I have a SDXN136PS SoundFX Decoder by Digitrax. It´s actually a N scale decoder but works totally fine for HO scale too. It´s installed in the tender of an IHC 2-10-2 steamer. Although not designed for it, I successfully installed a Seuthe Smoke unit into the 2-10-2 which works very well, BUT: I want the smoke to be activated by pressing f1 which works fine, but the problem is that the bell sound is also located on f1, so everytime i turn on the smoke, i turn on the bell sound automatically. Of course this shall not stay like this, so I´m asking myself now the following question: is it possible to relocate the bell sound from f1 to another number, for example f3? Because f3 is coupler crash, a sound I can totally live without and that I can skip for good. I myself am not familiar with decoder programing at all, and my friend who is familiar with decoder programing (but not familiar with Digitrax!) couldn´t do anything about it. So now I´m hoping to find some help here. It would be nice if somebody can tell me IF it is possible at all to change/relocate functions on this decoder and if yes, how to do it exactly. Would be great if it works out and if I could have the smoke function on f1 only, and the coupler crash sound replaced by moving the bell sound from f1 to f3. By the way I have another problem or let´s better say a thing that I dislike: as soon as the engine touches the rails (I run it on DCC), the steam locomotive sound starts. I don´t like that. I would like to turn the sound on and off whenever I want, because sometimes there are indeed moments where I want to run a sound equipped engine without sound. Still didn´t find out how to do that. So is there any possibility to make the sound not automatically start as soon as the engine is on the rails but to turn it on and off when I want?
Why not just make F3 the switch for the smoke unit? F1 is sort of the defact standard for the 'bell' sound...
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
If you can access MRVideo Plus, Dana Kawala did an episode on function mapping.
http://mrv.trains.com/series/dcc-programming/2014/08/dcc-programming-episode-10---function-mapping
I just looked at it last night and found it helpful.
@ jrbernier: Well, what´s the difference? If I put the smoke on f3, it will be the same thing again: everytime I turn it on, I will hear the coupler crash. Not a solution. I would really like to know if functions can be moved with this particular decoder or not. Or if some functions can be erased. In case of that coupler crash it would be cool, because I really don´t need it.
@maxman:Unfortunately I can´t access the full video. Do you have any chance to download it maybe and send it to me?
So if you do F1, you want continuous 'bell' and smoke? You need to disable the sound functrions. Are you using JMRI Decoder Pro?
It's my understanding (although I could have this wrong) that the sound project's specific sounds (bell, whistle, etc) are configured within the SPJ file itself to "attach" them to a specific decoder function.
I'd suggest that you ask this question on the Digitrax Sound list. The folks there play with this stuff all the time and can give you a definitive answer:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/digitraxsound/info
Pretty sure you cannot change what sound is on what F key without editing the SPJ using Soundloader and a PR3. You CAN change what F key operates which wire, so you may be able to use a different function that doesn;t already have a sound assigned.
As far as I know, the only sound decoders that let you remap which sound as well as what function wire is controlled by a given F key are Loksounds. There are hundreds of CVs involved here, but you can set anything to anything else without editing the sound file or needing a special programmer.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
De Luxe@maxman:Unfortunately I can´t access the full video. Do you have any chance to download it maybe and send it to me?
Sorry, but I don't think those videos can be downloaded.
I looked up the manual for the decoder you referenced and I believe that it is the following: http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/cms/media/documents/documentation/Decoder_Manual_V2-01_2014.pdf
You should probably go to the Digitrax website and look in the manuals section, http://www.digitrax.com/support/manuals/#sound-decoders, to confirm this.
In any case pages 63,64, and 65 discuss function mapping. I have difficulty interpreting how to do this, but one of the Digitrax experts on this forum should be able to help you out. Or as previously mentioned above, you can ask your question on the Yahoo Digitrax forum, or maybe even call Digitrax and explain what you want to do.
And to summarize what you want to do, I believe that right now you have the smoke and bell operated by F1. And what you want to do is move the bell to F3. If it were me, I'd move the smoke to F3 and get rid of the coupler sound. This is because the default convention on all the other sound decoders out there is to have the bell on F1, so no reason to confuse any of your engineers any more than you have to.
I any event, I believe that what you want to do is doable unless there is something special about your particular decoder.