irishthump

Yeah grabbed a couple of them too.

No problem at all. It only took a couple of minutes on the Lokprogrammer software. Even if you never buy a Lokprogrammer you can download the software for free, it's easy to re map function keys, adjust sound slot volumes and lighting effects. There is a feature which then shows which CV's were altered to achieve this and you then use them to manually programme your loco. With the best intentions programming can still go wrong when manually inputting CV's. All it takes is dirt on the track or some bad track writing for the commands to get corrupted.

By the looks of it I got the last pack of kegs!

Lovely!

On the subject of the flashing marker lights, I don't think this it's possible to have steady state lights that change to flashing at the push of a function key. I'll ask on the Loksound IO Group but I don't think it can be done.

Some info for you... I was messing around with the Lokprogrammer software and experimenting with getting the marker lights to flash. To do this you alter the following CV's: CV31 = 16, CV32 = 0 ---------------------- CV259 = 14 CV267 = 14 CV31 = 16, CV32 = 3 ---------------------- CV417 = 16 CV422 = 16 Now you said you altered the volume of the engine sound. This is in sound slot 1 and to do that you change the following CV's: CV31 = 16, CV32 = 1 ---------------------- CV259 = 63 You'll notice you alter the same CV, in this case CV259, to change both the light function AND the sound slot. It's the index CV's - CV16 and CV32 which need to be given the correct values to change the functions or sounds you want. I'd say an incorrect value was entered in to one of these and that caused the lights to behave erratically. This just shows how important it is to get these index CV's right as it can cause the decoder to have a fit!

As far as I know the Lokpilot supports these features. No additional hardware are rewiring is necessary, the decoder will control the flashing functions. In fact a lot of lower spec decoders support these features as well, I have flashing headlights on a couple of Athearn F units which are fitted with Lenz decoders. Yeah but get you're point that the marker and end lights are an the same circuit, so they would flash together!

That's weird. I suggest doing the reset a few more times, sometimes it does'nt take the first time. Also when you do the reset cut the power to the track, this helps sometimes.

CV's 31 and 32 are indexing CV's. They don't control anything directly they are used when programming CV's above 255. They won't affect anything by themselves. The reset is your best bet.

Yeah you need to do a hard reset, it sounds like the decoder has gotten itself in a twist!

This type of mod is way above my skill level so I'm very interested to see how that works out. It would be great if you can take a few pictures of the install. Space is VERY limited inside the baby GMs, so I'm not sure how you would handle the lighting mods.

As someone who missed the boat on these, a rerun would certainly be welcome!

Interesting stuff. Does the extra output you require need to be hardwired to one of the 21 pin connections? On the subject of the V4 vs V5, nearly all suppliers stopped selling V4's as soon as the V5 was released. ESU were clever enough to not make the V5 more expensive! If I were you I'd use the V4 in a 141/181. The lighting in those locos is very basic. Unless of course you want to modify the light setup.

Yeah I thought that was the case. The only option is to use the switch to disable the red marker lights. Unless you want to rewire.....

I wouldn't even attempt this tweak without using the Lokprogrammer! Yes, you can do it with CV's but the Loksound and Lokpilot use indexed CV's which need to other values adjusted before you can change any CV's above no. 255. If you don't set the correct index you can put the decoder in a tailspin! I 'd have to check but I don't think the 201's front and back marker lights can be set independently of each other. Is there a switch on the 201 for turning marker lights off while in analogue mode?

Eoin that's cracking work!

Incredible! Well worth the wait!

The main Loksound decoder used in the US is the Loksound Select. This is a slightly lower spec then the V4 or V5. Files for the Select decoders can not be customised like V4 and V5 Loksound files and are generally smaller as the select has less memory. There are also 2 different versions of the V5 being released for US and Euro market. The V5 is the standard EU decoder and works with DCC as well as other control protocols. The V5 DCC is only available in the US and is DCC/Railcom only. I've heard it also has some differences in the brake features but I have'nt been able to find out much more than that. So the upshot is that you can only purchase the V5 DCC on your side of the pond. However, that should'nt matter. If you can get the files from Wheeltappers they will still work as the 2 versions are identical in all respects except for the ones I mentioned above.

Well to be honest I'd probably use the old MM 071 file and just change the engine sound.

Those 121 decoders will work fine for the 141/181 locos as well. You MAY have some trouble with the lights but that's easily sorted. Well I missed that one! Apparently I was only searching the V4 files. That engine sound would be perfect for a 201.

Have'nt a clue. That's too far down the bleedin' rabbit hole! I know I loaded the 2 different sounds to my pair of 071's. One has a higher idle sound which I thought would be quiet plausible. If you watch any of the many videos on Youtube you'll notice that no two locos sound the same! No when you reprogram a decoder you need to completely replace the existing sound file. So you can't take a pre programmed decoder and simply change the engine or horn sounds and keep the rest. You need to load a complete file.

I don't see any reason to not get the 121 decoders even if you have the Lokprogrammer. The engine and horn sounds are great from what we've heard in the short videos that were posted here and if they come with the Full Throttle features then happy days! If they don't then I'll most likely reprogram the decoders. Personally I'd rather have better driving characteristics than 100% authentic sounds, but that's just me.

There are files for engine model used in the 121 and 141 locos (8 cylinder 567CR). Same for the 181 (8 cylinder 645E non turbo) There are 2 different sounding files with 645E3 turbo which works for the 071. They even list the files as being suitable for the EMD JL8, GL8, JL18 and JT22CW models in their descriptions. The 201 is the only sticking point, there was a file for the 12 cylinder 710G3B which I downloaded for my lone 201 model. But that file does'nt appear to be there anymore. Again the 16 cylinder is there in several versions. As Fran said they have many other files with different cylinder configurations and while there is a difference in sound between them its damn hard to hear in an OO gauge model. It might be more noticeable in the new V5 decoders as they have improved sound quality but it remains to be seen. Again as Fran said there is no file available to match the A Class. I used a 567 which had a somewhat similar sound but it's not the same by any means.

Hopefully the 121's will be the same. Not trying to scaremonger, just want the decoders to be as good as the models, be a shame for the sound to let the 121's down.

The V5 decoders are backward compatible with the V4 sound files and will work just fine. I've not even tried the V5's yet, I believe the sound is far superior and they have other features like variable brake settings but I get along fine with the V4's. I do have 2 V5's ordered for my 121's though. In my opinion the Lokprogrammer is the very best option. Building an original sound file from scratch is very labour intensive and requires knowing the workings of the programmer and decoders inside out. I haven't even tried it myself. As Noel mentioned I made my own files but they are simply the Murphy Models OEM files. I simply replaced the engine with one from ESU's vast library of US sound files. These have all been updated with the improved driving features mentioned above. This is simple to do, basically a drag-and-drop operation. They have files with the EXACT engine model used in all of the Irish GM locos. In most cases they have MULTIPLE examples so you can have different sounding engines across your fleet. Like I said this is a simple thing to do and you could get to grips with this is a couple of afternoons. The likes of Wheeltappers and DCCSoundguy make great products but there's an awful lot to be said for being able to do this yourself at home. Yes you save around €30 per decoder but when you order decoders with loaded files from the other suppliers you have to wait for them to arrive then you might not be entirely happy with what you get, and you're stuck with it unless you want to send it back to be reprogrammed. If you have the Lokprogrammer you just load a different file! On a side note I'm a bit worried about the upcoming decoder for the 121. It's a V5 but I have a feeling it may not have the Full Throttle and Brake features. These have to be built into sound file itself and only the US sound files are built this way. They were created by the US end of the ESU operation and if you look at all of the European sound files which were created by the EU side of ESU you'll see none of them have these features.