I mentioned this in one of the recent RailPro threads, but have been enjoying these changes so much that I felt they deserved more visibility. I don't claim to originate any of the information that follows, but have been a grateful consumer. Hopefully other Tsunami users find something useful here.
A week or so ago I had a couple of personal breakthroughs with DCC - specifically with Tsunamis - that have had a dramatic effect on my enjoyment of operations, on par with the introduction of sound itself. Combined, they allow kind of a hybrid approach between automatic and manual notching, providing some of the control of the latter but without the distractions of constantly keying the prime mover sounds up and down.
First of all, I finally found a way to overcome the Lenz shortcoming that prohibited me from using Tsunami's working independent brake function in MU consists in the past. Setting acceleration and deceleration momentum rates somewhat high, the independent brake function allows me to throttle down as I near a stop and hearing the engine notch down as the consist continues to roll forward, then toggling a working "independent brake" on and off as needed to bring things to a complete stop, just as the prototype does.
When starting out with a heavy train, I can set the independent and throttle up the consist, giving the appearance of the units working hard to get the train started. After a few seconds, the brake is released, and since acceleration momentum is set higher, it just SLOWLY starts to move, then gradually picks up speed.
Some other neat uses of this function:
- When building a train or making a pickup, you can set the independent and throttle up slightly to simulate pumping up the train line air.
- For modern modelers, especially when using two-man crews, you can use the independent to simulate three-step "Red Zone" protection, i.e. conductor calling out "Red zone" before walking between cars, engineer responding with "Set and centered", referring to the reverser being centered (throttle zeroed) and independent brake being set (corresponding function enabled).
Here are the CVs I changed to enable Tsunami's independent brake function.
CV3 – Acceleration
150
CV4 – Deceleration
150
CV21 – Functions recognized by entire consist
Value depends on function mapping and personal preference
CV25 – Speed Table selection
6
CV29 – Speed Table on
50
CV41 – Map F7 to Independent Brake function
128
CV61 – Independent Brake rate
255
CV139 - Brake squeal volume
50
CV196 – Automatic brake sound intensity
0 (disabled)
CV198 – Automatic brake sounds enabled
0 (no - Independent brake makes brake sounds at appropriate times)
This is all standard Tsunami functionality, but I wasn't able to use it until recently thinking of a workaround for the Lenz shortcoming that prevented it from being recognized by all units in a consist.
The other breakthrough for me was the creation of a "coast" function, and I have to credit Mike Confalone for indirectly giving me the idea for that. Someone mentioned on another forum recently how one of Mike's MRH DVDs explained his discovery, through a tip from a friend, of configuring the Tsunami dynamic brake function to instead act as a toggle that'd cause the locomotive(s) to go to idle (notch 1) and back again when activated and deactivated. Since the information was from a paid MRH production, the poster understandably didn't want to divulge the detailed steps to make it happen, but the idea enabled me to find the settings myself, and I really enjoy the effect they provide. Since I found the CV settings on my own, and since Mike didn't originate the idea himself, hopefully he and MRH don't mind me sharing them here. I also hope this will serve to drive people toward buying the MRH DVDs on Mike's outstanding work.
Unfortunately , the coast function assumes that you don't use dynamic brakes, since you're essentially re-purposing the DB function for this use. To set up coasting, I configured the dynamic brake function with a volume of 0 (CV133) and a throttle notch of 1 (CV116 - adding 64 to whatever your base value (1-15) is). In my case, CV116 is set to 79, i.e. 15 speed steps per engine notch + 64 to indicate that the prime mover should go to notch 1.
The above settings allow the function for the DBs, which my prototype didn't use in my era anyway, to instead serve as sort of an "infinite momentum" for situations of very light loading. So, when running light power to the house, drifting through the yard, or coasting downgrade with a train, I can engage the DB/coast function and the prime mover sound will drop to idle (notch 1) while the consist continues to "coast" at the speed at which the throttle knob is set. Occasionally disengaging and re-engaging the coast function will cause the engine to throttle up slightly, then back down, as things roll along. It's really a fun effect, allowing some of the control of manual notching, but with a single on/off toggle, avoiding the distractions of that method.
