Digitraxx N FEF-3 SDXN146K4 totally Anemic Sound - Bad Speaker or POC?

Hi all,

I just installed a Digitraxx N FEF-3 SDXN146K4 sound decoder in my N FEF-3 decoder Even with the CV for sounds volume set to 99, the sound coming from the speaker is completely ANEMIC!. You can barely hear the chuff sounds or the whistle. Did I get a unit with a bad speaker or is this decoder a POC?

thanks,

Kevin

 

Did you use the stock speaker with no sound chamber connected to the speaker? If so, the sound will sound terrible. Use a speaker baffle or sound chamber to get the best sound.

 

Kevin,

Gatr is absolutely correct so I have nothing to add regarding sound. However, I do have a question. Have you run that FEF on track and does it run well ? ? The reason I ask that question is because the FEF has a coreless motor and when they were first introduced many found that USA manufactured decoders did not know how to play well with the coreless motor. One manufacturer had a jump on all others and had a drop in decoder ready for the FEF. Only problem was it did not run the motor well. They had to make changes to the decoder. You may have been aware of this but I just wanted to tell you just in case you are not happy with the performance. I have one from the original release with a self installed ESU Loksound Micro decoder and it performs flawlessly.

As always, have fun,
Carl

 

If you used the stock speaker, my advice is to cut the leads, throw it away, and order a Sugar Cube type speaker with an enclosure from a dealer like Streamlined Backshop. I saw a video of an FEF with the Digitrax decoder and a good speaker, and it sounded fine:



Get the biggest speaker you can fit in the space available (maybe an 11x15mm?) and make sure to assemble it to the enclosure correctly (e.g., seal it with CA cement).

John C.

 

Thanks all and especially John for the speaker recommendation. Yep, snipping the leads and the stock speaker is headed for the trash!

Kevin

 

Something else to consider - according to the manual the maximum setting for the master volume is 15 and the individual volumes is 64. If you are using 99, then that is out of range and depending on how the code reads the value you could actually end up with a setting that is less than the max.

 

Thanks Robert, I missed that. The original was set to 9 and was barely audible. Will try at 15. Ordered a new Sugarcube Speaker with sound enclosure, that will surely help as well.

Kevin

 

I did try entering a value of 0 but that shut down all sound. I'll have to experiment with the values.

Dumb question, should I be entering the values for the sound CV's in decimal or Hex? I.e. O15 or x15?

 

Decimal.

 

Ok, some good news to report. I cut off the stock speaker and, having loads of room, replaced it with 2 11x15 sugar cube speakers with a twin coupled sound chamber. The sound volume and quality is an order of magnitude better. I may have to turn the sound DOWN now . Thanks so much to all who put me on the right track. We are full steam ahead now....

Kevin

 

Great! Glad it all worked out for you.

I keep trying to spread this word: the best sound decoder in the world won't matter with a lousy speaker setup; and even mediocre sound decoders will be more than acceptable WITH a good speaker setup. I really wish Digitrax would simply get rid of the attached speaker on its sound decoders; it gives people the impression that they can just stick it anywhere and get good sound. Not a chance. If you want anything approaching good sound, start with a good speaker setup. The SBS dual 11x15's are excellent.

John C.

 

Yes I agree I don't understand what Digitraxx is thinking??? Even the single 11x15 with enclosure is light years ahead of the POS speaker they provide. Why not just charge $10 more and provide something that customers will like instead of something unusable? Their instructions even say to just tape the speaker to the floor of the tender. They must get lot of angry calls from customers over that speaker.