I have three HO scale Walthers F-7's with factory installed QSI sound. How does one mute the sound of all three engines simultaneously when they are consisted using advanced consisting on a 5 amp NCE PowerHouse Pro system? Or must one select each loco individually and mute its sound?
F8 should mute all of them.
Maybe it should...but it doesn't. I have to select each loco individually to mute them one by one. A pain!
skagitrailbird Maybe it should...but it doesn't. I have to select each loco individually to mute them one by one. A pain!
You need to run an advanced consist for the F8 funtion key to go across all locomotives in the consist or set all three locomotives to the same address. Are you sure you are running an advanced consist (i.,e. setting the consist address in CV19 ) ? To have a function work across all locmotives in the consists you must set CV21-22.
Advanced Consisting Controls CV19, CV21 & CV22
CV19 is the advanced consist address. When this CV is active, the functions within the advanced consist are individually controlled at their regular addresses. CV21 & CV22 allow you to override this and place specific functions under the control of the advanced consist address. To determine the hex value to program into these CVs, add up the hex values of the functions you want to control in the advanced consist and program that value into the CVs. To make all CVs be controlled by the advanced consist address, program a value of 255/xFF to both CV21 & CV22.
For example: If you want to have F0, F1 and F5 controlled by the advanced consist address, program CV21 to a value of 023/x17 and CV22 to a value of 001/x01. All other functions will still be controlled by the decoder’s regular address.
CV21 Values
F1 x01F2 x02F3 x04F4 x08F5 x16F6 x32F7 x64F8 x128
Pages 44-46 in the Quantum DCC Reference manual v4.5 have an excellent description of each and every bit, including suggested settings for each locomotive in the consist.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
There's a CV you can set that tells the decoders to respond to the F8 mute command when in a consist. Each decoder will have to have this CV set. You'll have to research the decoder technical reference manual to see which CV it is.
The first thing you need to do is determine which version of sound decoder is in the locomotives, and then download the applicable technical manual from QSI.
If you have Decoder Pro, that may be one of the things you can program with it.
Hi there -
All the previous replies are pretty much right on. However, my preference in 'consists' - especially my Walthers P2k GN A-B-B-A set - is simple: assign the same number to all four locos. Then adjust CV29 for the correct running direction for each. Of course, one must do this separately for each, but just once, on the programming track. Once done, setting up is duck soup. All engines respond (very well!) to every command.
In my case, I have GN 363A, 363B, 362B, 363C. They all think they're 363. One of the B units usually gets put on the track the 'wrong' direction when I set up at a show or something, but easy to fix. I just put them all out a few inches apart, at first, then turn them on. If they all run (creep) the same direction, time to couple up.
Some of my engines were chipped before 'advanced consisting' was widely used, so some of my earlier decoders do not support this feature. And as you can see from above, using advanced consisting is a tad more tedious than the simple procedure described above.
Even my other 'consists', say SD45 - SD40 - GP40, or whatever, are set up with all locos having the 'same' four digit address - usually that of the lead loco. But on the program track, I set each loco's two-digit address at some 'private' number less than 128. I do keep careful track of these two-digit addresses - I write them down!
It's simple then, in command mode (ops mode), to select each two-digit loco in turn, and set its CV 29 to 38 or some number including 32 (2+4+32), to activate four-digit mode. Then after cycling the power, all of them will respond to the previously stored four-digit address, just like my GN F-units above.
This *really helps* when one of the other 'engines' is a sound-only decoder in a dummy unit, say. Then it can easily respond to the sound function buttons (F1 bell, F2 horn, etc) without a lot of fancy 'consisting', and without interfering with the motor units.
When I want to really select out individual locos from this lashup, it's easy to select the main four-digit address, change CV29 to not include 32 (like 6, say), and then all of them are separate again. Each can then be addressed by its two-digit address and any needed changes made.
Much simpler, much easier to keep track of, than 'advanced consisting' - IMHO. YMMV.
Dick
Why do you want to mute the sound!?!? If I had 3 consisted F units, I'd want the sound in my train room, my living room, my car and my cube at work.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Well, you do want the motor sounds, but the horn doesn't blow on all units in a consist, nor does the bell ring on all of them.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker: I don't know what system you're using, but if you have an advanced consist, only the lead unit will respond to the commands to blow the horn or ring the bell. Not all of them.
As for advanced consisting being complicated, it's not. I don't know what Digitrax does, but on an NCE system, setting up a consist is as simple as punching "Setup" [consist], and then "1" for basic(old) or "Enter" for advanced, then the consist number, and the number & direction of each engine in order.
Not really any difference in procedure for an advanced or old-style "universal" consist.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
He said he has the NCE 5 amp system. If you do the advance consist only the lead unit has horn and bell. Maybe he wants to mute for another reason, like parking the loco's
Springfield PA
cv_acr rrinker: I don't know what system you're using, but if you have an advanced consist, only the lead unit will respond to the commands to blow the horn or ring the bell. Not all of them.
With Digitrax using universal consist, only the lead unit will play the horn and ring the bell. Exactly the same as with NCE and advance consist.
Jack W.
With Digitrax it's easy, just select each trainling unit on the second knob of the htrottle and hit the mute function key.