Large Scale Central

How to Tell if an LGB Mogul has DCC

General Discussion
#21

Next issue, I can’t control the sound through the DCC controller.

Using the DCC controller I can turn the lights on/off, turn the firebox on/off, turn the smoke on/off but I can’t turn the sound off or activate the whistle or bell. The fact that the other items work but not these has me confused and I hope that someone will point out what I am missing here.

So what I have done:

There are three things involved here, the power board, the DCC controller board and the tender. I have another mogul that I have swapped the DCC controller board and the tender with this one yet I get the same results. That leads me to believe that the problem is in the power board that came with the engine. This board looks exactly like the power board in the other mogul and is wired the same. So what am I missing here? What and I not seeing that would cause this?

#22

Bad speaker?

#23

Sorry I obviously did not including all of the details. Two additional things.

The speaker works well

The Tender makes all of the appropriate sounds when placed on the track and provides motion sound in pace with the movement of the engine, I would think that this has to mean that the connection to the engine should be fine.

#24

Oh, so maybe the cam sensor on the one driver axle isn’t working right.

#25

David Maynard said:

Oh, so maybe the cam sensor on the one driver axle isn’t working right.

Huh??? The sound is keeping pace with the speed of the engine.

#26

Oh, I misread the post. If you cant control the sounds with the controller, then maybe the functions aren’t mapped out right. In true DCC, functions can be mapped out (on some decoders) so that function 1 can ring the bell, or blow the whistle or do nothing at all.

#27

The answer is the decoder in the engine only controls the engine!!!

The sound board in the tender only sees power form the track and can not understand the DCC component.

Cable fron engine to tender has 6 wires which are used by:

3 wires for engine rear axle sensor, common, power, sense signal

2 wires for track power

1 wire for rear light (rear light also references 1 leg of track power).

So, no way for decoder output to go to sound module.

Chuff is from a rear wheel sensor on the engine, bell and whistle are reed switches in the tender front truck.

So, to activate sounds via DCC you need a decoder in the tender if the board has the connections for a decoder.

Newer Moguls with MTS/sound have a sound board in the engine under the onboard decoder and is connected via SUSI bus with a 4 wire cable with common, power, SUSI signals.

Decoders with SUSI that I know of are ESU, LGB MTS, massoth and Zimo. MRC, Bachmann, NCE I believe do not have this capability.

#28

See, I know a bit about HO DCC, but large scale decoders are a bit different, sometimes.

Thanks Dan

#29

This has become a real head scratcher. I have swapped out the tenders and the issue stays with the engine so it has nothing to do with the tender.

#30

Like Dan said, the engine has no way to tell the sound board to sound the whistle with only 6 wires.

#31

I’m a little confused as to what is the issue now.

It seems you have a DCC decoder in the loco.

You have a non-DCC “analog” sound unit in the tender.

There is no way to remotely control the sound, period. (magnets don’t count as remote control in my book)

Is this a fair assessment of the situation?

#32

Greg you missed that I used a tender from my other Mogul that works well with the remote control so the issue does not appear to be in the tender that came with the engine.

#33

So, what if the other tender has a DCC decoder?

One tender with Analog sound card, one tender with DCC sound card?

The sound card is indeed in the tender in this case right?

Or is it also a possibility that the other Mogul has a sound card in the loco?

Greg