade.  Note that the upgrade changes the chip only, Digitrax will not change the connector type (see the KB article).

A Yahoo Groups Digitrax thread discussing a similar problem https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Digitrax/conversations/topics/107460



* Open and examine by:
 1) Removing power from the DCS100 ( If you can unplug the connector, do so),
 2) Removing the 2 screws on the top and 2 screws on the bottom of the case,
 3) Remove the 2 screws holding the top board (with the battery holders),
 4) Gently push down the L-channel piece so it clears the frame and slide the top board out by carefully flexing it on the ribbon cable,
 5) Look at the square socketed chip on the underside of the top board for the code.


Edit: Fixed damned typos

[Philip H]

There are some pretty good close-ups in this video.  And the sound is actually pretty good through my laptop speakers:

http://mrr.trains.com/sitecore/content/home/articles/2017/07/video-intermountain-n-scale-sd40-2

[davefoxx]

I watched that video last night with interest, because I haven't yet run the SD40-2 that I received (despite previously cancelling the order when I changed to HO scale.  )    Oh, well, I kept it, because it will give my daughter an N scale locomotive with sound for her future N scale layout.  (I fear that she will want sound, because Daddy's HO scale trains have sound.)

That reminds me, I need to start planning her layout, so I'll start a thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

[gbcaboose]

I had ordered a DC version  of the L&N SD40-2 from my LHS waaaay back when they were announced. Since then I've 'gone DCC'.

Are the drop-in Lokpilot decoders available that come in the DCC/non sound units? If so where?

Also, I see nothing's available on the digitrax website for the SD40-2's. Will one of their current decoders 'drop-in'? I Facebook messaged them a few weeks ago and haven't heard back. I had also emailed ESU about availability of the lokpilot decoders and haven't heard from them either.

Thanks, Mike