The Unofficial LokProgrammer Manual

Several members of LokSound group on groups.io have gotten together and created The Unofficial LokProgrammer Manual. It does a very good job of explaining the LokProgrammer software and what each setting does. It gave me an understanding of a lot of things I was uncertain of before I read it. If you're interested in manipulating Loksound sound files in any way or creating your own sound projects this manual will get you started and give you a good foundation of how to go about it.

To access and download it you will need a groups.io login which is easy to sign up for if you don't already have one. Go to groups.io and in the upper right corner of the page click on Sign Up. Fill in the information and you're in.

Once you're logged in you can use this link to go directly to the manual. If that doesn't work copy the link below and paste it into your browser.

https://groups.io/g/Loksound/files/ESU%20LokSound%20v4.0%20Programmer%20Software%20User%20Manual,%20v1

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NIXTRAINZ Decoder Buddy V5 - 21 Pin Decoder Motherboard

Decoder Buddy Version 5 is a motherboard for 21 Pin decoders (Scale=HO). It has 12 outputs and was designed for use with ESU V5 decoders. However, most 21-pin decoders will work in the V5 (the author has his doubts about ScaleTrains and Fox Valley - no way to test) and give the number of function outputs available on the 21-pin decoder you are using. The author has used the Soundtraxx Economi decoder with a decoder buddy with no problems.

Decoder Buddy Information

This product is versatile in terms of direction of the placement of the board and mounting in various configurations. It can easily replace a QSI board, a Dual Mode decoder board or be mounted directly on the electric motor or frame with Kapton tape. (It is recommended that a piece of Kapton tape be placed on the bottom of the motherboard to assure electrical isolation from the electric motor or frame). It does not include a Decoder and the motherboard and connector board require soldering. It is NOT FOR USE IN A DC SYSTEM.

The removable lighting connector was designed so that the shell of the diesel locomotive can be easily separated from the frame without unsoldering wires. This does require that the headlight and rear lights be mounted in the shell of the locomotive. It also requires that the speaker be mounted to the frame.

The motherboard includes:

• One 21 Pin Decoder receptacle
• Two pairs of track input pads
• One pair of motor input pads
• One pair of keep alive pads (U+ and GND)
• Two pairs of speaker pads wired in parallel
• Resistors for use with LED lighting.

Some modelers may consider this last point not a pro but a con. In locomotives that require incandescent bulbs (older Athearn engines come immediately to mind) it would be difficult to change to LEDS and have the same look as the bulbs.

As delivered, the on board resistors are sized for LEDs (2.2K). If you require incandescent lamps there are procedures on the website that require soldering and allow for incandescent lamp use but in order to do this the author believes you would have to be an experienced solderer as the resistors are surface mounted and quite small (SMRs). Also, remember there are different incandescent lamp voltages that have to be taken into consideration (1.5v vs. 14v, etc).
The NIXTRAINZ website can take special orders for motherboards with the appropriate resistors in place. Check out their website.

The connector board contains pads for eight pairs of lighting function connections. U+ or the blue wire has eight connected pads for the common power source. The negative (-) discrete function pads are all labeled to indicate their connection to the functions available in the decoder.

DECODER BUDDY SIZE

Width x Length x Height
0.67” x 2.20” x 0.35”
17 mm x 56 mm x 9 mm

Height may vary slightly depending on decoder.

NixTrainz also has a miniature version of the motherboard. Read about it here.

The author feels the Decoder Buddy is a nice addition to the model railroader's parts arsenal and allows putting 21 pin decoders in locomotives where it was difficult if not impossible to do before it came along. Just be aware of the LED vs. incandescent bulb issue.

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Bowser Manufacturing 2020 Delivery Schedule

1302 Jordan Ave P.O. Box 322 Montoursville, PA 17754
Phone: 570-368-2379 Fax: 570-368-5046
www.bowser-trains.com

As most of you are aware, like many other manufacturers in this industry, Bowser experienced the closing of our manufacturing facility. With new facilities now in place, we are working diligently to get production back on track. This has been a long and expensive process, but we have turned a corner. Products are beginning to show. We expect 2020 to be a great year with many long-awaited projects seeing completion, we appreciate the patience our customers have shown. We have also introduced 3D printed parts, car load accessories as well as sound upgrade kits in our English's Model RR brand. These have proven to be very popular and allow us to create details that would not have been made possible using previous production or tooling methods. Keep watching our newsletters for additions to that line of products. We do not have a specific production schedule at this time however below is a summary of what is expected to arrive this year.

Loco projects expected to arrive in early 2020:

HO 100 Ton Hopper Cars HO Spine Cars 5 Unit Sets

HO ALCO Century C-628, C-630

HO GMD SD-402f Locomotive

Loco projects expected to arrive in late 2020:

HO GMD SD40-2 Locomotive

HO ALCO C-630M Locomotives

HO MLW M630 Locomotives

HO F Unit Locomotives

Loco projects expected to arrive in early 2021:

HO Baldwin AS16, AS616

HO Baldwin AS416 and DRS 4-4-1500

HO U25b Locomotives HO Baldwin VO660

Freight Cars expected to arrive early and mid-2020

HO 70 T 14 Panel Hopper Cars

HO N5 Caboose

N Scale N5C Caboose

N Scale N5 Caboose

HO N5C Caboose

HO N8 Caboose

Freight Cars expected to arrive late 2020:

HO 70 Ton Wood Chip Hopper Cars

HO GLa 2 Bay Hopper Cars

HO 100 Ton Hopper Cars

HO 40 Foot Box Cars

HO GS Gondola Cars

HO Flat Cars

HO ALCO RS-3 Locomotives

Special Delivery - we will stop production on any other loco as soon as this loco is ready. Do not have any date at this time.

Finishing touches are being done on the molds. Still have a couple of small parts to make and the cab glass.

Thank you for your patronage and patience as we move through this reset process.

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Important Information Concerning JMRI And Reading Decoders, Particularly ESU LokSound

Thanks to Dave Heap of Australia for the following:

When using JMRI always select New Loco->Read Type from Decoder to identify an ESU decoder. All modern ESU loco decoders will identify uniquely. Making a guess at the decoder model is a recipe for problems.

Reading the full decoder is essential, particularly with ESU decoders where there are no "standard defaults". Each sound project has its own "factory defaults". All ESU sound decoders are manufactured effectively blank. When a Sound project is loaded to the decoder (using LokProgrammer software) part of the procedure is to write a new set of "factory defaults".

Because of a known (but as yet unresolved) deadlock condition with certain decoder settings variables in JMRI code:

1. Use "Read Full Sheet" on the CVs pane instead of "Read All Sheets". It is less likely to cause errors when reading a decoder with lots of CVs. Once finished, some may be missed (displayed in red). Use "Read Changes on Sheet" as many times as needed until no red items remain. (Hint: Click on the Status column in the CVs pane until you see a down arrow. All the Red items will then be at the top.)
2. After you make changes on a programming sheet, don't use Write/Read changes on that programming sheet. Instead, switch to the CVs pane and use Write/Read changes on (the CVs) sheet. The result is the same but it will never trigger the race condition.

You'll also see a number of messages in the JMRI System Log like this:

"ERROR - Variable=xxxxxx; Busy goes false with state IDLE"

Ignore these as they don't indicate a real error, this will be fixed in a later JMRI release.

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