Different Sounds For Different Folks

Yes, there are 5 softkeys on the DCS Remote. Most of them are sounds.

You always have 4 and an arrow or "More" showing, hit S5 for the next 4, ect.

When you hit More it opens a menu, scroll to what you want and press the thumbwheel to play it.

you can also re order the sounds to get the ones you like early in the list. I do this on all my engines. Scroll to the desired sound, hit MOVE, scroll to desired slot, press the thumbwheel to set location.

You will also find things like Track Voltage, signal, Odometer readings, Maintenance, and Mode commands there. I place those at the end of the list.

I always put the whistle sounds first, 2 hoots, 3 hoots, Crossing series, then others.

I strongly recommend you get Barry's DCS Companion book, comes in pdf or softcover. It will tell you things about DCS you would never find otherwise.

The Book is available on the MTH website.

I STILL Say they should pay Barry and include it in every DCS System.

PS you can hit the PSA button while moving slowly and get a better sequence, the engine will stop after you hit the DIR button so you can have sounds coming into station and stop at the right spot. Then near the sequence end it starts moving at the prior speed until the Sequence ends and the sounds stop. The train is then back in normal DCS control.

I'll second the recommendation, both to get it and include it with the DCS systems (good idea Russell). There are tables with all the commands in there among many other good pieces of information, it's a very good reference.

Are you asking if there is a single button or soft key like SND on the Remote Commander? 

I can see how there's play value in the element of surprise to getting a different sound on each button press rather than knowing exactly what you'll get by pressing a defined soft key on the full DCS handheld.

On the full DCS system, you do not get the filling of the fuel tank, or the filling of the water in the tender on steamers.  The DCS Remote Commander SND starts a different sound sequence than any soft key found on the DCS full system.

Try it, you might like it.

I'm certain you can access any sound on the full DCS as you can on the DCS-RC.  I don't have enough experience with the DCS-RC to say exactly how it handles sound, I only keep one around to do debugging.  It's hard to believe there's something different in the DCS-RC, it's a very simple and limited system.

Going to have to go look, but I was thinking the DCS soft key sounds were labeled like sound 1, sound 2, and engine sound 1, idle sound 1, etc.? That's still a 'not exactly sure what you will get' operation.  Of course, unless you can remember them all (which excludes me, I sometimes have a hard time remembering where I left the remote).

If you have both systems, try it out.  The doodlebug sequence for PFA on the DCS full system is "Now arriving, watch your step, baggage to the left, ---  ----  ----, now departing on track 6.  On the DCS Remote Commander, you do get the same sequence with the PFA button, but if you press SND, you get "Check the oil, filling the tank sounds, that's enough, ---- ----  ----, continuous chatter.

Same question?  What button on the DCS Full System starts this filling sequence?

CCPaul,

   I agree with Russell on this one, MTH should put Barry on staff and contract him to supply a copy of his book with each DCS unit sold, also OGR 's Rich Melvin gives a great visual demo of the PFA Sounds & Control, while actually running a train in the OGR Video Guide to DCS, another must have for anybody owning a full DCS.  As Russell

advises you can add more soft key sounds, available from MTH to expand or change your sound out put.  I really like the sound & Cab chatter that came with my 263E, especially the Crash Shut Down sequence, with the "where am I" at the end, and the regular shut down sequence with "see you soon"  Way cool stuff operated by DCS.

PCRR/Dave

The button that starts the filling sequence is different for each locomotive as far as the full DCS goes, I don't know that there's a "standard" position for those sounds.

I do agree that labeling them with something more mnemonic names for the sounds for each locomotive would be a big step forward!

Sound 1, sound 2, sound 3, etc. is hardly descriptive!