# Rotary beacon simulation update



## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

*Rotary beacon simulation on a SDH164D decoder*

I've been trying to set up a rotary beacon FX on my snow plow using a SDH164D decoder. It had no lights on it when I bought it, so I installed a micro LED in the dummy head light and a flat top LED on top for the beacon. The head light is on the white wire and beacon is on the yellow wire. I'm trying to separate the two functions. Right now both lights are on when the loco is selected and they both stay on no matter which direction the loco is going. So far so good. I should be able to apply the FX to the beacon using CV50 (the yellow wire) value 038/x26 to get it working - but no joy. What am I doing wrong? My master on / off light switch (F0) isn't working either. Anyone out there ever get the beacon FX working?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Cab1,
There is a little quirk with these decoders I've run into the same problems.
Quick fix, switch the two LED's to outputs green and violet then you will be able to completely program and control the outputs!


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

It didn't work, so I started looking around for another solution. Schmidt-Teknik makes a nifty kit with 2 rotary beacons and control board. It operates at max 6 - 7.2 volt DC. - which is going to be a problem for the SDH164D decoder. I doubt any of the output fx wires can support anything close to that much voltage. One of his Danish costumers is using an LM7806 power regulator to drop his 12 volt power source down to 6 volts. I guess he's running DC and not DCC. It's hard to know. I don't speak Danish. Anyway, that only solves half the problem, I still need to set up some kind of switch to turn the beacon on and off with my SDH164D decoder. What's the best way to get around this? I'm thinking maybe some sort of micro relay? Can anyone tell me what the maximum voltages coming out of the decoder FX wires are?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Cab1,
Slow down buddy, It will work, I know for a fact that it can be done.
I've installed thousands and never had one that it wouldn't work.
I'm sorry I can't tell you the exact set of #'s for the CV programing, I use a computer to program. 
First do you get any light off the LED?
Can you control the LED, ON, OFF?
Can you change anything about the LED action, like make it blink?


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

Right now, when the loco is selected, the head light is on and beacon is lit - but not blinking. They both stay on no matter which direction the loco is going. I can't turn on or off either one or control anything about the beacon. I have a computer program too (DecoderPro), but it doesn't recognize the decoder or the any of the CV's.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

You've got light that's good!
No control that's bad!
The PR3 or any other interface that I know of can not do read back on the sound decoders. So when you program CV in a sound decoder your kind of blind. You just need to make sure you actually get the inputed CV to be entered into the decoder.
Do you have your programing wires running to the PR3 or to the command station?
You can do most of the programing when they are connected to the Command station, but you can not program sounds that way.
I have to set or reset my PR3 (buttons on PR3) sometimes in order for the commands to actually enter the decoder.
Are you using JMRI 2.12?


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

I have a section of flextrack wired to my Digitrax Super Chief XTRA Command station as the main track, not in programing track mode. I'm using JMRI.2.10 (that might be the problem), but I don't know how to hell to use it. I keep getting the 306 error. It can't read back any of my decoders, so I program all of my CV's with the hand controller. I usually don't have a lot of problems doing it this way (I've done 8 hand wired installs so far), but this is the first time I've tried to do an FX. In this case a rotary beacon. It should just pop right in. This ain't rocket science.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Upgrade to JMRI 2.12.
Run wires from the command station prog A and prog B to a isolated track section.
Start JMRI, Watch for error codes during startup.
Run JMRI in service mode.
Pick Digitrax.
Pick SFX Sound Decoders.
That will give you compleate control of the decoder.
No you will not have Read Back on sound decoders but you will on all the others! Put a non sound decoder on the programing track and you should be able to "Read type from decoder".
Hope this helps.


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

Ok, I got JMRI updated and an isolated track section dialed in. I even got it to read the decoder CV,s. I went to the options CV list and changed the FOR (yellow wire) to rotary beacon non-directional. The lights flickered and the loco lurched - so it swallowed the code. Switched back to run mode - and nothing. The loco is dead. I tried a factory reset (CV8 to 8) and nothing. The lights are on though - no rotary beacon, no sound, no motor control. I think this particular decoder has a fault somewhere.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Two things come to mind, Clean the track and the engine wheels with alcohol then try again, I had many a decoder install that seamed bad till I cleaned the track and wheels, Second double check for possible shorts in the install.
If that all fails it's possible that the decoder is faulted out.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Oh and just for clarity, you have 2 tracks, Programing track on the ProgA and ProgB and the Run track on RailA and RailB. 
Reseting the decoder sets it back to address 3, did you have control of the lights after the reset?
Sorry not trying to be condescending just covering all the bases.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Cab1,
Put the decoder on the run track and check the decoder for heat? If it's hot it's fried, call digitrax and have them replace it.
There seams to be a run of those decoders that have bad chips.


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

You were right, it was a dirty track. I cleaned the track and wheels with alcohol and got back control of the loco. I did a factory reset (CV8 to 8) and everything works - no rotary beacon FX though. I tried using some of the other FX options. No joy. The F0 on/off light switch function doesn't work either. So I'm back to square one.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

What wires did you end up using for the Beacon? Yellow or Green?
I can try and give you all the CV #'s, There will be a minimum of 4 CV# changes to make either run the beacon.


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

I started out with it on the green wire, but it didn't work. So I moved it to the yellow wire, which as you know, lights but doesn't allow the rotary beacon FX to work. I'm going to move it to the brown wire and see if it works. It seems the brown wire goes to an actual FX pad. I know the JMRI program shows options for all the function buttons, but I don't think they apply to all the wires - just the Fx ones. Another thing that bugs me the F0 on/off switch doesn't work; both lights are on all the time. This might mean there's a short in the harness somewhere or maybe in the decoder itself. I'm also wondering if the beacon LED current draw doesn't match up with the headlight LED. I know there's a limit to the amount amps the decoder can pull.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Does it have one wiring harness or two coming off of it? Can you tell me the pin out colors left to right? 
Yes you can reassign any and all functions with JMRI.
F0 on/off switch not working does sound bad.
You shouldn't have a problem with amp draw with LED's it's minimal.


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## Cab1 (Jul 26, 2009)

Success! I switched over to the brown wire on the sound harness and the beacon started blinking like a Louisiana ***** house on a Saturday night. I'm using the double pulse option. It's not as realistic as the Schmidt-Teknik rotary beacon setup, but I didn't have to shell out another $75 for it. I can live with it. I can turn it on an off with the F3 button too. Now it still ain't perfect, the F0 on/off switch still doesn't work and I get the clanking sound when I press the F3 button - but I can live with that too. Well onward to the articulated. Thanks big guy.


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