1 MYLOCOSOUND STEAM SOUND VAN FOR 12 VOLT DC RAILWAYS FEATURES Place on the track, couple up a loco, turn up the power you have instant sound.
Uses a TV remote control to adjust the chuff and whistle to match the loco.
Provides a chuff which matches the loco speed and load
Long and short, plain and chime whistles with adjustable tone to suit the loco.
Full remote control of the whistle, optional bell, safety valve and guards whistle.
•
•
•
•
•
NOT SUITABLE FOR USE WITH DCC OR HIGH FREQUENCY TRACK CLEANERS Note •
•
•
MyLocoSound soundcards, like most electronic devices, cannot be used with high frequency track cleaners. MyLocoSound soundcards rely on accurately detecting the voltage at the track to achieve realistic operation. Dirty track and dirty wheels will prevent correct operation. The sound van contains a 3.6 volt cordless phone battery which sustains the sound when the loco is static and the track voltage is low or zero. If your van does not function then the most likely reason is that the battery is flat and you should check the section of these instructions on battery charging. 1. THE REMOTE CONTROL The remote control is supplied separately because a single remote can control any number of locos. The soundcard will operate with any Sony™ TV remote control using the buttons described in this section. It will also operate with any universal remote control when the code is set to 130. However, in the interests of domestic harmony, in which stealing your partner’s TV remote is probably a bad idea, MyLocoSound optionally supplies a suitable remote control and that is the one illustrated here. The MyLocoSound remote control comes with two AAA batteries fitted. The MyLocoSound remote control is a universal device which has been pre-­‐
programmed to Sony™ coding. If your remote control stops working then please refer to the Trouble shooting guide at the end of these instructions. 2 Note that the buttons on the MyLocoSound remote control auto-­‐repeat if held down. If you want a single event to occur, like turning on the safety valve, then press the safety valve and release it immediately. If you want to make a large change then you can hold the button down to avoid the need to press the button repeatedly. 3. OPERATING THE SOUNDVAN First, ensure that your track and the sound van wheels are clean. If either is dirty then operation will be erratic. Place the sound van on the track and couple up to a loco. When track power is applied, you should hear a steam hiss. If no hiss is heard then press the mute button on the remote control which may have been left on. If still no sound is heard then please refer to the section on battery charging. To preserve the battery, the sound van will automatically switch itself off when the track power has been zero for thirty seconds. Many controllers have a speed knob and a forward/off/reverse switch. On some of these, there is still a small voltage when the speed knob is at zero and therefore the sound van will keep running. These controllers have to be switched to the off before the volts become zero and the sound van will then shut down after thirty seconds. You then need to set the sound to match the loco as follows. Each time you press a button on the remote control, the sound van will beep and a tiny light inside will flash. SETTING THE CHUFF The chuff needs to be adjusted to match the motion of the loco and to provide the correct number of beats per wheel revolution. This is achieved as follows: 1. Turn up the power so that the loco is just starting to move. Press the POWER button on the remote control. This sets the voltage at which the chuff starts. If you are using a Gaugemaster controller then make sure that the power is at least 10% before pressing POWER otherwise you will get no chuff at all. 2. If the loco has three cylinders and hence generates six chuffs per wheel revolution then press the 8 button on the remote control once. Pressing it again returns the soundcard to four chuffs per wheel revolution as you get with two or four cylinder locos. 3. Turn the power up again so that the loco is running at a medium speed. Then press the P+ and P-­‐ buttons on the remote control to adjust the chuff rate up or down so that it is running at the correct rate ie. four or six chuffs per wheel revolution. 4. The number 7 button on the remote control switches between coasting and full chuff modes. In the former, the loco will chuff hard when accelerating under load, soften when running easily on the flat and then make a soft coasting sound when slowing down. In full chuff mode, the loco chuffs hard all the time, which some people prefer. 5. Press the V+ and V-­‐ buttons on the remote control to increase or decrease the chuff volume. 3 SETTING THE WHISTLE The whistle then needs to be adjusted to match the loco: 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pressing the number 2 button on the remote control will make the whistle sound continuously. Pressing it again will stop the whistle. Pressing the number 3 button on the remote control will cause the whistle to sound briefly. With the whistle sounding continuously, use the P+ and P-­‐ buttons to adjust the tone to suit the loco. Press the V+ and V-­‐ buttons to set the whistle to the desired volume. Pressing the number 9 button on the remote control will switch the whistle style between chime and plain. Choose the one which fits your loco. Holding down the 3 button on the remote control for two seconds will switch the whistle to and from automatic mode. When automatic mode is on, the whistle will sound three times a minute which is often useful when running at exhibitions. OTHER FACILITIES Pressing the number 1 button will sound the guard’s whistle. The number 4 button sounds a bell. When ringing, you can use the volume controls to set the bell to the desired volume. The number 5 button starts and stops the safety valve blowing off. You can use the volume controls to set the safety valve to the desired volume. Pressing the number 6 button momentarily will switch the engine LED on and off. When it is on then the LED, which is in the middle of the soundcard, flashes in time with the engine and this is used for problem diagnosis. However, the constant flashing will be undesirable in a railcar or coach with windows and so, if LED flashing is occurring then you may want to use this button to turn it off. 4. BATTERY CHARGE The sound van contains a 3.6 volt cordless phone battery which sustains the sound when the loco is static and the track voltage is low or zero. The battery is charged whenever the track voltage exceeds 6 volts which, with most locos, means that the train is running at medium speed. The tiny light inside the van will flash regularly when charging is taking place. On most layouts, the battery will always be charged because discharging while the loco is static or moving slowly will be offset by the charging when in motion. However, on small shunting layouts the battery may discharge and the van will cease to operate when the battery voltage falls below 3.6 volts. The easiest way to recharge the battery is to place the van on the track, remove all locomotives in the same section and turn up the power so that the track voltage exceeds 6 volts. The battery should then recharge in about twenty minutes. The battery voltage will be 4.1 volts when fully charged. When the van is static and is set to typical volume levels, a fully charged battery will sound the steam hiss for about 2.5 hours. 4 5. TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE THE REMOTE CONTROL WON’T WORK Press any button. If a red light does not flash next to the SET button then the battery is missing. If it flashes twice then the battery is flat and the remote control is not sending anything. Using a small flat screwdriver or knife blade, lever open the battery compartment and insert two new AAA. Then, when you press a button, the red light should flash rapidly to indicate that it is sending. If the remote still does not work then the Sony™ coding may have been lost. Hold down the SET button until you see a continuous red light. When the red light illuminates, let go of the set button. Press and release the 0, then the 1, then the 4 and then the 0 button in turn. The red light should then go out and the remote control is ready for use. If the remote control still does nothing then the problem may be the infra-­‐red receiver attached to the sound unit. I GET NO STATIC HISS When you turn on the van, using the switch underneath, the steam hiss should be heard. If there is no hiss then do the following in the order shown: 1.
2.
3.
4.
Point the remote control at the van and press the Mute button. Recharge the battery as described in section 4. Remove the van body and check that the 9 pin JST plug is fully pressed home. Check for loose or broken wires between the battery and the soundcard. I GET NO CHUFF If the track voltage is increased and you get no chuff then do the following in the order shown: 1. Move the van in case it is stuck on dead point frogs, etc. 2. Check that the track and wheels are clean. 3. Remove the van body and check that the 9 pin JST plug is fully pressed home. 4. If the LED light in the van does not flash then reset the soundcard as described below. 5. If, after resetting, the LED still does not flash then withdraw the 9 pin JST plug and check that the track voltage is showing at the red and black wires. These are the second pins in from each end. If there is no voltage then check the wiring down to the wheels. 6. If the LED light in the van flashes and the loco moves but there is still no sound, then check that the brown wires connecting to the speaker have not come adrift. If okay then the speaker may be faulty or damaged. If these reveal nothing then the soundcard is may be faulty or damaged and you need to contact your supplier if the ninety day warranty applies. RE-­‐SETTING THE SOUNDCARD A time may come when you have been adjusting the sound and you want to start again. This can be achieved by resetting the soundcard back to the settings when it left the factory. You can do this by pressing the 6 button on the remote control and hold it down for one second. The soundcard will beep three times when the reset is complete. PLC008 Steam Sound Van Instructions.doc 15/5/15 For more information, please visit the web site at www.mylocosound.com or e-­‐mail sales@mylocosound.com. Copyright © 2012-­‐15 Peter Lucas Consulting Pty. Ltd. 5