Dear all,
Since yesterday I'm the proud owner of a MD Electronics CV/decoder programmer & SUSI Soundloader.
I did not test ALL functions yet, e.g. the possibility to load sounds via track, and I also did not yet compile & load my own sound files.
Therefore I can show you just it's main functions:
1) Read/write CV's
2) The Mini-DCC command station
3) The Sound Loader function
The unit costs ca. 62 €uro via Modell-Land, and the package comes with the module itself, an USB-Cable and a 15V / 1A power supply.
Since I do not own a MD Electrinics decoder (e.g. 10 Amp. Drive-XL), I did not purchase a MD decoder update cable which can be purchased later.
1) Read/Write CV's (TAB 1 "Gleis CV")
I installed as first step the freeware "MD-DCC-Tool" onto my Laptop. Then I hooked up the programmer with USB/ power supply and the track (rolling road) with a loco on it as guinea pig.
When pluggin in the USB, the compuer should say "connected (COM e.g. 7)"
Important for some decoders (in my case Uhlenbrock 77100) is to activate "COMP-Mode" which reduces the baud rate.
Automatic CV reading and generating a .csv file works reliably as long as you don't get confused whith failure messages - some CV's simply do not exist on a decoder, therefore this message.
2) The Mini-DCC command station (TAB 2 "Fahren/Testen").
You can adjust the track power up to 900 mA, 600 mA are sufficient to let the loco roll idle. Switch the Testpult on / off, adjust the speed and test the sound settings and the function keys.
When your decoder offers this function, you can also test your "pendulum settings". Pointwork setting checks are also possible.
3) The Sound Loader function
The "MD-DCC-Tool" loads with a mouseclic ca. 400 soundfiles automatically - and all for free! Of course - you can only load in an old sound module an old soundfile that fits to the hardware.
So - MD Electronics offers a new sound module called SX-6 with 16 bit sound, 640 sec. buffer, 3W on 8 Ohm speaker - noisy enough I think.
It can load the old 8-bit Soundclips (DSD, DS3, DS4), but I was interested in the new 16-bit DS6 Soundfiles from DIETZ to replace an old soundmodule in my K-27.
Due to its built-in capacitors, the SX-6 sound module itself is slightly bigger than a standard DIETZ / Uhlenbrock IntelliSound (IS-4) sound module.
The IS-4 has just the SUSI-interface, and 2 cables for the speaker (not visible: Soldering pads to connect LED's for firebox flicker effects and SEUTHE Smoke units)
In addition to the SUSI-interface, the SX-6 is equipped with a special connector cable for MD decoders. I cut the blue & yellow cable to test the speaker.
Loading of a 16-bit soundfile took me approx. 15-20 minutes.
Then I could test the sound module as if it were installed with a decoder in the loco. Even the chuff can be tested - just move the sliding controller (= throttle)
and test all functions F1 - F28. The SUSI CV Settings from 897 upward can also be written into a file for future reference.
All in all - I'm quite happy. It takes a bit time to understand how the thing works, but the Sound Loading & Testing functionallity is great.
As a next step I would like to figure out how to genereate & upload self-created sounds into the module.
Since yesterday I'm the proud owner of a MD Electronics CV/decoder programmer & SUSI Soundloader.
I did not test ALL functions yet, e.g. the possibility to load sounds via track, and I also did not yet compile & load my own sound files.
Therefore I can show you just it's main functions:
1) Read/write CV's
2) The Mini-DCC command station
3) The Sound Loader function
The unit costs ca. 62 €uro via Modell-Land, and the package comes with the module itself, an USB-Cable and a 15V / 1A power supply.
Since I do not own a MD Electrinics decoder (e.g. 10 Amp. Drive-XL), I did not purchase a MD decoder update cable which can be purchased later.
1) Read/Write CV's (TAB 1 "Gleis CV")
I installed as first step the freeware "MD-DCC-Tool" onto my Laptop. Then I hooked up the programmer with USB/ power supply and the track (rolling road) with a loco on it as guinea pig.
When pluggin in the USB, the compuer should say "connected (COM e.g. 7)"
Important for some decoders (in my case Uhlenbrock 77100) is to activate "COMP-Mode" which reduces the baud rate.
Automatic CV reading and generating a .csv file works reliably as long as you don't get confused whith failure messages - some CV's simply do not exist on a decoder, therefore this message.
2) The Mini-DCC command station (TAB 2 "Fahren/Testen").
You can adjust the track power up to 900 mA, 600 mA are sufficient to let the loco roll idle. Switch the Testpult on / off, adjust the speed and test the sound settings and the function keys.
When your decoder offers this function, you can also test your "pendulum settings". Pointwork setting checks are also possible.
3) The Sound Loader function
The "MD-DCC-Tool" loads with a mouseclic ca. 400 soundfiles automatically - and all for free! Of course - you can only load in an old sound module an old soundfile that fits to the hardware.
So - MD Electronics offers a new sound module called SX-6 with 16 bit sound, 640 sec. buffer, 3W on 8 Ohm speaker - noisy enough I think.
It can load the old 8-bit Soundclips (DSD, DS3, DS4), but I was interested in the new 16-bit DS6 Soundfiles from DIETZ to replace an old soundmodule in my K-27.
Due to its built-in capacitors, the SX-6 sound module itself is slightly bigger than a standard DIETZ / Uhlenbrock IntelliSound (IS-4) sound module.
The IS-4 has just the SUSI-interface, and 2 cables for the speaker (not visible: Soldering pads to connect LED's for firebox flicker effects and SEUTHE Smoke units)
In addition to the SUSI-interface, the SX-6 is equipped with a special connector cable for MD decoders. I cut the blue & yellow cable to test the speaker.
Loading of a 16-bit soundfile took me approx. 15-20 minutes.
Then I could test the sound module as if it were installed with a decoder in the loco. Even the chuff can be tested - just move the sliding controller (= throttle)
and test all functions F1 - F28. The SUSI CV Settings from 897 upward can also be written into a file for future reference.
All in all - I'm quite happy. It takes a bit time to understand how the thing works, but the Sound Loading & Testing functionallity is great.
As a next step I would like to figure out how to genereate & upload self-created sounds into the module.
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