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Chuffnell Regis


Graham T
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I have in the past worked on various control system logic circuits. Not my favourite toy at all. I've never had anything to do with DCC, largely because some of my locomotives are older than I am.

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13 minutes ago, Nick C said:

You're not the only one - I'm a software engineer, work with computers all day long, but still found I didn't get on with DCC, and reverted back to DC when the secondhand gaugemaster controller I had gave up the ghost - kept the chips as I might give it another go one day.

 

I must confess that I haven't really tried that hard with the NCE manual, but so far it seems to be far from intuitive.  

 

The loco has now started accelerating even if it's left at speed step 1, so it's basically uncontrollable.  Not good, and particularly irritating when it seemed to be running nicely before - and I've no idea which factor has changed.

 

My brain hurts.

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17 minutes ago, Graham T said:

I must confess that I haven't really tried that hard with the NCE manual, but so far it seems to be far from intuitive.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one scratching my head with it. I've been using it for about 6 months now and still not 100% satisfied. I used the Bachmann Dynamis system years ago and got on very well with it. The NCE system seems to be the big hit in America but I just can't get to grips with it.

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4 hours ago, Graham T said:

But now 6385 is tearing around like a scalded cat, even on the lowest speed setting.  Not very prototypical, and more importantly, a tad hair-raising.

 

Scouring the Powercab manual hasn't helped, and there doesn't appear to be an idiot's guide available as far as I can see.  I'm thinking that maybe I should delete the loco from the system and then reinstall it - but I can't figure that out either...

Can’t claim to be an expert on this, but might be a decoder issue?  Can you reduce the Vmax CV setting?

No idea what CV as I do all mine with Decoder Pro and it worries about exactly which CV to tweak.

Paul.

P.S. I see others have had the same thought and been more helpful!

Edited by 5BarVT
Late to the party.
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2 hours ago, Alister_G said:

Have a read of this, it's more likely to be your decoder than the Procab:

 

https://jamestrainparts.com/2018/02/05/how-to-fix-runaway-locomotives-on-a-dcc-layout/

 

Al.

 

Thanks Al, I'll take a look at that.  I'm sure the PowerCab itself is an excellent piece of kit, and it no doubt has far more capability than I will ever use.  But the user manual could be better in my opinion.  I'd split it into a basic, get you started section for people like me, and then all the advanced stuff.

 

There is a basic section, but I don't think it's up to much...

 

Anyway, more to come later no doubt.

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I think 6385 might be schizophrenic.  We've gone from scalded cat to Schrödinger's cat - apparently the dead version.  The loco doesn't respond at all now, although I haven't actually done anything yet!

 

I'm going to look into resetting the decoder.

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A hard reset and then re-assigning 6385 seems to have done the trick, thankfully.  Bit of time wasted but nothing more.  I still have one point that is obstinately resisting my best efforts with the isopropyl though.  I may have to invest in cotton buds!

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8 hours ago, Nick C said:

You're not the only one - I'm a software engineer, work with computers all day long, but still found I didn't get on with DCC, and reverted back to DC when the secondhand gaugemaster controller I had gave up the ghost - kept the chips as I might give it another go one day.


I’m a mechanical engineer so if something doesn’t work I hit it with a hammer, if that fails I try a bigger hammer

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In a nice little diversion from cleaning points and installing rodding, a package arrived with these three today.  I know very little about railways, but these look like very nice little models to my inexpert eye.  Perhaps Bachmann is the Mr Kipling of RTR wagons?  Nice fine brake-gear, that lines up with the wheels, vac pipes and cylinders, lamp irons on the cattle truck, thin tie-rods between the V-hangers, even an off-white roof on the Mogo.  No vac pipes on the Mogo, but I assume they would have hung down from the buffer beam to avoid fouling the end doors.  And I got my first "foreign" wagon too.

 

 

image.png.04e25afb51dd55ddc896ecd2c150ab06.png 

 

Anyway, far too much fun being had :)  Back to the cleaning and rodding...

 

 

Edited by Graham T
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A busy day at Chuffnell Regis.  I seem to have beaten the final sticking point into submission, using copious amounts of alcohol (both internal and external).  Dirty track was of course the problem, in particularly a dirty frog.  You wouldn't believe how many times I wished I could say that out loud in my last job...

 

 

image.png.cc8ea6fc9dee12354a6b354593b9ea60.png

Edited by Graham T
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20 hours ago, chuffinghell said:


I’m a mechanical engineer so if something doesn’t work I hit it with a hammer, if that fails I try a bigger hammer

 

Isn't the badge of a true engineer knowing where to hit it, how hard to hit it, what type and size of hammer to use ? :read:

 

Adrian

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