# Brief me on Digitraxx



## Hotrainewbie

Good morning people. Thinking about running trains on some club layouts and I need some sort of DCC preferably with sound. I did some quick digging and found a Digitraxx decoder with a speaker. I checked my engines and they have no 8-pin socket for it so I need a new engine. Anyway, can someone help me figure it all out? I would like to control it with my phone but idk how I would do that.


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## Dennis461

No such thing as a JMRI decoder.

Start with the decoder in locomotive.
Made by many folks, Digitrax, XLSystems, MRC etc.
The deocder complies with NMRA standards.

Put the loco on a track that has a NMRA throttle/command station, and it will run.
Many brands available here. 
Digitrax, Bachmann, EZCommand.

JMRI is a user friendly software group supplying software for Do It Yourself folks.


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## cv_acr

Hotrainewbie said:


> I did some quick digging and found a JMRI decoder with a speaker.


JMRI ("Java Model Railroad Interface") is a software program*, not a decoder maker, so I'm not sure what you've got there.

* Actually a suite of programs including decoder programming, layout signalling/control, model RR operations switchlist paper work etc.



Hotrainewbie said:


> I checked my engines and they have no 8-pin socket for it so I need a new engine.


Decoders can be hard-wired into older engines without pin sockets, but it'll (obviously) require some knowledge of the wiring and what goes where. You might choose to use different decoders for a "drop-in" vs. hardwire though. If your engine doesn't have a standard plug wired in, you won't want a standard 8-pin decoder, you'll want one with wire leads that you can hard-wire.

Depending on what engine you actually have though, it might not be worth attempting to upgrade it if it's a really old bottom-end toy train. But just about anything CAN be "decoder-ized".



Hotrainewbie said:


> I’ve watched videos and what not but it’s all too complicated with the extra junk in it. So if you can provide a little something for a newbie like me to understand it would be greatly appreciated


I'm not sure how describing something in raw text vs. the visual medium of a video is going to help, but just to break this down:

Any decoder installation will involve connecting up:
1) Two wires from the truck power pickups to the "input" wires/pins on the decoder
2) Two wires from the motor output on the decoder to the motor in the locomotive.
3) (Optional) wires from headlight/function outputs on the decoder to the front/rear headlight
4) (Optional) any other special lighting effects from function outputs on the decoder.

The manual/instruction sheet that comes with the decoder should identify which pins (via location on the board) or wires (colour coded) connected to the decoder should go to what.


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## Hotrainewbie

SORRY!! I went back and checked, it was Digitraxx. My mistake! I will have to do some different research, sorry everyone. Here is what thinking about getting to put into an engine Digitrax HO SDH166D 8-Bit Wired Mobile Sound Decoder, Motor and Function Series 6 Decoder for HO Locomotives (Steam and Diesel) Speaker Included


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## MichaelE

What locomotive will you be installing this into?


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## OilValleyRy

As far as sound decoders go, there are youtube comparison videos that would be most helpful, in the picture worth a thousand words sense. 
That being said…
Chapter One… lol I’m just kidding

Digitrax makes sound decoders but from reviews & comparisons I’ve seen, they’re one step up from MRC sound. They’re great, if you don’t have anything to compare them to. 

LokSound is popular, but requires computer software & hardware to program, which turns me off no matter the quality.

Soundtraxx Tsunami2 is arguably the best money can buy. They also have Econami for budget conscientious, which has fewer sounds for half the price. 
Soundtraxx also makes a sound product that “piggy backs” on non-sound decoders.

TCS sound decoders are, in terms of steam locos, the most versatile. They crammed just about every whistle into one decoder.

Personally speaking, if I had a choice of sound decoders, I wouldn’t consider anything other than Soundtraxx or TCS. 

As others stated, no need to worry about 8-pin or other size sockets not being present. Digitrax, as well as TCS I believe, make connection harnesses to solder to the loco.


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## Severn

__





JMRI: WiFi Throttle







 www.jmri.org




Jmri has a wifi throttle. Never used it.

Also u need a base station any brand. Could so be the homemade dcc++ system.

And here's a dcc sound decoder comparison.


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## MichaelE

OilValleyRy said:


> LokSound is popular, but requires computer software & hardware to program, which turns me off no matter the quality.


ESU Loksound does not require a computer or hardware to program or change CV settings.

If you are changing or altering *sound files*, then yes, their hardware is required. I think that holds true for every manufacturer.


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## cv_acr

MichaelE said:


> ESU Loksound does not require a computer or hardware to program or change CV settings.
> 
> If you are changing or altering *sound files*, then yes, their hardware is required. I think that holds true for every manufacturer.


Exactly. Unless you're trying to completely alter the sound file configuration, programming addresses and CVs is no different.


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## LateStarter

_*ESU LokSound*
LokSound Select_ is usually cheaper than e.g., Tsunami (you don't need the fancier LokSound versions unless you are really into customizing your sound).

LokSound works right out of the box. They have a built in fine tuning procedure to allow the decoder to adjust itself to the running charactaristics of your specific locomotive. The procedure is very simple because the decoder does almost all of the fine tuning by itself. However, even without using the self tuning, the decoders will perform quite well without having to play with CVs. About the only thing you might have to play with is the locomotive address. Even that can be left at the factory default of 3 if you don't have any other locomotives on the track with the same setting.


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## MichaelE

My last new locomotive always stays at 03 until the next new locomotive comes along.


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## OilValleyRy

MichaelE said:


> ESU Loksound does not require a computer or hardware to program or change CV settings.
> 
> If you are changing or altering *sound files*, then yes, their hardware is required. I think that holds true for every manufacturer.


Ohhh. I thought it was required to alter CVs, lighting effects, etc as well. I stand notably corrected then.


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## Hotrainewbie

MichaelE said:


> What locomotive will you be installing this into?


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## MichaelE

Brand, year of manufacture, three or five pole motor, all axle drive, all wheel pickup, flywheel equipped?

In this case a picture is _not_ worth a thousand words.


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## CTValleyRR

The first post was obviously HIGHLY edited, from some of the other replies here. They have kind of covered the "installing a decoder" end of things.

But let's go back and look at WHY you want the decoder to begin with. You say you 're thinking about running trains on some club layouts. Most clubs, though, aren't just going to let you show up and run any old loco on their layouts. Most of them would require that you be a member, and in any case, you would probably have to use whatever DCC system they have and run a train that is compatible with the theme that they have established for their layout. Even if they have wireless throttles, they would need to have a WiFi-compatible system for you to use a smartphone. There ARE stand-alone Bluetooth / wifi decoders available (BlueRailDCC and others), but a club wouldn't necessarily let you run one of these.

Also, a smart-phone isn't really the optimum way to control a loco. There is a complete absence of tactile feedback (feeling the button depress, or even knowing that your finger is on it), pretty much requiring that you look at it to operate it. This can force you to look away from the layout at a critical moment, with potential collisions and shorts from running through a turnout thrown against your train. Also, fine throttle control with a touchscreen is very difficult, and can result in unwanted large changes in throttle positions. Advancing / retarding a throttle by a single speed step is extremely difficult on a touch screen. This method of control is okay for some people, but not for many, so this isn't necessarily a good solution. And, of course, if it's your primary phone, the phone may do other things (calls, texts, app notifications, etc.) that may interfere with your ability to control a train.


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## cv_acr

CTValleyRR said:


> But let's go back and look at WHY you want the decoder to begin with. You say you 're thinking about running trains on some club layouts. Most clubs, though, aren't just going to let you show up and run any old loco on their layouts. Most of them would require that you be a member, and in any case, you would probably have to use whatever DCC system they have and run a train that is compatible with the theme that they have established for their layout.


None of that is relevant to the decoder in the engine.

Throttles etc. have to all be from the same system, but DCC decoders are compatible across brands.


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