SoundTraxx DSD-150/DSX Owners Manual - Manual (Page 5)

Digital Sound Decoder Owner's Manual 5
which contains an assortment of heat shrink tubing suitable for this purpose and P.N. 810036 which provides a length
of Teflon tubing. Electrical tape will unravel with time and is not recommended!
If you intend to take advantage of the special lighting effects and wish to use 1.5 Volt
microbulbs for this purpose, Throttle Up! offers two sizes; P.N. 810022 has a diameter
of 1.3mm. P.N. 810024 has a diameter of
2.5mm for use in larger scales. You can also
buy these lamps in economical six packs. See
Appendix A.
Throttle Up! also offers a variety of 8 ohm
speakers suitable for use with the DSD.
Choose the largest speaker that can be fit in
the locomotive. The larger the size, the better
the sound quality and volume. See Appendix
A for ordering information.
Step 1. Select your Locomotive
If this is the first time you have installed sound
in a locomotive, then we suggest you choose your locomotive carefully. A few simple precautions will ensure that your
first effort produces a great sounding locomotive instead of an intimidating ball of wires:
- Do pick a smooth running locomotive that runs well on straight DC power. A smooth running mechanism is
vital for good throttle control and enhances the realism of the sound. Dirty, worn out or binding mechanisms
not only overload the decoder, but will have trouble starting smoothly and will destroy the illusion created by
the Auto-Exhaust feature if they barely lurch along at half throttle.
- Do pick a locomotive with a reasonably large, rectangular tender. The larger the tender, the more room you
will have for installation of the decoder and speaker. It will also allow you to use a larger speaker, giving both
better volume and sound fidelity. Reserve that favorite little shay for a future installation when you have some
experience behind you.
- Do start with an engine that is ‘sound-ready’ if possible, such as an engine with predrilled speaker holes, for
example. The simpler you can make your first installation, the better.
- Don’t pick a noisy engine, or one which experiences some arcing or sparking when in operation. The best
sound will come from locomotives powered with can motors. Older, open-frame motors may produce an
offensive, interference sound.
- Don’t pick a locomotive whose stall current draw exceeds the rating of the decoder. The following procedure
can be used to determine a locomotive’s stall current:
1. Place the locomotive on a section of track powered with a conventional DC power pack set to 12
volts for N, HO, S, and O scales or 16 volts for G scale.
2. Connect a DC ammeter in series with one of the track feeders as shown in Figure 1. If your power
pack has built-in meters, they may be used for this purpose.
3. While grasping the locomotive to prevent it from taking off, turn the power pack to full on.
4. Stop the motor from turning by firmly pushing the locomotive down into the track or grabbing hold of
the flywheel or driveshaft.
5. To ensure the most accurate current measurement, be sure that the power pack voltage remains at
12 volts (16 volts for G scale) during this test.
6. Measure the current the locomotive is drawing while the motor is stalled. This is the stall current and
must be less that the decoder’s rated capacity.
810053
810054
810055
810056
810057
N-Scale HO-Scale S-Scale O-Scale G-Scale
SUITABLE
SCALES
SPEAKER SIZE P.N.
● ●
● ●
● ● ●
● ●
● ●
3/4" Speaker
1" Speaker
1-1/2" Speaker
2" Speaker
3" Speaker