An example is the Italian FS GR740 locomotive.

The ESU website does not list any sound files for download for any Italian steam locomotives.

There is a link to other sounds at an Italian distributer, but I do not see any sound files listed for download. Maybe I am missing something.

I am interested in the sound files for the V4 LokSound for both the Italian GR740 and GR743 steam locomotives.

Can anyone provide a link to such files?

If you mean photos of the locomotives?

this is the GR 740-144 by Rivarossi:


and this is the GR 743-366 also by Rivarossi but out of production:


They are similar as far as the boiler, drive and cylinders, but the 743 has pre-heaters and I wonder if the sound files would be different.

Nice locos!

I hope you're successful in finding suitable sounds for them!

Be careful here: you *cannot* upload the sounds already recorded in a Loksound decoder back into your computer!!
And thus you cannot edit them either.

The only things you can modify is sound slots assignments to different function keys, and overall volume.
In addition for steam locos you can adjust the "tempo", minimum "beat" and rate of exhaust puffs as the Lok's speed increases.

As far as "sounds" are concerned (i.e. the sound files and the playback schemes) they can only be manipulated starting from downloaded projects **or** your own custom sound files (in .wav format) that you'd have recorded /collected yourself, or as I usually do, mixing and matching sounds from .wav files from various ESU project files. (e.g. changing whistle sound files, adding turbo-alternator whirr, etc.)

It may look difficult in the beginning, but frankly, once you have taken the time to familiarize yourself with it, you'll find the Lokprogrammer a real fun tool to play with.

Don't hesitate if you need more help, and in that regard, the ESU forum is pretty effective too!

Cheers

On a 3048 digital conversion I purchased a 54499 blank decoder, downloaded a BR01 sound file from the ESU website, tweaked the sound and then uploaded to the 54499 decoder. I was able to read the file from the 54499, save it to the computer, tweak it and then upload it back onto the 54499 decoder. I didn't like it all that much so I downloaded a different sound file from ESU (BR01-1), tweaked it and uploaded it to the decoder, overwriting the existing sound file.

So my thinking was that if I purchased a 54499 decoder that the dealer (not ESU) had loaded the GR740 sound file onto, I could use LokProgrammer to read that file and save it to the computer, then I could edit.

Are you guys saying that if a dealer (not ESU) loads a sound file onto a blank 54499 that I would be unable to edit that sound file? Does the dealer set some CVs or something that do not allow download from the decoder?

As for decoders that ESU configures (other than the 54499), I can understand that you may not be able to download, save and edit. But for 54499 universal decoders, my thinking was that you could download, save and edit.

I have asked this same question about the Italian sounds on the ESU forum and that is where I was told to seek help at the Italian distributer. I sent an email asking about the GR740/GR743 sound files, but have not received a reply yet.

Sounds like you are doing what I do. A) Download file from ESU B) make CV and sound slot changes with Lokprogrammer, then load onto decoder (a two step operation) C) adjust running characteristics and steam chuff sync on the track via the ECoS, then D) upload the file from the decoder back into Lokprogrammer to archive it. It is at step D that I believe only the CV values are uploaded back into the Lokprogrammer file. Similar to downloading to the decoder There you must 1) load the CVs desired, a few seconds to perform and then 2) load the sound slots onto the decoder, perhaps 20 minutes. Each is done in a separate operation. AFAIK an upload from the decoder just captures the CVs in step 1 and not the sound slots in step 2.

Edit: Any sound file can be changed. I have loaded one sound file to a decoder, then switched it to a different loko and loaded a sound file appropriate for that loko. You can create sound files by picking and choosing sound files from various ESU decoder projects, or creating your very own sound file using raw .wav files. But, you can only download sound files to a decoder, you can not upload the sound file from a decoder.

I believe the files you can download from ESU are the same files they load onto a pre-loaded decoder. So one is not different from another as far as sound files go. I think they do the pre-loaded decoders for those dealers who do not want to provide the service of loading the sound files onto the decoder. So those dealers must custom order a decoder for a customer instead of pulling one from the shelf, loading the sound files and then immediately delivering it to the customer. The sound files are the only part that requires a Lokprogrammer. All other items can be modified with your controller via CVs. It's just that once you try a Lokprogrammer, you wonder how you got along without it.

This has turned into an interesting topic.

On Monday, I changed my order for the Rivarossi GR740 locomotive from one that did not have the ESU V4 Loksound decoder to one that did. That means the decoder will have factory loaded sound files. Once I get it (2 or 3 weeks) it will be interesting to see just what decoder they used and what can and cannot be downloaded from the decoder.

However, on the GR740, since that loco is very hard to find and the one I end up with may not have a sound decoder, I may end up with buying a 54499 blank decoder and loading it myself using files transferred from ESU web site downloads.

For those times that I uploaded an ESU sound file to a blank 54499 decoder and then turn around and read the decoder and save it. Then reopen it, I did not see any data lost.

Can you guys provide screen captures of what you mean by CV download/upload and sound file download/upload data being lost or not lost?

I am still trying to get my hands around using the lokprogrammer to its fullest.

By two or three weeks I am referring to the loco itself. Seems dealers are out of stock on the Rivarossi 740 and my order is on backorder.

I took one of my loaded decoders that is waiting for a loko, plugged it into the ESU decoder tester and connected it to my ECoS. All sounds and physical functions worked as expected. Then I connected the decoder tester to the Lokprogrammer with the decoder still plugged in and uploaded the decoder to a file I simply named "test". Once it uploaded, I opened the file and I could see the CVs, but when you click "sound", the bottom icon on the left side, the available sound slot window on the left half of screen showed no sound slots attached to the file. It just said "sound slot 1" through whatever and in grey. There were no lists as usual for the sound in those sound slots, ie: "drive sequence", "long whistle" etc. I went ahead and loaded the "test" file CVs and sound files back to the decoder. The sound download took just a few seconds and not minutes. Then I tried it again in the decoder tester plugged into the ECoS. While I got the physical functions, I did not get any sound from the decoder.

The icons across the top of the Lokprogrammer screen offer "read decoder data", "write decoder data" and "write sound data". There is no icon allowing you to read sound data. So it looks like the only sound is what is in your Lokprogrammer file and can not be captured from the decoder. If you did not create your file from a download from ESU, then your archived file you created by uploading data from the decoder will contain the CVs, but no sound files.

I also found a bad decoder that will not produce any sound during this test. That was good to learn. It will be going back. This is my first after doing 44 V4 LokSound decoders.