Yesterday I installed a Digitrax SDH104K1A + FN04K1 Combo Plug ‘n’ Play sound decoder into my Kato AC4400CW. Control is by an NCE Powercab.
The query I have is that when I’ve run the locomotive, and reduced the throttle to zero (and it’s run its engine shut down sequence), it sits there making an irritating high pitched electrical whine.
The other thing is that when the Powercab is switched on for a new operating session, it “remembers” the loco programmed when it was last shut down. If the AC4400 is on the tracks, but isn’t the “remembered” loco, when I switch on track power, the loco completely silent. I only get the noise once it’s been run, but is still sitting on the track. So it doesn’t seem to be merely the application of track power.
I didn’t get any such noise when it was fitted with a Lenz decoder (and it ran more smoothly too), so I don’t think it’s the mechanics of the loco itself.
Have I a dud decoder or is this normal with sound locos?
I have the SDH104K1B+FN04K1 (SD38-2) Combo and can’t say it ever makes a high-pitched electrical whine.
However, as long as it’s selected by a throttle it will produce it’s normal “background” sounds, depending on which of them you have muted or turned on, and the volume levels/notching you’ve programmed the CV’s for.
Since your description of “remembered” seems to coincide with “selected by a throttle”, are you sure it isn’t doing what it’s supposed to, and you just need to adjust the sounds?
Try turning F8 on to mute it. If that stops the whine, I’d just program a value of 8 into CV08 to reset it to the factory defaults and start over.
If that doesn’t stop it, I’d try it on a different DCC system (preferably something other than another PowerCab, just to rule that variable out).
And if that doesn’t help, I’d call or e-mail Digitrax, explain the symptoms and what you’ve tried, and see what they suggest.
The high-pitched whine sound sliek one of the sound effects gone nuts. One fo the ‘stock’ sound slike air pump, air letoff, or some sort of blower funtion - hmm, if there is a dynamic brake sound effect perhaps you have it turned on? It starts up silently because it won;t make sounds if no packets are addressed to it. Select the loco and do anything, and it should start up with the sounds. This may be configurable, I haven’t read the manual on these yet. Try the CV08=8 reset, factory reset fixes a LOT of problems with many decoder brands.
Before sending it back, I would try each of the function buttons when it’s making that whine just to make sure it isn’t one of the designed sounds. I’m wondering if it isn’t the dynamic brake sound, which is turned on and off with one of the F buttons.
It won’t ever change value, CV8 is meant to be a fixed, read-only CV, but Digitrax ad a couple others use it as the reset as well. Program a specific value (in this case 8, easy to remember since it’s going into CV8) and the decoder does a reset, but every time you read CV8 it will always hold the original value. CV8 is the manufacturer ID and will be unique for each decoder manufacturer, in DIgitrax’s case this value is 129. There is a reference in the NMRA Standards and RP’s as to which manufacturer has which ID. This sis also how the DecoderPro program identifies the decoder for you, it uses CV8 to determine the manufacturer and CV7 to get version information.
“The faint buzzing you hear when the decoder sound is off is unfortunately
an anomoly of the decoder. We are aware of the situation and hopefully will
eventually have a resolution for it. At present, there is none. Sorry.”
My SDH 104 installed in my Kato F-40 PH has a strange, annoying habit of blowing the grade crossing horn sequence TWICE each time I power up the layout (Digitrax) After that the locomotive runs fine and the sound is OK.
I’m not entirely impressed with the sound qualities like the horn just being abrupt with no “feathering” effect, just on-or-off. I hope the Tsunami Diesel decoder is available soon!
Has anyone attempted to use the “playable” horn function on the DT-400 throttle? Just curious.
IF that’s what’s happening, that’s normal. That is, if you use the function keys to turn the sound OFF while running a sound-equipped engine, it is going to make a little whining noise compared to a non-sound decoder, at least Sountraxx ones do that.
HOWEVER…If you have the sound ON and you hear a whine, it’s something else.
Again, if you haven’t already, please try ALL the function keys to make sure it isn’t a sound that is part of the decoder that you turned on by accident - like dynamic brake, which makes a high-pitched whine.
BTW the dynamic brake ‘whine’ stays on even when the engine is idling. You mention that you notice the sound more when the engine is sitting at idle, so it could be the regular engine sounds when moving are loud enough to kinda drown out the brake sound.
IF that’s what’s happening, that’s normal. That is, if you use the function keys (usually F8) to turn the sound OFF while running a sound-equipped engine, it is going to make a little whining noise while running, not loud but noticeable compared to a non-sound decoder.
HOWEVER…If you have the sound ON and you hear a whine, even when the engine is just sitting, then it’s something else.
Again, if you haven’t already, please try ALL the function keys to make sure it isn’t a sound that is part of the decoder that you turned on by accident - like dynamic brake, which makes a high-pitched whine.
BTW the dynamic brake ‘whine’ stays on even when the engine is idling at 0…
It’s a noise like electrical interference you might hear from the back of an old TV set or a PC makes a background buzz when on.
The noise is there even when all the sound effects are muted, so I think it’s like Digitrax says, that’s just the way this particular decoder is.
I guess on a large layout in a big room with more than one sound loco, this background noise could easily be lost, but on a 12’ x 1’ shelf layout it’s just plain annoying!
Maybe I’ll give it a second chance when I get that dream layout…
Hmmm…that is odd then. I installed the same set-up in a Kato SD-38 and had nothing like that.
I wonder…could it actually be interference of some kind - an affect of the wires being too near the motor magnets or something?? I wouldn’t think so but you never know. When I started in HO in 1988 my first engine was a Rivarossi 0-6-0 that caused static on the TV upstairs when I ran it on the layout downstairs.
I wondered that too, and have had the body shell off twice to check. There’s a lot of room in the big GE, and nothing seems to be amiss, everything is properly insulated.
Still a long weekend now to have another go at it.