8201 not the (DCC) magic number!

[Ray H]

I and a few of my colleagues have O gauge class 15 locos. Others have class 08 shunters. The class 15's came equipped with Zimo decoders.

 

I checked around all of my colleagues to ascertain which number I could use for my class 15 that wouldn't clash on the last four digits of a long address. I chose 8201, numbered the loco and had it weathered and set the address in the decoder.

 

I'm pretty certain that the loco carrying the above number has been to and run on our club layout since it was given that number. However, . . . 

 

I'd made a slight change to the speaker arrangement at home during the last week and wanted to compare the resultant sound with a colleague's class 15.  I checked it at home using my NCE SB5 which feeds my layout via MERG short circuit protection kits so I knew it was ok before taking it to the club for a comparison.

 

I put the loco on the club layout, turned the sound on and set the speed and direction. The loco appeared to start the sound cycle but after a second or so the sound died but the loco started to move. I tried turning the sound off and on again with the loco moving several times and the same thing happened with the sound each time.

 

The loco's decoder is set up for active brake so pressing the brake key will slow the loco to a stop quicker than it would if the speed was reduced to zero and the brake key wasn't used. Interestingly 8201 came to a stand almost immediately the speed was turned down to zero.

 

I took the loco off the layout and put in on the test track and it behaved perfectly. I even got my colleague to set his loco to 8201 and he experienced exactly the same symptoms. We tried other long addresses including 8200 and 8202 as well as a number of short addresses. All worked fine on the layout. We'd even reset the locos several times - CV8=8 - between changing numbers.

 

The programming track uses a stand alone NCE PowerCab. The main layout uses an NCE PowerPro with the track power fed to one short area of the layout directly and via MERG boosters and short circuit protection kits to the remaining six sections. There are 7 throttles on the layout - 8 when we plug the aforementioned PowerCab in - and an accessory bus that is used in conjunction with 5 Seep PM1's and several servo operated signals via the appropriate accessory decoders.

 

There are no other locos on the layout with numbers anywhere near 8201.

 

I'm about to update the firmware on my decoder using Zimo's MXULFA and will take the loco back to club this afternoon for a further trial using 8201.

 

In the meantime has anyone else experienced anything similar?

[Pete the Elaner]

I remember reading a strange behaviour with a particular address on this forum some time ago, but I don't remember the details so it will be next to impossible to search for it.

I don't remember seeing someone understand & explain the cause.

It may well require some knowledge of how the instruction is broken up & sent across the DCC signal.

 

Sorry I can't remember more, other than I don't think you are the first to encounter such an issue.

[Ray H]

Thanks.

 

I too seem to think I remember something as well, again without recalling the address (or addresses) in question.

 

The decoder has now had its firmware update and numbered back to 8201. It is working OK here, I'll see what happens at club this afternoon.

[Ray H]

Here's a further update.

 

We have a small section of the layout where the track section is fed from the PowerPro through the MERG short circuit protection kit i.e. there's no MERG booster involved. That suggests that the problem isn't with the MERG booster.

 

I put the loco on that section today and it behaved exactly the same as yesterday when numbered 8201.

 

I also renumbered two other locos, one with a more recent Zimo decoder than the Class 15 and the other with an ESU v4 lokSound decoder. Both exhibited the same symptoms as my class 15. ESU decoders can/are set up slightly differently to (our?) Zimo ones. Our Zimo ones will generally only generate output from function key presses if sound is activated. Our ESU ones - and the ones I have at home - will generally play any other sounds even when the normal sound (F1) isn't activated. This didn't appear to change when the loco with the ESU decoder was numbered 8201, the main "chuff" sound came on for no more than a couple of seconds then ceased, but the two other sound functions I tried were still working.

[Nigelcliffe]

Check, and if necessary, clear all the consist data in the PowerPro system.   I can't guarantee its the issue, but its another one to eliminate.   

 

NCE instruction on how-to :   Disconnecting the track output does the same as lifting every loco from the track !

https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/202450585-Clear-Consist-Information

[Ray H]

Thanks Nigel, I'll try that at the club on Thursday evening.

[Ray H]

Clearing historical consist data from the Power Pro did the trick - at least with the loco that will carry the number 8201.

 

Much obliged for the pointer Nigel, I doubt I'd have thought to consider clearing consist data in a month of Sundays. The Power Pro was bought second hand so any data there must have been set-up by the previous owner as we haven't used consists on the current layout as far as I know.

 

I think that I did see a Factory Reset option in the manual so I might have tried that at some point if the other head scratching hadn't have worked.

 

Thanks again.