Digitrax Sound Decoders for AC4400 and F40PH...

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi guys,

a friend of mine has a problem and maybe somebody can help. He has a Kato F40PH and as well an AC4400. For each unit, he bought the matching Digitrax Sound Decoder. Now we made a comparision and found out that both sounds are exactly the same. Our idea is, the F40PH decoder has the wrong sound files installed. Are these sound decoders capable of storing both sounds so you can choose which one you would like to have changing just a CV? Any help would be nice…

2

I don’t know about being able to choose among pre-loaded sounds by changing just a CV, but Digitrax decoders can have new sounds downloaded if you have the proper computer hardware interface and software. If you purchased the decoders from Tony’s Train Exchange or a similar dealer, you should have specified what sounds you wanted in the decoder and they would have programmed them for you.

Go to the Digitrax web site and read what they have to say about their SoundFX decoders and downloading new sounds.

http://www.digitrax.com

If nothing else, contact the dealer from whom the decoders were purchased and see if they can re-program one of them with different sound files. You’ll no doubt be expected to pay postage both ways plus a programming fee, but that will still be much cheaper than a computer interface and software.

3

Regarding “same sounds”…

Are you referring to the horns? Or is it the horns and the prime mover sounds?

In simple terms, the 4 cycle GE diesels (turbo and non-turbo) have a very pronounced “Chug-Chug” when idling, while the 2nd generation 2 cycle EMDs have a smoother “whine” due to the combination of a turbocharger and its drive gear. However, certain horns are commonly used by various types of locomotives.

An observation:

A member of the model railroad club I belong to purchased a Kato F40 equipped with sound. The prime mover sound in “Notch 8” (for HEP) was included. Sounded good! However I noticed that the horn was not a Nathan K5LA, which is what most Amtrak F40s were equipped with after the mid 1980s. It may have been a Nathan P5a, which was common on F40s during the mid 1970s but I was uncertain. I e-mailed Digitrax and asked if they knew what type of horn this was. I have not yet received a response

4

Thanks for mentioning the Digitrax F40 horn. Hmmm a shame they did not use a K5LA for an F40 sound unit. The Kato F40 is a later phase (not paint but model style) of F40’s and more than likely would have been delivered with a K5LA.

An expert Amtrak modeler, and friend of mine, is currently working on his own verision of sounds for the digitrax F40 decoder, including a better horn. Check it out on the Amtrak Modelers Group

5

Thanks for your answers. Actually, its not only the horn that sounds the same, both decoders have exactly the sounds, so he either bought the worng decoder or, what i think, its just programmed with the wrong sound…

6

I recently installed the Digitrax sound decoder in one of my F-40 PHs and I can’t figure out why but everytime I turn on the track power to the layout the F-40 horn blows the grade crossing sequence TWICE… anyone else have this oddity? or do I have something programmed wrong?

Of my dozen or so sound equipped engines, this one is the only one that has ever done anything like this… any ideas??

Ed

7

My two retarded digitrax F40 sound decoders do the same thing with the grade crossing sound, the horn does not sound very good to me but you get what you get from a tiny speaker. I also have an issue with the two decoders not programming on the main and digitrax phone support was useless so i will be staying away from thier sound offerings in the future. [:(]

8

Thanks for the heads up on this Amtrak Group. Once I found out what my new e-mail address is, I’m joining. I also hope that someone considers making a version of the Nathan P5a horn, which was used on the SDP40f (as well as the SL4T) and of course, the Amtrak F40s during their early years.

9

I agree with you Sunset. At Christmas I installed a Digitrax sound decoder in my Kato AC4400 because everything I read is that sound is the New Big Thing.

The sound quality was pretty poor and the decoder made a high pitched whine all the time the loco sat on the track whether I’d selected it as a loco in use or not.

Digitrax got back to my email query quick enough but said it was a known fault and there was presently no fix. So that was $70 wasted. I took the decoder out and put a non-sound unit in.

I think I like it better silent. I run my 12’ x 1’ switching layout to get away from the noisy world we live in. Maybe I’m just getting old.

10

Sorry to hear you’re unhappy, but don’t assume from this one bad experience that all sound decoders are bad. There really are good ones out there – in a wide variety of prices and features.

Personally, I prefer SoundTraxx, especially their premium Tsunami steam, for about $95. Especially in a P2K 0-6-0 switcher, with it’s short “toot” in addition to the regular whistle, brake function and sound, and Fireman Fred occasionally shoveling coal, using a grease gun, or tightening something with a ratchet, plus of course the chuff, blow-off, etc. Diesel versions have been promised for 2 or 3 years. SoundTraxx also makes a “LC” (low cost) series, and a DSX series that are sound only (no lights or motor control).

QSIs (currently all factory-installed but they keep promising to release after-market units) are quite good also. They also promise downloadable sound.

LokSound (made by a German company, ESU), also premium, are good, and CAN be loaded with new sounds, via an extra-cost LokProgrammer. You can get a whole new set from their website (change a diesel into a steamer, if you want!), or even play sound engineer and make your own. Add

11

I’m happy with my F40PH sound decoder…Sounds better than my Atlas 8-40C…And that loco has QSI.

Dave

12

I may try again in a while, but I’ve learnt my lesson and next time I’ll listen to the thing in the hobby shop first!

Ian

13

Check with your LHS (or others nearby). One of my LHS has decided that he will get (maybe already has…) one of the Digitrax programmers to help out his customers.

With the programmer, one can create a “project” which contains the correct sounds, then write it to the decoder. Since the F40PH should be one of the standards, I would suggest contacting Digitrax to either a) get the project to write using a programmer at your LHS, or b) to have it sent back for proper programming.

Don’t see why you should consider it a “waste”- nothing here sounds unrecoverable. [:)]

14

I’m really surprised to hear of problems with the Digitrax SoundFX decoders. I recently purchased a Tower55 ES44AC in their Southern Pacific Classic Concept series, which has a Digitrax SoundFX decoder, and the sound is really excellent. Not quite as superb as QSI or Tsunami, but far better than MRC or the SoundTraxx LC series.

Of course, it was factory installed with dual speakers and custom sounds, so that may make a difference, too.

15

If the grade crossing sequence activates upon startup, you simply left your F10 (or F7) function turned on when power was removed. Remember, when you press F10 for the crossing sequence, the ‘function’ stays on and you need to turn it off.

16

Thanks… I’ll check that in the morning. The sequence sounds twice, then IF the locomotive is not selected on a throttle, it goes completely quiet!

Ed

17

OK…sorry I couldnt get to this thread sooner…(I was on stage tonight)

  1. In terms of getting 2 decoders with the same sound set…this is a possiblity. The only solution is to purchase a PR2 because it also solves the next issue…

  2. The horn! With a PR2 you can program the correct horn. There are a few ways of doing this, but I prefer using a free program called Wavasor (or something like that). It allows me to fiddle with a wav of a horn untill I can break it properly into 3 sections ( a begining, a loop and an end sound). Then you can easily program it to the decoder.

  3. The prime mover sound are not up to my standards, so I just put on my own recoded ones.

  4. The annoying crossing grade at startup is as mentioned before…you have left on F7 and or F10 befre shutting off the system. I have acutally REMOVED the F7-F10 feature from my decoders. I dont need the automatic sound and I hate the annoying crossing signal at startup.

  5. My program for the decoders is simple. It is just bread and butter…very few extra features (like the manual notch up and down or the playable horn).

If you have anymore questions about these decoders, Ill be more than happy to answer them.

David

18

David,

Thanks for posting this information. I’ve been very interested in Lok Sound decoders but have been hoping to read or hear opinions as to how the Digitrax Sound decoders compare to the Lok Sound units.

19

Both are 8 bit, but the Loksound decoder has a slightly higher sample rate.

There are 2 issues with the Digitrax Decoder when you compare it to the LokSound. The loksound has ALL 8 notches as seperate sound files and the Digitrax uses 2 with the chip pitching up the 2nd notch for higher notches (alla soundtraxx, Qsi and Mrc decoders).

The second issue is the lack of additional projects…you are pretty much stuck with the origional 3…unless you find a source for the sounds you want.[:D] I feel this will be rectified shortly…but it is just a feeling as support beyond the origional 3 files is very limited.

One major aspect of the Digitrax decoder is that you can program the decoder on HOW IT USES THE SOUNDS. This is a HUGE step forward in the sound industry. Every other decoder set you are stuck with what you are given…but with the Digitrax you can do anything you want with it. For example…Say you want the loco to play “all aboard”, hear the air brake releasing and hear doors closing (for a pull-off from a passenger platform) when you press (arbutraily) F5, you can. Or any other combination of sounds. Your only limitation is that the Digitrax is 3 channel sound.

The first channel is usually used for the prime mover.

The second channel is usually the horn (<----items mentioned first have higher priority in the channel…hence they are always heard), break squeal etc…

The third channel is usualy Bell, user defined sounds, and random sounds (pop offs…etc). In this way, you can have the prime mover, Horn and Bell playing at the same time. But you cant have the Horn and the brake squeal at the same time (unless you also define the horn in the third channel on low priority)

The LokSound has 4 channels…but they use the f

20

David,

Thanks very much! You’ve made it much easier to understand. I enjoy modeling passenger trains and I can just imagine using the setup combination you discussed on an RDC or my New Haven commuter train.

Looks like both the Digitrax and Lok Sounds are very good products. Each seems to have some unique features that the other does not have.

A friend of mine who does a lot of experimenting discovered that there is an even better speaker setup for the Digitrax unit than the one it comes with from the factory. I’ll ask him to post his results.

BTW: One aspect that I like about Canadian railroading is the “Canadian tuned” Nathan K series horns. Very melodic, and if I’m not mistaken, slightly higher pitched than the U.S versions. I can imagine that you may have downloaded/edited/uploaded some of the prototype sounds of these cool sounding horns.

Thanks again[:D]