MRC 0001957 Quick Start Manual Download Page 2

Function

Idle/Moving

F0

Headlight On/Off [only forward]

F1

Bell on/off

F2

Horn

F3

air release

F4

Coupling 1

F5

Brake releas e (idle) / brake squeal (moving)

F6

Dynamic brake on/off

F7

Air hose firing/uncoupling lever

F8

 3  times will shut down when in idle / Manual notch down

F9

Engine cooling fan / Manual notch up

F10

Rail wheel clack (only moving)

F11

Traction air com pres sor 

F12

Change prime dies el mover type (CV123, 6 types ) 

F13

Master volume reduce by 1 / air releas e when reach minimal

F14

Master volume increase by 1/ air release when reach maximal

F15

Air compressor

F16

Flange squeal

F17

Air release

F18

Change bell type (8 types plus off) 

F19

Horn type select (total 22 different horns  plus off)

F20

Associated loco sound

F21

Change bell volume and turn on the bell

F22

Change horn  volume

F23

Change diesel rumble volume

F24

Safety valve pop

F25

 Air releas e

F26

Flange noise

F27

Sand drop

F28

Air release

Trim off some plastic

Apply tape

Apply tape

Trim off some plastic

CV123 Prime 

mover

SD39, SD40, SD40A, SD40-2, SD40T-2, SD45. SDP45, SD45X, SD45-2, 

SD45T-2, F45, FP45, DDA40X, GP15T, GP39, GP39-2, GP40, GP40-2

SW1000, SW1001, SW1500, SW1504, MP15DC, MP15AC, MP15T, 

GP38, GP38-2, SD38, SD38-2, GP15AC, GP15-1

2

EMD710 SD70AC, 

SD70M-2

3

ALCO 244

4

ALCO 539T

F2A/B, F3A/B, F7A/B, F9A/B, BL1, BL2, FP7, FL9, FT, GP7, GP9, GP18, 

GP28, E6, E7, E8, E9, NW2, NW3, NW4, SW1, SW7, SW8, SW9, SW600,

SW900, SW1200

Suitable for the locomotive

RS-3, PA1, PB1

S-2, S-4, RS-1, RSC-1, RSD-1, DL-105, DL107, DL-108, DL-109, DL-110 

0

EMD645E 

1

EMD645

5

EMD567

INSTALLATION

Your new Sound Decoder will virtually “drop-in” to a 

your Kato N scale F series

diesel locomotive. It may fit in many other N scale locomotives with slight modification.

Refer to the instructions that came with your Kato F3 locomotive for removal
of the body shell. Remove the original circuit board by very carefully removing
the plastic clip and sliding the PCB out. Don’t lose the clip.  There are two
wheel pickup contact strips. These strips must be  wrapped with tape
approx. 1/4 wide (as shown in the image below) to prevent them from
touching the motor leads.
 Trim off some material from the plastic cradle
under the motor brush tab area to compensate for the tape thickness.  After
applying the tape and trimming the plastic, reinstall the strips. before installing
the new decoder, bend the spring contacts under the rear of the decoder
approx 45 degrees to provide correct contact. Now, install the decoder in
place of the original PCB and reinstall the plastic clip you removed earlier.
Apply a strip of tape over the clip & down the chassis sides to help hold the
decoder in place. Re-install the body shell. Now your loco is ready to go to
work on your railroad.

DCC OPERATION

The decoders have been factory programmed with address #3, 28/128 speed steps
and maximum top voltage. Select the “Run” mode of your DCC system and select or
acquire address #3. Move up the throttle and the loco should move.

The decoder has 6 types of diesel prime mover sounds. You can use F12 to change
the prime mover sounds. You can also program CV123 to value of 0 to 5 to select
the following primer mover for matching your diesel engine. The CV123 table shows
the 6 prime mover sounds and their associated locomotive types.

The decoder has a start up and shut down feature. If the loco has been previously
shut down, you have to start up the engine by simply pressing any numbered
function button. To shut down the engine you must bring the loco to idle and then
press F8  three times.

This decoder has 22 different horns. You can use F19 or program CV50 to select
these 22 horns. You can also use F18 or program CV52 to select different 8 bell
sounds.

Most of the sounds have their own volume control CV. There is also a master sound
volume control CV49. Also F13 will reduce the master volume by 1 (you will hear an
air release when you reach CV49=1). Pressing F14 will increase volume by 1 (you
will hear an air release when you reach CV49=16). Programming CV49 to 0 will shut
the sound off.

The decoder is defualt to automatic notching. You can program CV122 to 3 to set
manual notching for realistic operation. And then use F9 to notch up and use F8 to
notch down. This simulates the way a real locomotive operates.

This decoder is equipped with adjustable back EMF closed loop speed control. Its
proportional gain (CV113), integral gain (CV114) and derivative gain (fixed) are
pre-tuned for most locomotives. We recommend that you do not change these
settings. Too much gain may cause the motor to oscilate (become unstable). Too
little gain may cause slow response. Please get some basic knowledge of PID
feedback control before trying to adjust CV113/114.

There are many more program features available with this decoder. Please refer
to the CV Chart to explore other features of the decoder.

Note: Bell, Dynamic Brake and Rail Wheel Clack cannot play at the same time. If you
activate the Bell sound [F1], while either the Dynamic Brake or Rail Wheel Clack
sounds are activated, the Bell sound will override the other 2 sounds. Rail Wheel
Clack cannot play while the loco is in idle. When you turn off Dynamic Brake and
Rail Wheel Clack sound there will be one second delay.

DC OPERATION

With DC operation only the last programmed prime mover sound will play, and you
can’t control bells, horns, etc. We recommend you to use MRC Tech 6 power pack,
[item no. 0001200],  for your DC operation. It will enable the full range of sounds on
a DC system.

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