NEW Update to the Sound Upgrades
In June 2019, ESU released the “New” LokSound 5 Sound Decoders, which replaced the LokSound V4.0 and LokSound Select sound decoders.
Now all the DCC Solutions LokSound V4.0 Custom Sound Projects will be forced to undergo further upgrades for use in the “New” LokSound 5 Sound Decoders. To utilise all the abilities of the LokSound 5 technology, DCC Solutions will be mastering brand-new sound projects to include new recorded sounds and features to make your sound equipped locomotives operate and sound more prototypical than ever before.
Every DCC Solutions LokSound V4.0 sound project will require changes, upgrades and further testing for them to work correctly in the LokSound 5 decoders. After already spending thousands of hours upgrading our previous sound projects, this was something that was not expected. It has become an extremely time-consuming exercise but needs to be done here at DCC Solutions if we are to continue to provide the best sound and features for your model trains on the Australian market.
So, all the following features will also still be included on the LokSound 5 Sound along with some new added features
DCC Solutions – Full Throttle / Drive Hold
So what's the difference between the DCC Solutions version and the ESU version of drive hold?
The DCC Solutions version allows your loco to come to a stop when you reduce the loco speed to zero or apply the brake, even if you have the Drive Hold function still switched on. With ESU, your loco will not stop and will continue running until you turn Drive Hold off. This will result in your loco crashing into the back of another train, running off the track or hitting into a structure or building.
This feature allows you to simulate a loaded or empty train by pressing a function button. When the button is pressed, the motor will remain at a constant speed, while the sound can be controlled independently by adjusting the speed on the throttle. This exciting, new feature gives the operator the ability to have the train crawl in notch 8 or coast at 100 km/h. Release the Drive Hold function button, and you simply go back to throttle-controlled speed and motion. Playing with this feature on and off several times during your take-off will have your loco growling at slow speeds and levelling out as your speed increases. Experiment with this new feature, and you can have your model loco sounding like the real thing!...and it will stop when you want it to stop with DCC Solutions and Drive Hold.
DCC Solutions – Working Brake
We have created our own version of an independent brake, how it works and how it affects the prime mover sound when the locomotive comes to stop. Our version also allows the locomotive to come to stop if you have Drive Hold is on, as with other versions, the loco will not stop. Simply press F6, the Brake Function button, and your locomotive will come to a stop at a much shorter distance than if you were to bring the locomotive to a stop by reducing the speed throttle. Press the function button to release the brake, and your locomotive will move off again and will build up speed until reaching the speed setting that was still set before the brake was applied. If you reduce the speed throttle to zero when the loco is stationary, then when you release the brake, your locomotive will remain stationary until you increase the speed throttle.
DCC Solutions – Coast on Demand
Often when coming to a stop, the throttle of a real locomotive is put into idle and the engineer coasts to a stop. Another situation that occurs is that once a train is up to speed when operating over rolling terrain, the engineer can coast to maintain a certain speed.
We have created our own version of coasting and have called it “Coast on Demand”
By pressing F5 you will activate coasting on demand to suit your running environment, allowing variable speed coasting, so changes in speed will not turn it off. The Coast on Demand function will still remain on until you press F5 to turn off coasting. Coasting is now available when you want it on or off.
DCC Solutions – Dynamic Braking
We have modified the ESU dynamic braking template to work and sound closer to Australian Locomotive for our sound projects.
Press F4 to turn on Dynamic Braking, the prime mover will drop to idle much quicker and the decoder’s Logical Braking function effectively halves the deceleration momentum value to allow increased braking as you reduce the throttle speed. The dynamic brake fans will be heard during braking. During this time, deceleration will be quicker since you have the dynamic brakes on. Turn off F4 and the fans will shut down and the prime mover will once again come up to match the speed of your throttle speed. If you come to a stop when your dynamic brake is applied, the fan sound will cease and the prime mover will return to idle. If a locomotive does not have Dynamics in real life, then we don't include it in our sound projects. However, we will include our version of Dynamic Braking Logic. This allows you to run a trailing non-dynamic brake locomotive behind a dynamic brake equipped locomotive and have the trailing loco working and slowing the same way as the lead locomotive.
DCC Solutions – Move Off, Drive and Stopping Sounds
When your locomotive begins to move you will hear the sounds of brakes releasing with random speed activated wheel squeal, rail noises and other sounds. Some of these sounds are random or speed sensitive that will turn on/off automatically depending on your take-off speed. A selection of random sounds has been programmed into our Custom Sound Project that will randomly play whilst the locomotive is either stopped or moving to add to the realism. When the locomotive comes to a stop you will hear the squeal of the brakes, air releases and then the compressor will cut in automatically to fill the reservoirs with air until full and will cut out. Just another way DCC Solutions has added to the realism that you won't find from other sound decoders on the market.
DCC Solutions – Automatic Cold and Hot Engine Start Up
Depending on the sound project, we have added cold and hot engine start-ups. Pressing F8 will activate the Cold Engine Start Up the first time you start the loco. Shut the loco down by pressing F8 again. If the loco is left on a powered track, the sound project will remember the shutdown sequence and the next time you press F8 to start the loco it will commence the correct sequence with a Hot Engine Start. Also, another feature only found on DCC Solutions Sound Projects are the random pre-engine start up and shut down sequences so that your loco will not exactly sound the same every time you start it up.
DCC Solutions – Horns and Whistles
We have new recordings of some horns and whistles that we are remastering to include them in our Custom Sound Projects to provide you with a more accurate sounding model locomotive.
DCC Solutions – Coupling and Release (Selective using only 1 Function Button)
Most sound decoders do not have separate function buttons for coupling and uncoupling, so when you press the coupler function, you will always hear the sound of coupling first. Pressing it again, and you will hear the uncoupling sound as they are on the same function button.
This is not very realistic if you already have wagons on your loco you wish to simulate uncoupling first.
So when reversing your locomotive (No.1 End Leading), press the coupler function button to hear the coupler clash and your loco will stop.
When moving the loco forward to uncouple, press the coupler function button to hear the uncoupling and the brake air lines sounds. These are directional sounds, and the direction of the locomotive can be set with the coupler button before you want to use the coupler function to make sure you hear the right sounds pending the locomotive’s direction of travel. During coupling/uncoupling, your loco will automatically slow down as it enters shunting mode and will exit shunting mode speed once the process it completed.
DCC Solutions – Light Modifications
Here at DCC Solutions, we are specialist in lighting control in a big way.
We have improved the factory installed lighting on just about every new release locomotive model here in Australia, as well as some older models. Where possible separating the lighting (Headlights, Red and White Markers, Ditch Lights, Cab Lights, Interior Lights) for more prototypical control. On some models, we can achieve up to 12 individual lighting functions for total prototypical light control. It's no good having a model locomotive sounding like the real thing if you haven't got the lighting to match. Check our installation page to see what models can be modified.
Light modifications are just another way that DCC Solutions brings realism and fun into running your scaled models.
At DCC Solutions, we recognise that model railway enthusiast like their locomotives to operate and sound as close as the real thing.
So, we are constantly looking at ways to achieve these requirements, spending endless hours working on all our custom sound projects to constantly improve them and make them sound more like the real thing!
So, let us bring your model locomotive to life with super detailed sound and lights!!!
“ESU - Full Throttle” Decoder Operation for Diesels
It is often challenging to make a scale model perform like it has the mass of a 120 tonne locomotive pulling 4500 tonnes or more!
Some of this can be done with BEMF - when the loco “feels” a load, it will automatically rev up to work harder to pull this actual load. But this is typically a flawed method in modelling. Today, model train car wheels are so free rolling that they do not simulate sufficient drag to replicate a typical prototype situation. Also, we do not sufficiently weigh our wagons to represent a scaled-down version of the prototype. One of the biggest problems with BEMF controlled load is due to the fact that in our modelling and operations, we regularly “simulate” loads inside a wagon. The payload inside a prototype wagon can weigh as much as 100-tonnes more than the wagon itself. This is especially important at operating sessions. Empties in and loads out, or vice versa. There is no way for a decoder to know the proposed weight of the wagon it is pulling. We imagine or replicate whether a wagon is loaded or empty and are seen only by the operator and not by our decoders.
To compensate for what the decoder cannot know, ESU has created Full Throttle – “Drive Hold”
DCC Solutions has taken the concept of the ESU's Full Throttle Drive Hold Version and created our own version of Drive Hold, which has been added to most of our Custom Sound Projects. Visit our installation page to see which Sound Projects include “Full Throttle”.
As part of our sound project upgrades we have remastered some of our sounds and added some new recordings plus included some extra features.
In addition, we have added our modified version of the Independent Brake, Dynamic Brakes and Coast On Demand.
ESU Full Throttle Features and Upgrades to
DCC Solutions Custom Sound Projects