I hate QSI decoders club! Need some reset help, lost the sound.

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

Well not all QSI Decoders, ones in the CB&Q F7’s and my steam engines are great!

POS E-8 PK 2000, well I have covred that one a few months ago.

New Problem? My beloved Mighty B&O F7’s. They where used and I had a few issuess that I some how over came. Then the sound would just stop working. Rewrite the sound CV’s and it would be fine for a while.

Last time the sound stopped working that trick did not work. Did a reset on decoder pro and reset seem to work. Address changed, sound’s volume was at max like it came. Ran the engines on the track and they moved, yet no sound? [sigh]

Tonight, I said what the heck! I wrote all the CV’s from the CB&Q F7b into the B&O F7b. After all it is working fine. Again, it took the new address and moved but no sound.

Any ideas besides changing decoder?

Thanks for the coming answers, Ken

2

Nope!

I have a few QSI decoders and when funds permit they will be replaced with Loksound Selects. The QSI variations of ‘shut down’ alone are enough to want me to throw them at a wall (after I take them out of the locomotives of course!). Why make a simple shut down so complex. With Loksound you just hit F8. I will admit that the QSI ‘stereo’ option with two speakers sounded very attractive at the time but I really can’t hear a significant difference between that and my Loksounds with dual or quad speakers. I have also been through the QSI main chip exchange hassle and that was a crude solution to whatever problem it was supposed to have solved when compared to the Loksound re-programming options.

[2c]

Dave

3

I tend to agree with replacing the QSI sound decoder.

I have standardized on the LokSound Select Micro and Soundtraxx.

The thing I want to try is replacing the QSI board with a LokSound but retaining the speakers. These should be 8 ohm speakers. Has anyone done this?

I have a pair of new Broadway Limited SW1500s. The Reading Company paint job is great. I removed the window shades. The sound is just awful. Maybe I am not using them correctly.

I think these are QSI sound decoders also. They are next on my list for replacing with the LokSound 645 prime mover. No comparison. I used to love my QSI sound decoders and invested in and learned my way through the software for updating sound etc.

4

In defense of QSI, their Titan lines are the Cadillac of sound decoders. Their emulation files offer the most features by far and offer the most realistic engine response in terms of load, train response, and sound. Also, their consist setup is the most flexible I found in terms of controlling which locos make sounds and what their proper lighting configuration should be (per the rule book) That said, they are a nightmare to program and harder to operate. (ie: Dynamic brakes won’t work below a certain speed just like real life.) And every once in a while they do “hiccup” requiring a full reset. Such are the tradeoffs.

When you want to balance sounds, flexibility, features, with ease of use then LokSound is the way to go IMHO.

If you want the best steam sound added with simplicity, go with Soundtraxx Tsunami 2 for steam and TCS WOW for diesels.

Those are just my opinions. Not all one size fits all. You have to decide what you are aiming for.

Now as to your problem Ken, did you check to see each chip had the same revision number? It’s rare, but every once in a while QSI does move or change CV’s as features are added. So copying from one engine to the next might not work.

5

I have hardly had any problems with my QSI’s over the years, although I haven’t been running trains equipped with them for about two years now…moved in 2015. My only two outright failures have been with one of many QSI’s and my only remaining earlier LokSound (PCM Y6b that quite three years ago…ran, but no sound).

It’s funny, but one of the features that has endeared me to QSI’s has been their quirky nature…the three-part coma induction, and the one part ressurrection. Also, for one of my locos, the Lionel HO Challenger equipped with a pre-MTH-lawsuit-over-BEMF control, it has a nifty habit of going to sleep all by itself if I don’t play with it one session. When I return to power up the layout, it will remain absolutely silent until I acquire it on my throttle, and then behave as if all is forgiven. [:)]

Ken, life is too short, and this hobby is fraught with difficulties or vexations that can really put a damper on it. When you run out of patience with something, gash it and replace it with something in which you have confidence and hope. It’s what I do. Get back to having fun, and do what it takes to get there.

6

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7

Floks, I was looking for answers on how to reset the decoder to get the sound going again. Any ideas?

Ken

8

Take the chell off and see if it’s the jumper reset type or the reed switch with magnet (or, if it came with a magic wand - it’s the magnet type). Some people have said the reset works best on DC power, not DCC track power - so hook up an old power pack and a piece of track, crank it up, and use the jumper or the wand (or any handy magnet) to trigger the reset, then you need to remove power.

The problem with the magnetic reset ones is that reed switch can become stuck, or even permanantly magnetized to that bringing a magnet near it doesn;t do anything. Usually the problem is the opposite of yours - the loco resets every time the power is turned off.

There is also a CV programming procedure in the manual. One way to maybe get that to work is to take all other locos off the tracks and use ops mode with address 00 selected - this is ops mode broadcast so make sure all other locos are off the track. Ops mode uses full power so where using the program track might fail, ops mode often works. Since the locoo doesn;t respond to what is supposed to be its address, using address 00 sends the program commands to anything on the track.

–Randy

9

Hi,

My friend had one BLI 2-10-2 with QSI decoder, and when I had to reset it, I had to remove tender shell and use tiny switch on decoder board for decoder reset. If your decoder has such switch, it maybe can be used for decoder reset.

Hrvoje

10

When a QSI decoder is giving me trouble and using JMRI to reset it doesn’t fix the issues, I always do the hard reset as desribed in the manual using DC. You may have to remove the shell the locate the reed switch or button.

Peter

11

I had one QSI decoder that went bad and the only way it would reset was to use the proceedure outlined by pressing the tiny button on the decoder. CV resets and the magnetic reed switch would not do it.

Mark.

12

Oh…durrrr

CV 56.128

Quantum DCC Ref Manual Ver 5.2.0 Page 389 of 468 5-Aug-15

5.8.20 CV 56.128: Reset to Factory Default (PI = 128)

Use this CV to reset CV’s to factory default values.

Default Value: NA

CV 56.128: Reset to Factory Default Register

Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0

D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0

 Use the Secondary Index to select a range of CV’s296. Only those CV’s in the selected range will be reset; those CV’s outside the range are left unchanged.

SI

Reset Operations:

51 Reset CV 51, System Sound Control

52 Reset CV 52, Individual Sounds

53 Reset CV 53, Function Output Mappings

55 Reset CV 55, QSI Feature Configuration

56 Reset CV 56, QSI Configuration

58 Reset CV 58, Odometer

253 Reset all standard NMRA CV’s

254 Reset all QSI CV’s

255 Reset all CV’s

 Write the QSI Manufacturer Number, 113, to CV 56, to execute the reset operation.

 In Operations Mode you will hear “Reset” spoken when the reset operation completes.

Note: “Reset all CV’s” may not work correctly in Service Mode on some command stations, because the command station may turn off the track power before the operation is complete. In this case, reset CV’s in separate groups or use Ops Mode Programming.

Note: Q2 firmware built after 1-Jun-08 supports only SI = 255, Reset All CV’s.<

13

Hey thanks for the answers folks! [Y]

Griffin Boy that went way over my head! [:-^] Can you put that in Stupid for me? [swg]

Thanks again DCC stupid Ken

14

Ken:

I think that you just want to reset the QSI decoder to the factory defaults to see if that cures your problem. To reset do this:

Use OPS mode and set CV 49 to 128 then CV 50 to 255 and then CV 56 to 113. You may hear “reset” with my Atlas GPs with QSI decoders I don’t always hear “reset” but the decoder is reset. I hope this helps.

Joe

15

From the NMRA.org …

Resetting QSI Decoders to factory default The Broadway, Atlas, and Lifelike equipped with QSI (ID 113) DCC sound engines use a different reset procedure. Check the manual that came with the engine. Some use a magnetic “wand” for the reset. If there is no “wand” then open the engine or access hatch and find the reset jumper. Remove the jumper and restore the track power. There will be an audible acknowledgment from the engine at the end of the reset sequence (usually 3 toots of the whistle/horn). Replace the jumper and test out using address 3. If a “wand” is present, locate the internal reset reed switch and place the “wand” over it for a moment. When track power is restored the engine will go through its reset procedure and let you know when done. To find the internal reset (reed) switch, place the engine on active track. Slowly move the “wand” over the top of the engine or tender until the engine alerts you, audibly responds, by a message. QSI also has a user software reset using the following multi step procedure: (1) Place engine on main track if it is still responding to its address. If not responding you may need to use the program track. (2) Set CV49 to 128 (3) Set CV50 to 255 (4) Set CV56 to 113 As the decoder in the engine resets you will hear an audible response, 3 toots or it may talk to you. Test the locomotive using address 3. You can then go ahead and set the loco number as you desire and/or reprogram other CV’s. An irritating part with the QSI decoders is that when they do get corrupted by a short, the locomotive affected can be very erratic in operation, resetting to default will put you back in control of its performance.

Mark.

16

Whichever procedure the manual for the QSI variant we’re talking about sez to do, make sure that the last thing you do before trying to acquire the loco on your throttle on Add “03” is…shut off power to the rails. Completely. Like you were leaving the train room for the weekend. Then, power them up and your QSI should give every indication that it is now ready to play nice. Except louder and in Add “03”.