Recently Matthew Herman of ESU visited the Model Railroader offices and talked with senior editor Dana Kawala about some of the latest features to be found in ESU LokSound Digital Command Control (DCC) decoders. See and hear ESU LokSound – equipped diesel locomotives as they run on the Model Railroader staff’s Wisconsin & Southern layout.
Video: ESU LokSound DCC diesel decoder demo
By Angela Cotey | December 19, 2014
| Last updated on November 3, 2020
Check out the diesel sound features of the latest Digital Command Control sound decoders from ESU LokSound
You betcha! I found the U34CH sound program (#74445) for the esu loksound Select 6 Aux Universal Sound decoder, No.73400, that sounds EXACTLY like the Erie Lackawanna diesel that pulled and pushed me to Hoboken Terminal and back home in the early 1970's! The chugging sound of the loco could be heard echoing off the hills of New Jersey long after all the other sounds had faded away. wow! WOW!
'scuse me while I have a flashback!
Herb from Noo Joizey
Sadly, I found that a degree in PROGRAMMING would be very useful to have just to understand the terminology of the jmri folks. I used to write military user's guides and repair manuals and even for the commercial sector (ATA -100), and it was always the same thing: Programmers insist on using their special jargon at all times. It LOOKS like English, but it isn't. I literally had to sit down with the hardware/software and painstakingly figure it out for myself. Thank God for my training in electronics!
It would not be amiss to sit down these software guys & gals and teach them to write their notes in plain English. After all, that's what I had to do to speak to my audience. Talk about the useless duplication of effort and extra labor cost for the translation of programmer's notes! By the way, my manuals were invariably approved by the DOD inspectors and it's tough to even get their grudging approval.
Let us all remember why ISO 9000 came to be. Please bow your heads and repeat after me. . . "The most difficult industrial problem to solve is the lack of communication between specialists and the public". Now you know the secret of Morgan Freeman's popularity.
just when MR comes out with something that I think cements my choice on N (Red Oak layout), they do a video of something that leads me straight back to HO (Horribly Oversized-layout). On top of that I've been calling it Lock-sound all these years.
I use loksound for years ,they have a superb reputation in europe ,loksound 4 is simply the best buy for those who want to get more out of the hobby !! Try one and you will see and hear the difference ,
These guys, and TCS decoders are giving Tsunami a run for their money. These are equipped nicely, Tsunami needs to play catch up to these guys, both in sound qualities, and all the features they offer. Great job guys, I have been waiting on the new decoders from TCS and Lok sound, WOW is all i can say, these guys have it a going on.
Sure beats some of the other decoders I have heard, Hopefully other decoder manufacturers will make the correct assumption that a demonstration via these videos is an absolute necessity.
Not sure about the 21 pin thing. Sure, LokSound would like to make their choice everyone's choice. Also, not sure the very small decoders (N & Z) would have room for such a beast.
I like Loksound decoders and have found them to be almost bullet proof. Its great that the sounds are getting better.
Great video. More DCC manufacturers should provide this kind of "interface" to the buying public. Nice job.
Having experienced using and programming a LokSound decoder, I can only wish that the instruction manual were a little clearer in translation. It would make life easier. I must agree with Gary, it is funny to hear a dynamic brake work on an engine that is no so equipped.
Would this resurrect the old canard that was published in the early 50's that if a Geep had dynamic brakes it was a GP-9; it not it was a GP-7.
First – Nice sound! That EMD 567 sounded great, although it was mildly humorous to hear him demonstrate dynamic braking on a Rock Island unit (the joke is that RI didn't use dynamic brakes). Loksound has great sound, but it seems that they have so MANY options that programming them is a royal pain for a "lesser experienced" DCC person. You almost nee an electrical engineering background to get them to do what you want. Maybe Loksound should look into line of decoders with fewer options that would be more user friendly. For instance; I have a couple of Walthers' UP E8s, and I want to turn OFF the flashing warning light (UP didn't use in over-the-road service). What's the "secret" command code that isn't listed anywhere to get the darned things to shut off?
Thanks for a great demo video Dana. Gary…you only need JMRI, not an electrical engineering background!