WOWDiesel Manual Notching

WOWSound from TCS is the original "Full Throttle" diesel decoder. We call it "Manual Notching" but the feature is essentially the same. Manual notching is available on every WOWSound diesel decoder ever made, beginning with Version 1 released back in January of 2015, as part of our overall Proto Notch™ experience.

What is Manual Notching?

Manual Notching allows you to independently adjust the prime mover sound or "notch sound", and separately control the speed of the locomotive. Real life locomotives can be set in notch eight but operating at slow speed because of a heavy train and steep grade. Your TCS decoder by default is configured to Prototype Throttle Mode, giving you the correct load-based sound!

Manual Notching is for users who like to run prototypically without letting the decoder have all the fun of Auto Notching. If you'd like to move notch sounds manually, there are two modes: Semi-Manual Notching and Full-Manual Notching.

The main advantage of TCS' Manual Notching, when compared to many other implementations by other manufactures, is that with a WOWSound decoder you can completely separate the locomotive physical speed and RPM while still retaining complete control of both simultaneously. Additionally, entering and exiting manual notching is simple. Continue reading to learn more.

How do I use Manual Notching?

Using the throttle, you set the desired speed of the loco, and by using the Manual Notch up (default button 10) and Manual Notch down (default button 11) you can change the notch sound to the desired notch. Yes it is that simple! The notch sound you manually select locks in and overrides the current throttle mode's selected notch setting.

Semi-Manual Notching

The manual notch buttons are always active regardless of which Throttle Mode is selected; however, when not in the Manual Notching Throttle Mode, manual changes are overridden when a speed change is made. For example if you are in Traditional Throttle Mode and running down a hill you may want to manually notch down, and then when you reach the bottom of the hill, changing the speed will revert the notch back to what it was before going down the hill. (Note that this is the behaviour you would observe when in Prototype Throttle Mode.) While in manual notch mode speed changes do not override the manual notch setting.

With semi-manual notching active, when you change the throttle the decoder automatically takes back control and sets the appropriate notch sound as determined by the active throttle mode. Ergo, the notching will return from manual to autpomatic if you change the speed of the locomotive.

Full Manual Notching

With the Manual Notching Throttle Mode active, you can manually select the notch by pressing the notch up or notch down buttons. Meanwhile you can still control the speed as your normally would without affecting the active notch setting. This gives full control of both the speed and notch to you simultaneously and completely independently! With full manual notching active, the decoder does not take back over the selected notch when you change the throttle. You remain in full control of the selected notch at all times. To override the decoder's selected notch setting simply use the Manual Notch up and down buttons at any time. Manual Notching overrides the automatically selected notch sound. You can notch up before you even move the locomotive!

Can I remap the Manual Notching buttons?

Yes. By default, TCS "Manual Notch Up" is button ten, and "Manual Notch Down" is button eleven; however, if Manual Notching is something that you would like to use often then we recommend you re-map the Manual Notch buttons which are more accessible such as three and four respectively. Moving the notch buttons to buttons three and four makes it more convenient to access them on most throttles compared to the default of buttons ten and eleven. This remapping be done very simply through Audio Assist®, without the need to ever program a CV.

Ultimately, the most fun, premier, and realistic way to notch your locomotive is to allow the exclusive TCS Auto-Notching feature to control the notch sound. The decoder automatically sets the notch according to the load, not the speed. That said, manual notching is another one of TCS' pioneering features which gives you a true "in-the-cab" experience!

See the video below for more information and a demonstration: