Greetings,
I have a Soundtraxx tsunami decoder installed in an HO scale Kato SD40-2, the one that comes ready for a sound speaker. My DCC system is Digitrax Super Chief 8 amp.
According to page 46 of their manual, the 'engine start up' sound should begin when it receives a non-zero speed command or any function is turned on. This is not working correctly. The only way to get the start up sound is to turn the speed dial from 00 to 01 and then back to 00. In the process, I hear the engine start up, then hear the idle, then hear the first speed step sound, and then hear it go back to idle. Like the prototype, I want to let the engine idle a bit first before taking off.
What is preventing the start up sound when I press any of the function keys, or what other way is there to start the engine without turning the speed dial?
Thanks in advance,
Mark
To my knowledge,there are only two ways to initiate "start-up".Out of the box,Tsunamis are set with "automatic notching"...give the throttle a click,engine starts then ramps up following throttle settings then will ramp down the same way.Pressing "emergency brake" once on your control shuts the prime mover sound down.Then,a click of the throttle re-starts it.
The other way is "manual notching" set by giving CV116=16.Then F9 starts the engine and then after ramps the RPM every time you press it.Then,F10 ramps the engine sound down to complete stop,notch by notch.With manual notching,the loco will not move until the prime mover start up is complete and prime mover sounds don't increase with throttle settings...it's all manual like the prototype.
IF you use manual notching,you'll lose manual control of the compressor and fans (F9 & F10) but can have them automatic by setting CV112=3.They will then start/stop randomly when engine sounds are active.Hope this helps.
I set all of my Tsunami decoders so the loco starts moving at speed step 2. So for me, speed step 1 starts the engine and then speed step 2 starts it moving.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
A "non-zero speed command" means it requires a speed command that isn't zero. So it is working correctly, you have to momentarily give it a speed setting of speed step 1 or more to get the engine start-up sequence to kick in. I have my engines momentum settings pretty high, so it's pretty easy to give a sitting diesel a split second of 'power' telling it to go forward or reverse, and then switch back to break / neutral and have the sound start up without the engine moving.
That being said, my one Tsunami-equipped steam engine starts making sounds as soon as it's selected. My guess is either the steam version works differently, or there may be one of the hundreds of CV settings the Tsunami has that allows it to start making engine sounds as soon as the engine ID no. is selected.