Mysteries of the new LokSound in the Intermountain SD40-2

[AKNscale]

According to the programmer, the 40F(I wish I could see if the board was the same, it is 8 functions though) has Aux1&2 setup for ditch lights. It also has 7&9 highlighted as if they're recognized/read as on the board. I wonder if someone can set 2, 7, 8, or 9 and see if they light up the unresponsive LEDs on the IM board when assigned a function.

Although, according to the mapping, unassigned AUXs are 5,6,8,&10. Maybe those are the AUXs that need to be assigned to light the "dead" LEDs. Hopefully this shines some light on this...

[jdcolombo]

According to the programmer, the 40F(I wish I could see if the board was the same, it is 8 functions though) has Aux1&2 setup for ditch lights. It also has 7&9 highlighted as if they're recognized/read as on the board. I wonder if someone can set 2, 7, 8, or 9 and see if they light up the unresponsive LEDs on the IM board when assigned a function.

Although, according to the mapping, unassigned AUXs are 5,6,8,&10. Maybe those are the AUXs that need to be assigned to light the "dead" LEDs. Hopefully this shines some light on this...

According to the guy who wired up the Stratolight using the hidden beacon LED, F5 turns that on.  What does the programmer say F5 is assigned to?

John C.

[AKNscale]

AUX3, which if I remember correctly on all of my Select Directs, including this one, defaults to rotary beacon

[jdcolombo]

Hmmm.  That's interesting, because there's that pad on the underside of the board that is marked "Aux3."  If the front hidden beacon LED is also Aux3, then could the rear hidden beacon be Aux4?  And if that's true, then this board has only six physical outputs, not eight.  But then why have the pads?  Perhaps anticipation of the "generic" board without LEDs? 

The mysteries deepen.

John C.

[AKNscale]

Maybe, the problem is that I couldn't get the 40F apart to verify that it's the same board. But I also know that ESU uses AUX 1&2 for ditch lights, 3 is preset for a beacon, and 4+ usually states dimmable headlight if I remember correctly.

So the extra LEDs are odd, but I should have one of these in hand tomorrow or Tuesday. And when I do I will test the crap out of it to see what I can find out, then tear it apart to make sure IM didn't overlube it as usual. If these are as amazing as I suspect they will be, then I have 5 more to order.

[peteski]

Maybe, the problem is that I couldn't get the 40F apart to verify that it's the same board.

I have my doubts that the IM ESU sound decoder board would be used in a Kato locomotive.  The motor and speaker pads would not line up with the Kato motor (and no speaker).  Is the overall shape of that decoder compatible with the Kato chassis? I suspect that Kato uses a standard ESU decoder board hardwired into the chassis with a custom-installed speaker.

[mu26aeh]

DCC manual from Kato website says it's a LokSound Select decoder, with 8 outputs.  Plus, didn't we decide this is an all new design/board, not even the Next18 it's advertised to have ?

And per Matt Herman who answered a question about something on IMRC FB page, the SD40-2 is a 6 function decoder

[rrjim1]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Picture of Kato SDP40F with ESU loksound decoder.

[jdcolombo]

Well, that's a standard LokSound Select (not even a micro, I think - just a regular HO version).  Not anything like the new IM board.

Easiest thing to do at this point is just wait until I get my SD40-2 from MB Klein, and then I can figure all this out.  The Function Map that's available at the IM web site does show the beacon on Aux3.  But I'll remain a bit skeptical until I actually get one.  If that's true, then the pad on the underside is either mis-labeled or redundant, and either would be somewhat out-of-character for ESU.  But I'll get to the bottom of it all within a week.

John C.

PS- Kato seems to have done a good job with the speaker!  So many manufacturers screw this up that it's nice to know that one seems to be paying attention (maybe two, if IM's speaker is what I've been led to believe it is).

EDIT - actually, now that I look at it again, it may be a micro, but it may be a V.4 instead of a select.  Not sure without seeing it in person.

[rrjim1]

Well, that's a standard LokSound Select (not even a micro, I think - just a regular HO version).  Not anything like the new IM board.

 
 EDIT - actually, now that I look at it again, it may be a micro, but it may be a V.4 instead of a select.  Not sure without seeing it in person.

In the Kato Box there is a piece of paper on top of the bubble wrap that states,

 "Equipped with an ESU LokSound 90861 Select Micro Sound Decoder Installed By Kato USA"
             "Unit Has Been Tested and Programmed To Address 504" 

The paper that is included with the Intermountain SD40-2 states that the sound decoder is a LokSound Select Micro slide-in sound decoder, ESU 93820..   

[AKNscale]

Well, that's a standard LokSound Select (not even a micro, I think - just a regular HO version).  Not anything like the new IM board.

Easiest thing to do at this point is just wait until I get my SD40-2 from MB Klein, and then I can figure all this out.  The Function Map that's available at the IM web site does show the beacon on Aux3.  But I'll remain a bit skeptical until I actually get one.  If that's true, then the pad on the underside is either mis-labeled or redundant, and either would be somewhat out-of-character for ESU.  But I'll get to the bottom of it all within a week.

John C.

PS- Kato seems to have done a good job with the speaker!  So many manufacturers screw this up that it's nice to know that one seems to be paying attention (maybe two, if IM's speaker is what I've been led to believe it is).

EDIT - actually, now that I look at it again, it may be a micro, but it may be a V.4 instead of a select.  Not sure without seeing it in person.

The Kato should be a Select as I had no option to edit the sound files.

[AKNscale]

Ok, I have an IM 40-2 in hand, I'm about to start working on the programming right now to see what secrets I can crack. Can someone recap everything we were looking to figure out?

[jdcolombo]

Ok, I have an IM 40-2 in hand, I'm about to start working on the programming right now to see what secrets I can crack. Can someone recap everything we were looking to figure out?

1.  Physical outputs for the six LEDs.  The headlight and rear light are obvious, so you can skip them.  The bottom front LED is for the front ditch lights, so it is probably Aux1.  The rear ditch light is probably Aux2.  The hidden beacon light in front May or may not be Aux3, and the hidden beacon light in back may or may not be Aux4.  Then there are the two pads on the underside.  They are marked Aux3 and Aux4.  Is this correct?  The U+ pad should be common positive (blue wire).  Is this correct?  If the beacons are Aux3 and Aux4, respectively, then does that mean the pads are just redundant connection points?

2.  What is the current mapping for each of these lights?  Again, you can ignore headlight and rear light.  The ditch lights are mapped to F6.  So if they are Aux1 and Aux2, the mapping should asssign Aux1 to F6, forward direction, and Aux2 to F6, reverse.  F5 appears to operate the front hidden beacon, so if that's Aux3, it should be mapped to F5, nondirectional.  And then what about the hidden rear beacon.  I'm assuming that if it is Aux4, it is not mapped to any Function button.  If you map it to a function button, does it work when turned on?  As a beacon or steady light?  And what about those pads?  If they really are Aux3 and Aux4, the voltage should flow between the Aux3 pad and the U+ pad when Aux3 is on and same for Aux4.

That's really all I can think of on the programming side.  If you are adventurous, you could try to figure out where the common Negative connnection is for those folks who want to add external keep alive.  I probably don't have sufficient electrical engineering expertise to do this myself.  If you do, go for it.

John C.

[AKNscale]

Ok, quick update: I've gotten all lights to light up, these are their factory settings...

-The front LED on the underside of the decoder lights up on F6 forward, and is set to AUX1 while the rear lights up on F6 in reverse and is set on AUX2(I think someone has already figured this)
-The front taped over LED lights up on F5, is preset for a beacon, and is AUX3(also figured)
-The rear taped over LED lights up on F13, is preset as a dimmable headlight, and is AUX4

[mu26aeh]

I believe F12 dims the front/rear headlights.