Digitrax DH163IP, DH165LO and SFX004 Sound Bug, WARNING PICTURE HEAVY

[YmeBP]

Hello all, couple weeks back I took the plunge and purchased a set of decoders from Tony's Train Exchange. I'd like to take a couple minutes and share my experience w/ the board.

1) Tony's Train Exchange.
Normally reviewing a vendor isn't my thing, but Tony has gone over and above what I consider "normal" for a vendor. The prices are good and so far my orders have arrived quickly, well packaged and accurately. A+ for Tony, oh and he answers emails pretty quickly for an online shop too! Only person better to buy stuff from is Combat.

2) DH163IP
Awesome!! I think for a non-sound decoder these are going to be my standard, I looked at the DN143IP because size may be an issue, but ... the DH163IP is only a few dollars more and has 2 more functions and it's TINY! I've installed it in my Kato SD70MAC I bought from Combat (My personal favorite engine I got 3 from him!!). The instructions are great, and point out everything you need to know about the decoder. If you venture online to Digitrax.com: DCC Products for all Scales and all sizes of Model Railroad Layouts! (http://www.digitrax.com/ftp/dh163ip.pdf) you will find a step by step on how to setup alternating ditchlights w/ led's on the Kato SD70MAC including CV settings..

Ratings (10 = Winning the lottery, 1 = funny smell on shoe):
Ease of installation = 10
Instructions = 10
Extras = 7 (wires for additional functions would have been nice)
Fitment = 10

Pictures:




The test bed!








3) DH165 + SFX004
O.k. I had high hopes for this combo, my first experience w/ sound is an Atlas Gold Dash w/ the Quantum QSI sound chip in it. This combination really had me curious because of the low price (~$68 total for the 2). The first issue I had was trying to mount it in a standard 8 pin dcc socket (my Kato). That was a no go. The chip is constructed w/ a slimmer base for the 8 pins than a regular decoder (see photos) so if you have designs on stuffing this into a different type of loco than what it was built for (Lifelike Proto 2k GP 7, SD60) be aware that you need clearance under the decoder (see photos). So once I figured out that this decoder wasn't going to fit into anything I already owned, I did what any modeler in my position would do .. order a loco it will fit! I couldn't find any reasonably priced SD60's so I am now the proud owner of a Geep!

Once I got the loco out of the box (really nice loco btw, instructions & everything are first class, but alas, Atlas and Kato build a better drivetrain in my opinion). I installed the decoder according to the thin and incomplete instructions, in which they send you to a link online that doesn't exist to look at pictures of the orientation. There are small words "sfx004 here" silkscreened on the board, but in the photo's it's not clear if it's meant to go on top or under where those words are. This is step one so you can imagine my frustration when I have no idea how to orient the sound bug in the decoder. I took a guess and set out to program it, well ... apparently you can't let the 2 screws the instructions tell you to install touch the frame of your engine. Guess what I did? drilled and tapped a hole in the frame to secure the decoder w/ said screws! After I figured that part out, I put it back on the program track, reprogrammed it to the road number of the Geep and put the engine on the layout, nothing .. no sound at all, BUT I can control the engine perfectly. O.k. take it off the track fiddle w/ the sound bug change the orientation (cursing the idiot who sent me to a non-existent website the whole time) to see if it was me. No luck .. still same thing. I went to bed couldn't handle the frustration any more.

I woke up fresh headed, and went at it again. This time I took a couple minutes to re-read the instructions, only to find a line I missed the first time 'round, that says you may have to press 'F8" to un-mute it. So .. I returned the sound bug to what I believe is the correct orientation in the decoder and powered up my track and hit "F8" ... ... ... I got sound ... but I couldn't hear it next to my Atlas so I had to take the Atlas off the track. In all fairness to the Soundbug I do not have a baffle and it was just sitting on top of my engine . The sounds are ... o.k. ... Not nearly as crisp and clean as the Atlas Gold. I can live w/ it for 45 bux (cost of just the Soundbug) but I don't think I'll be buying any more of them just yet. To add insult to injury , the DH165LO will now only go 2 speeds, no idea why .. even in forward and reverse .. 2 speeds: stop and about 50%. I've emailed Digitrax support and will update this review once they answer (they are usually good about giving me the right steps to fix whatever is broken).

Oh and one more note, the instructions don't mention which pin is pin 1 on the decoder, after digging around on Digitrax's website I found that on all Digitrax decoders the square solder pad on the pin grid is pin 1. See photo below.

I do need some help from fellow Gaugers to figure out where exactly to put the speaker :0.

Ratings:
Ease of installation = 3 (would have been easier if Digitrax had actually told you which way to install the sound bug)
Instructions = 1 (No troubleshooting section, non-existent URL's for critical parts of the installation)
Extras = N/A
Fitment = 10 (It is a great idea, the bug and decoder fit well together and in the engine.)

Pictures:






The DH165LO decoder see the square pin pad there on the lower left of the 8 pins, that is always pin 1.



The decoder and the soundbug together.



Non Scientific measurements of the Decoder and Soundbug together:





How thick the DH165LO decoder base is from the top of the decoder circuit board:



Compared with the DH163IP:



My new Geep!




Decoder Soundbug installed, see the screw on the far side of the sound bug, DON'T do that .



There are larger versions of these photo's here: GP 7 Digitrax DH165 and Sound Bug

They are 3648x2736 large so you can zoom in on details.

This review isn't finished, I have to wait for Digitrax to get back to me on the whole speed issue and I will update w/ my findings.