MRC Prodigy Advance2 Horn/Whistle

[Erie-diamond]

I started a home layout about three years ago and decided to take the plunge into DCC. I purchased the Prodigy Advance2 system and operate 5 locomotives from 3 different manufacturers. I'm very pleased with this system with one ecception - the horn. I may be wrong, but I understand the lenght of the horn blast depends on how long you hold the horn button down. Sometimwe if you try to give a short blast you get nothing but yet the light on the module blinks as it does when you send a signal. Other times you might get a short blast or a long one, If you try to give maybe two short blasts you may get none or maybe a short and a long. This happens on all five locos so I know it's not the locomotives. I'm just wondering if this is something thats inherent to this system or is it just mine? All other functions work perfectly. Thanks in advance for any replies, Ken

[RR_Mel]

I also have a Prodigy Advance² and I can have short or long burst.  I couldn’t remember if all my decoders respond the same so I did a quick check.  I have two Soundtraxx, two Digitrax and 10 MRC decoders all worked fine short and long bursts.  My controller is about 12 years old and it is original, no upgrades.  Two of the MRC decoders are also 12 years old, the rest are from one to 4 years old.

 

 

 

 

Mel

 

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

[tstage]

Sometimes it depends on the decoder.  I have an NCE Power Cab and most decoders allow me to use the HORN/WHISTLE and F2 buttons to activate the feature.  However, I have a TCS WowSteam decoder and it gives me four (4) button options: HORN/WHISTLE (duration of press), F2 (long), F3 (short), and F4 (quilling).

I don't have any experience with the MRC PA or PA2 but it's possible that you have an intermittant contact on that area of the membrane of your keypad.

Tom

[BNSF UP and others modeler]

I was pretty much going to say what tstage said, but he got his answer posted before I did. Not knowing the exact nature of those functions caused me dissapointment in my DCC system for quite a while.