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 Auto-Notch giving you the correct load-based sound! The decoder does this by measuring the load on your locomotive and calculating the required power to move that load. If you'd like to move notch sounds manually, there are two modes: Semi-Manual Notching and Full-Manual Notching.

How do I do it?

Using the throttle, you set the desired speed of the loco, and by using the Manual Notch up (button 10) and Manual Notch down (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 throttle selected notch setting. Manual Notching is available full time in all throttle modes.

With semi-manual notching active, when you change the throttle the decoder automatically takes back control and sets the appropriate notch sound. 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!

Follow the link to watch an in-depth video explaining Semi-Manual and Full-Manual notching throttle modes.

Can I remap manual notching?

Yes. By default, TCS "Manual Notch Up" is button ten, and "Manual Notch Down" is button eleven; However, if Manual Notch mode is something that you would like to use often then we recommend you re-map the Manual Notch buttons to 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 can be done very simply through Audio Assist®, no need to ever program a CV. Press button 8 four times rapidly when your locomotive is at a stop to access Audio Assist® and walk through the process.

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. It is awesome to experience TCS Proto-Notch™ features in action, offering the most realistic operational experience possible of any decoder on the market. Auto-Notching is a TCS exclusive feature!