Hi,
I hope that somebody can help me with a technical question.
I have a simple Marklin layout with a first version of the mobile station. The loc. runs perfectly and the sound in the loc works great. The controller in the loc. is set so that the F3 function enables the sound.

I decided last year to design my own “mobile station” and build everything after studying the “new Marklin-Motorola” format as explained in the description from Andrea Scorzoni written in 1999. (http://spazioinwind.libero.it/scorzoni/motorola.htm)

Everything works very well. The loc. runs perfectly forwards and reverse and when I use a turnout (marklin 74491 with its decoder) the F3 function works great. The turnout moves everytime I push the F3 button. and when I push the F3 button on the Marklin Mobile station, it works also. So what is the problem?

I can’t get the sound (F3) to work on my own designed controller. When I push the F3 button on the Marklin Mobile station, it works perfect. But when I push the F3 button on my own designed Mobile station, it does not work. Why? I must be sending the wrong format pulses from my own controller to the loc. for the sound to work.

Can anybody tell me the set of pulses I need to enable the sound function (F3) on the loc. since it works perfectly with the Marklin Mobile station.

Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks
Abe

Hi John,
Money did not make me do it. Since I am an old hardware engineer from the eighties I still love playing with microprocessor chips. The other reason (the main one) is that there are a lot of kids around here that love playing with my trains and they get very exited and keep running next to the trains with the mobile station in their hands. The result is always that they pull the cable out of the rails.
That's why I decided to make my system wireless. Marklin used to sell a small wireless controller that is no longer available and it can only run 4 locs. I have more, so it was time to design my own wireless controller.
The problem I have is that the writer of the New Marklin Motorola format in the article I mentioned is not available anymore, so I can't ask him anymore.
I hope somebody in this community might know the answer. I don't know anybody in the Marklin office that I can contact.
Thanks for your answer.
Best regards
Abe

Hi Dale,
Thanks for your answer. I know it is a software issue since the sound works very good with my old Mobile station. I have tried to trace the output of the Mobile station on my oscilloscope but it is an old scope (from the seventies) and it is very hard to see. I managed all the functions by learning the Marklin Motorola format and programming the pulse train to be send from my own controller to the track. All functions (forwards, reverse, stop etc) work, except the sound. It has to be a wrong code I am sending to the track.
I am happy to hear there is another Marklin enthusiast in Maine. I assume you live somewhere south of Portland. I am very often in that neighborhood. Maybe we could speak together or meet. I would love to see if you can help me here. (in Bangor). If you like to meet please call me on my cell: 207-9497001

Hope to meet someday.
Thanks and best regards
Abe

Hi Peter,
Thanks for your answer. I did not know that the frequency for enabling the sound is different than the frequency for the Forward or reverse command. That might be my problem. I am going to try that this weekend. That might explain why everything works fine except the sound. I use the same baud rate for all the commands.

Thanks again,
Best regards
Abe

Hi Per and Peter,
Let me explain my setup better.
I have my own controller hooked up to the track with Marklin 74491 turnouts with Viessmann 5231 decoders. These Viessmann decoders will activate the turnouts with the F1-F4 commands from the controller. (also with my old Mobile station by pressing the F1-F4 buttons).
I am using the 26us and 182us pulse width in my data stream. With this system and my motor commands, my loc's run fine and the turnouts work great. Since I only use the F1-F3 functions for turnout controls, I am trying to use the F4 funtion as a sound function. I set the sound function in the loc to F4 and send a data stream from my controller (in the 26us and 182us format) to the rails. The sound function on the loc does not work.
When I connect the mobile station to the track and press the F4 button, the sound works great. What am I doing wrong?
I hope you understand me now better.

The reason why I use the viessmann decoders instead of the Marklin is because I have so many (I bought them once on Ebay for a very low cost)

Thanks again for all your help
Abe

Hi Everyone,
I have solved my problem. It was a simple software bug. Everything is now working fine.
Thanks for all your comments
Best regards
Abe