There is a valve in the bottom of the air reservoir that pops off
to vent condensed water from the tank. This distinctive sound
is pretty random on prototype locomotives. Recent LokSound
decoders have as many as 13 different spitting sounds with
random spacing between the sounds. The results, being totally
unpredictable, are fun.
On the topic of energy storage, Matt was asked about ESU’s
response to the TCS Keep-Alive product. Matt explained that
programming LokSound decoders with an attached energy
storage device ran the gamut from problematic to impossible,
depending upon what is being programmed and what hard-
ware is doing it. ESU offers their “Power Pack” which is an
9. ESU Decoder Tester. ESU photo.
9
DCC Impulses Column - 8
