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Sprog3 and DecoderPro Throttle problem


GWR57xx
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I am probably being stupid and missing something obvious, but I’m stumped!
I have the Sprog3 hooked up to a Windows10 laptop and a rolling road.

On the rolling road I currently have a Heljan O gauge 43xx with a Loksound decoder.

This has previously been running reasonably well using the Throttle capability in DecoderPro.

I’ve been trying different CV settings to try to get the motor to behave better at slow speeds.

The problem I have now is that when I set the throttle to anything above about 25% the loco accelerates then suddenly stops then starts to accelerate again, then stops, then accelerates, etc...

The track power light on the Sprog flashes normally up to the point when the loco stops, at which point it flashes rapidly for a second or so then goes back to flashing normally when the loco starts to accelerate again.

Any idea what the rapid flashing means? Is it an overload state?

The loco runs better using an old Gaugemaster DC controller which is only rated at 0.8A.

Hope you can help.

Thanks,
Peter

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The manual says that In programming mode only 250 milliamps are available to help avoid frying incorrectly installed decoders....does this occur only in programming mode or both in programming and running mode?

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When you open a throttle in prog mode I believe it gives full power output as you have to switch it on/off to use it. When you go back into a prog window it gets automatically switched off. 

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2 hours ago, Jonboy said:

The manual says that In programming mode only 250 milliamps are available to help avoid frying incorrectly installed decoders....does this occur only in programming mode or both in programming and running mode?


Sorry, this is all fairly new to me. I have DecoderPro open at the roster page and click Identify which highlights the correct entry in the roster. I then click Throttle to open a throttle, which shows the correct loco identity. I then click On to engage track power and the power light on the Sprog flashes normally. Pressing keys in the throttle window elicits the correct response from the loco, so I assume all is basically ok?

 

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Update: this morning everything appears to be working normally again :scratchhead:.

I did everything exactly the same, nothing has been moved or changed.

I can only think that maybe something overheated and that being turned off overnight “cured” the problem.

I read both Sprog manuals (II & 3) but found no mention of the rapid flash on the track power led (just the normal flash to indicate that track power is on).

Clearly the Sprog must have been aware of some change in status to cause the rapid flashing. The Sprog box itself wasn’t hot. It would be nice to know what caused this so that I can avoid doing it again.

 

ps: I did several reboots and power cycles yesterday to try to resolve the problem, to no avail.

Edited by GWR57xx
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18 minutes ago, GWR57xx said:

I read both Sprog manuals (II & 3) but found no mention of the rapid flash on the track power led

 

It's strange behaviour. The rapid flash indicates an overload. The track power will be cut for around 1/2 second.

 

Did you move the loco in the meantime? Is it possible certain speed sets up a vibration and there's a momentary short somewhere?

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45 minutes ago, Crosland said:

 

It's strange behaviour. The rapid flash indicates an overload. The track power will be cut for around 1/2 second.

 

Yes, that was the only conclusion I could come up with. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

 

45 minutes ago, Crosland said:

 

Did you move the loco in the meantime? Is it possible certain speed sets up a vibration and there's a momentary short somewhere?

 

No, loco hasn't been touched since yesterday.

I can't see any obvious potential for a short to occur, but there may be a poor solder joint somewhere?

 

Everything appears to be ok at the moment, even with the loco at 100% throttle.

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