DCC Impulses Column - 4
Hornby America (Rivarossi)
InterMountain Railway
Kato
PBL
Rapido Trains
True Line Trains
The LokSound product line
LokSound has a decoder for (almost) every scale. They also
have two programming types, both in many sizes. Within any
programming type, the same program can be loaded in any
form-factor decoder. Table [3] compares the different products.
The goal is to have a very few different hardware items, allow-
ing the dealer to customize hardware to the customer’s need,
rather than stocking tens of different, virtually identical, pieces
of hardware with only software differences.
The LokSound Select line is designed for cost-conscious users
who want the features without the fuss. The sounds and other
features are user-installable in the Select series. What this
means is that the user or dealer can load a factory-designed
file into the Select. If the exact file you want is not available
for the Select, then you will want to look at the LokSound V4.0
product, which you can tweak to your heart’s desire.
Sound and operation
All of the previous is meaningless unless you like the results.
I’ve been away from the LokSound product for over 4 years,
since I sold Litchfield Station. I’ll admit that the LokSound was
3. LokSound decoder features summary.
Family
Model
Select
Micro Direct
V4.0 Micro XL
Target scale
HO N HO HO N G
Size inches
1.18 x
0.59
0.98 x
0.42
2.72 x
0.67
1.18 x
0.59
0.98 x
0.42
1.57 x
2.00
Motor Amps
1.1 0.75 1.1
1.1 0.75
4
Functions
6 x 250
mA
4 x 150
mA
6 x 250
mA
6 x 250
mA
4 x 150
mA
12 x 500
mA
Speaker ohms
4 - 16 4 - 16 4 - 16 4 - 16 4 - 16 8 - 32 / 2
speakers
Programmability
Connection
NEM-
652 8-
pin or
21MTC
21-pin
NEM-
652 8-
pin
wired
board
NEM-
652 8-
pin or
NEM-
651 6-
pin or
21MTC
21-pin or
PluX12
12 pin or
PluX16
16-pin
NEM-
652 8-
pin or
NEM-
651 6-
pin or
Next18
18-pin or
PluZ12
12-pin
Screw
terminals
or pins
Supplied Speaker
16 x 25
mm with
sound
chamber
23 mm
round
16 x 25
mm with
sound
chamber
Railcom
Format
all V4.0
+ LGB
MZS
serial
Not Supported
Supported
DCC
DCC or Selectrix
or Motorola
LokSound Decoder Features Summary
LokSound Select
LokSound V4.0
User or dealer can load
factory−defined sound files
User or dealer can create
and load custom files, too
MRH-Dec 2014
