Hi all,
I am running DC and have a Tower 55 locomotive that starts moving before the sound starts. Can I use a DCC controller to re-porgram the starting voltage for movement or running and have the same effect on the starting or movement voltage change in DC as well?[?][%-)]
Thinking of getting a DCE starter DCC kit for reprogramming and then changing over at a later date.
Regards,
Nigel
As far as I know, no. When a DCC loco with a dual-mode decoder is running on regular DC, it runs like a regular DC loco, as if the decoder wasn’t there. I don’t know of any way to make such a change to effect it on DC.
Based on my experience with other brands of sound decoders, no – you cannot change the starting voltage when running on DC power. Why don’t you change your layout to DCC? It would be a simple matter to rig up a DC power pack and DCC system through a toggle switch so you could easily change between the two modes of operation.
Once you have ran a sound-equipped engine using DCC control, I think you’ll abandon DC operation.
Interesting. I am guessing there are capacitors inside the sound unit that have to charge up before the sound actually starts. Try cracking the throttle just enough to put power onto the track (perhaps using the headlight as an indication), then waiting a few seconds before giving it enough to move.
If this works one can then imagine that the delay is due to the need for pressurizing the brake system.
DCC systems don’t have this issue since there is always full voltage to the track.
It’s the sound chip itself. It needs a certain voltage to work - 3.3 or 5 volts. It’s powered by a regualtor which needs slightly more than this voltage to produce the desired output. The problem is the very high quality motors used int he Tower55 locos start on even lower voltage than that - thus the motor starts turning before the sound chip has enough voltage to run the chip. Since these are Digitrax decoders built off the Digitrax motor decoders, they likely bypass the decoder circuitry when no DCC signal is detected. The motor will see track voltage minus 2 diode drops (two of the 4 transistors in the H-bridge drive circuit), so when the sound chip finally reaches 5 volts, the motor is getting 3.8 - which is plenty to make a quality can motor run at some speed.
The QSI sound decoders work differently - they drive the motor via the decoder even on DC. They CAN be configured to change the DC start voltage - notice int he revues of them on DC they alway say nothing happens until the throttle is halfway up. The QSI decoders send no power to the motor until there is sufficient voltage to operate the sound chip.
–Randy