I should have qualified the bell rate part...only the Tsunami, in my limited experience with decoders, appears to me to have an adjustable bell rate. The QSI decoders have no such provision, to my recollection, and only allow individual volumes for injector, blower hiss, bell, horn and/or whistle (some steamers, notably many Northern-class, as well as the PRR's T1 Duplex, had both) and other sounds.
Sorry if I misled you.
-Crandell
selector I hope you understand, now, that your bell ringing rate (if your decoder allows it), individual volumes, and such, can all be set more or less with the same process. -Crandell
I hope you understand, now, that your bell ringing rate (if your decoder allows it), individual volumes, and such, can all be set more or less with the same process. -Crandell
Thanks again. Yes, the section on chuff rate is quite clear in the manual that came with the P2K 2-8-8-2 .
What you say is interesting about setting volumes and bell ring rate, especially when looking at the Decoder Pro panel for this decoder. The panel shows the usual easy slider setting method for all the volumes, but not for bell ring rate or chuff. That is what "threw" me as well. I assumed that everything that was adjustable with QSI sound would show up on that panel and now I see that bell ring rate is missing too!
But I know that the designers of the DPro panels are not completely familiar with each decoder (how could they be?) and have not always figured out how to access and or implement all the CVs for each decoder.
Oh, and about the downloadable manuals for the various models of the QSI decoders....the one's I have seen, and printed in one case, have the first nearly 1/3 of the manual dedicated to DC operations. It is much later in the wad of pages that one gets to their DCC section. Naturally, it would be there that you should find a page dealing with CV 49, and within a page or two of that, CV 52 and all that it is meant to do for your customized engines.
Not to worry, although I guess we all have to look forward, even if with dread, to the eventual realization that our aging minds are less facile with new technologies. I hope you understand, now, that your bell ringing rate (if your decoder allows it), individual volumes, and such, can all be set more or less with the same process. In my glossy-covered thin manual that came with my several BLI engines, there is a chart dealing with all the functions that CV 52 controls. In every case, you must first tell CV 49 to tell CV52 which of the funcions you want to manipulate.
I am happy to help, even if it is to advise reluctant or timorous minds to grit one's teeth and deal with the manual. It was the same for me and our first digital camera...people lashed me until I reached for the manual and found out for myself how much that wonderful device could do for me.
Hey, thank you very much, Selector, for the detailed response. That has been a big help.
You are not snarky, I am becoming less able with old age, that is all. I have looked over my manual and cannot see anything like the information you have provided. Nor can I see that anywhere hinted at on the Decoder Pro panels for the decoder.
Mind you, my eyesight is not very good, and my temperment is worse....that is, easily frustrated.
[Ok, I came back to edit this post because I was embarrassed. I wanted to double check the manual. Somehow, the one I printed out from the internet to keep in the binder I have alongside the layout does not have any mention of chuff rate. I don't know which QSI loco this was for, but I assumed it would contain the full story. That is not the case. Sure enough, the manual for my 2-8-8-2 mentions all that you have told me, Selector. Thanks again. I am not as senile as I was thinking. I just didn't research my own materials thoroughly after making a wrong assumption about the online printout.]
The QSI decoders require you to access an indexing CV first, and that is CV 49. You have to tell this "master" CV to locate a sub-CV that controls chuff rate. That CV is 52. So, you acquire and set CV 49 for "10", and then acquire CV 52. Set CV 52 to the value you want in the index "10" which your initial direction to CV 49 set up for you...all you have to do once you have CV 52 dialled in is to set your chuff rate. Ideally, you do this with the steamer functioning on a loop where it won't run into anything, and it should be running near speed step 10, maybe up to 15. Dial in an initial value of 170 and from there you'll soon see whether you need to go up or down. Chances are that you will have to raise it to near 185 or so.
Also, not to be snarky, but you have to read the manual. It is the only way to develop a facility with the decoders.
Unlike some of my other decoders in 0-8-0 and similar, I can't see a CV partic. for chuff rate or any other method of slowing down the chuff which is way too fast.
I don't use cams.
The default rate is way too high. I can make it start and crawl with a good slow chuff rate.......which is the speed I will be using this switcher at anyway, but any increase in speed above start-crawl is too fast by far.
Thanks.