Hi Folks ,
I recently bought a Walthers/ Proto 2000 SW8/900 with sound on board, and whilst the sounds appear O.K. , the bell seems to ring too fast, about 2 rings per second, and I can’t find the CV to slow it down. Or are Switchers suppost to have fast ringing bells. Any thoughts please. CPPedler
The Proto locomotives have the QSI sound system, and to my knowledge they do not allow you to program the bell ring rate. Someone else with more QSI experience may have more information for you.
Whether or not you can adjust the bell ring rate depends on the decoder version; i.e., 1, 2, or 3. You need to download the QSI manuals from their web site and read through them, starting with version 3 if it’s a newer locomotive.
From my quick perusal of the version 2 and 3 manuals, the bell ring rate is not adjustable.
Thanks guys for that information, I had rather suspected that that might be the case as I had checked the QSI manual and could not find any mention of the ring rate. I would be curious to find out if anyone else has this problem or if the programming of the decoder is perhaps faulty. Unfortunately, living in the U.K., I can’t just nip down the local yard and listen to a switcher and have to rely on you good folks for this kind of information. Incidently, I also have a Broadway NW2 and an Atlas MP15DC and the bell ring is much slower on both, like any other U.S. diesel. CPPedler
QSI purports to offer quasi prototypical sounds for the loco type, so they don’t allow you to choose from a range of horns or whistles. In my experience, only the Tsunami does this, although the other companies that offer downloadable sound bytes, such as Loksound with their v. 3.5 decoder, apparently do the same. You need, in the case of Loksound, their software and maybe an interface device. Randy R. would know more about this.
The Soundtraxx DSD-150 (now discontinued) and the DSX (sound only) decoders also allow the ring rate to be adjusted.
I’ve only got one LokSound, a recent V.3.5, but it does not allow changing the bell ring rate. If you have the LokProgrammer and a Windows computer and can download your own sounds, you could load one with a different rate, if you can find one available, but it isn’t exactly easy to do on your own unless you’re a bit of an audio techie.
I too have an ESU Loksound v3.5 for my Kato AC4400 and not able to change the bell rate. I even tried just for Ha Ha’s by changing CV146 & CV180 like some other decoders can but to no avail. I’m afraid I will have to give in and buy the Loksound programmer just to change the bell rate. Now that Christmas has arrived, I’m able to splurge a little bit and then report back to you. In any case, as far as sound quality, I believe Loksound does surpass all other sound decoders(with proper speaker size and enclosure). It does help to have a Kato’s fuel tank to have a speaker ready should anyone decides to go with sound decoders.
You might want to contact QSI with this question.
I don’t know which version of QSI decoder comes with that engine, but I think if you contact QSI they should be able to tell you which chip comes with it. If it is one of the upgradeable chips, you can get the chip reprogrammed with a different bell, as well as horn, air compressor, etc.
I downloaded from their website something called the Q2 upgrade program which allows you to preview all the different sounds they have available. Then you can customize your decoder to sound like a steam engine if you want. You don’t need to buy their programmer just to preview the sounds, but you would need that if you wanted to program the decoder yourself. If your local hobby shop has the programmer, then they can do the download for you. The other option would be to order an upgrade chip with the sounds you want.
Anyway, if you can download the program, you should be able to find a different bell with a different bell ringing rate. Of course, this is not as convenient as having a CV available to change the rate whenever you, but since most of us would only adjust this one time I think you at least have the option to make the change with the download.