Atlas User Manual: Diesels
with QSI Sound
5/52
13 January 2015
Decoders (Quantum, Quantum Titan, or
Quantum Titan with ET)
Read through this section and be up and running in fewer than five minutes with your new locomotive on a layout that
uses a DCC system that is fully compatible with the NMRA DCC specifications.
•
Running the Locomotive on DCC
−
Select locomotive number 3 on your DCC system.
−
Set your DCC system to use either 128 (preferable) or 28 (acceptable) speed steps.
−
Make sure that all DCC track power is turned off. Then put your locomotive on the track and turn the
DCC power back on. When the locomotive is first powered up, the directional
Front Headlight
and
Rear Headlight
may not be turned on. If this is the case, press the
F0
(or
Headlight)
key on your
DCC system one or two times to turn on the directional lighting. Both the
Front and Rear Hea
dlights
will come on in their
Dim
states unless the locomotive is moving. You will also hear the
Prime
Mover
4
sounds.
−
When you turn up the DCC throttle, the locomotive will start to move forward or backward, depending
on which direction (Forward or Reverse) was selected on the DCC throttle.
The directional
Headlight
(Front
or
Rear
) that points in the direction in which the locomotive is moving will turn from
Dim
to
Bright
(The
Rear Headlight
will change from
Off
to
Bright
if your loco has Ver.7 firmware and Q1a
hardware.), and the locomotive sounds will continue.
−
If your Atlas sound-equipped locomotive has
Ditch Lights
5
,
these lights will come on in the steady
(non-flashing) state when the locomotive starts to move forward. When you blow the Horn
and
the
locomotive is moving forward, the
Ditch Lights
will flash alternately.
−
Alternatively, if your Atlas sound-equipped locomotive has a
Mars Light
5
,
this light
will start pulsing
when the locomotive starts to move forward.
−
When
Regulated Throttle Control (RTC)
is
On
(the default setting), there will be noticeable
momentum in both acceleration and deceleration.
−
As you slow the locomotive down by gradually reducing the throttle,
Squealing Brake sounds
will
occur shortly before the locomotive comes to a halt.
−
When you reduce the DCC throttle setting to zero, the locomotive will automatically enter the
Neutral
State
after the locomotive stops moving. You will hear a
Short Air Release
when the locomotive
stops moving and a longer air release about one second later, followed by
Air Pumps
and other
background sounds
6
.
o
If the locomotive was moving forward, the
Front Headlight
will switch from
Bright
to
Dim
when
the locomotive stops.
o
If the locomotive was moving backwards, the
Rear Headlight
will switch from
Bright
to a state
that depends on the versions of firmware and hardware installed in your locomotive
If your locomotive has Version 7 firmware and Q1a hardware, the
Rear Headlight
will
turn
Off
when the locomotive stops.
In all other cases (Version 7 firmware and Q2 hardware, Version 8 firmware, or
Version 9 firmware), the
Rear Headlight
will switch from
Bright
to
Dim
when the
locomotive stops.
4
Two major parts of the operating mechanism of a prototype diesel-electric locomotive are (1) the
diesel engine
and (2) the
DC generator
(or the
AC
alternator
in some modern locomotives). The generator (or alternator) is powered (mechanically) by the diesel engine and supplies (electric)
power to the truck-mounted
traction motors
that drive the locomotive. The diesel engine
and
generator (or alternator) are mounted inside the
locomotive’s body, which is often called the
carbo
dy. Although the terminology
Diesel Engine
is perfectly correct technically for the (major)
component of a diesel-electric locomotive that drives the generator (or alternator), some people are in the habit of calling a
diesel locomotive
a
diesel engine
. The term
Prime Mover
in this document refers to the entire Power Unit consisting of the
Diesel Engine
, the
Generator
or
Alternator
,
and the
Turbo
(if present). Prime Mover sounds include
Exhaust, Labored Exhaust
, and
Rod Knock
. To avoid confusion between these two
entirely different meanings of
Diesel Engine
, the device that powers the generator (or alternator) is called the
Diesel Motor
in the Quantum
Programmer software. The terminology
Diesel Motor
is not used in this document.
5
Not all Atlas Gold Series locomotives have
Ditch Lights
or
Mars Lights.
6
Neutral sounds
include
Cooling Fans
with vents opening and closing that turn on and off randomly,
Air Pumps
that come on randomly in response
to air consumed, random
Spitte
r and
Air Dryer
sounds (firmware versions 8 and 9 only), and timed-out
Low Idle
sounds.
Quick Start Guide for DCC Operation
