HO Scale, NCE Power Cab, short toots or whistles

[nyc4me]

can't always get 2 short toots or whistles no matter how quick I am off the horn button. seems I can usually get one short toot but the second one is quite a bit longer. Then again, frequently no short toots at all, just a tad longer than I want. I'm wondering if it's the way the sound is actually on the decoder. mostly bli, a couple life likes and one digitrax decoder in kato sd-38.  what I want is to be able to get two short toots equal to, say, the short note in a grade crossing whistle. appreciate your thoughts! Thanks! 

[cacole]

The problem is with the sound decoders.  The only one I have that works correctly because the two short whistle blasts is programmed into it is a Tsunami.

[MisterBeasley]

Can you program the NCE so that the whistle button is momentary rather than toggle?  On my Lenz system, the default for a function button is toggle, so I need to press and release once to turn it on, and then press and release again to turn it off.  However, it's possible to reprogram the buttons so they are momentary, and the function is on only as long as I hold down the button, after which it immediately goes off.  I've programmed all my whistle/horn controls that way, as well as the "coupler clash."  Coupler clash has an "arm" sound when you push the button, and a different "engage" when you release it, so by programming the button as momentary I can control the interval between the two sounds just by holding down the button.  On the other hand, I've left the "bell" sound as toggle, so it stays on until I go back and turn it off.

[nyc4me]

good info cacole, thank you.  misterbeasley, I'm using the momentary "button" not the function button, so I'm thinking we're on the same page there. I even tried the function button, as in see how fast I can flip it and then off again, just to see if the same routine came through, as I saw it, the same thing happened.  I've also been reading the set-up for the power cab unit and noted I can program a new value into the horn "stop bits" or some wording such as that, I can't recall exactly because I'm away from the layout right now. I'm leaning as cacole noted, might just be the decoder. I'm about to get a tsunami for my 2-6-6-2 so I'll learn more with on the job training.  thanks partners!

[nyc4me]

cacole, for the two short toots on the tsunami, do you hit the momentary horn button twice or some other function?

[cacole]

There's a special function number that controls the two short whistle toots, but I don't have the documentation with me and don't remember which function it is -- F3, maybe.

 

[jsoderq]

FWIW I have a Blueline SD40 that has the same problem. It is the decoder as several other locos do not have this problem. I am told it is the way the decoder is set - there is a start, intermediate and stop for the whistle and it just takes time to go through the program. Definitely not all decoders are this way.