Lais Decoder - Functionality with Hornby Select

[melmerby]

3 hours ago, RAF96 said:

One of the problems was Hornby fitted the dire R8215 into factory DCC-fitted locos (R____X) and these were still being found in shops for donkeys years after the NMRA warranted R8249 was introduced.

As with my post above.

The R8249 had been out a while and you would expect the locos to have that fitted but I assume Hornby (or the Chinese factory) had large stocks of R8215 and were determined to use them, however crap they were.

Edited October 28, 2021 by melmerby

[sirandy]

Gents,

 

Yes this topic has been derailed (are puns like this allowed on a train forum? lol) but there is a lot of valuable information which has been useful to me.

 

So as an update, I sent the Lais controllers (one that went dodgy and the other that did nothing) and the guys there were very helpful in testing them out. The one on the 8F had some burn marks on it which suggested that there was a short on the motor side, the other one that didnt work out the box, they replaced without a qualm so hats off to good support from their side. At the same time, I bought a Zimo MX600R and after double checking all the continuity on the loco, chassis and the pin on the drawbar connection, wired it up (this time with a harness as recommended by smudge) and it works a lot better and is still running. I adjusted the CV57 to 100 and it gives a lot better top speed although from whats been mentioned above, I am still sitting on 10v so as per the advice above, will set it to 60 to ensure the motor is not getting over 6V, I suspect though, that I will find that the speed is too low as the gearing is designed for a 12V motor, so may play around until I get a decent top speed, I hope at 8V it will be good and wont burn the motor out as quickly.

Now I have found that because the voltage is so low, and I need to adjust CV6 to a lot higher so that it will 'take off' a little quicker. Assuming I have all the speed step resolution available, can I leave CV5 as is, and just adjust CV6 to around 60 or 80 given there are 128 steps?

 

Another question I have, a bit off this topic, but hoping I can get an answer... I now have an Elite Controller, I found one for e very good price, and have utilised the 4 digit naming scheme but have noticed that when I did that, the Elite obvioulsy changes CV29 config to allow for longer addresses, and now the trains that I changed to 4 digit numbering, go backwards. Do I need to change the config of CV29? 

Given that the elite allows actual naming of the loco's, I might put them back to 2 digit naming, and then give them loco names rather, I just dont know if it will automatically change CV29 AGAIN to allow for 2 digit address and restore the NDOT (normal direction of travel).

I have used the digitrax CV29 calculator to good effect previously and may just reset ALL the decoders and start fresh.

The Elite is pretty good, and my son will be familiar with the layout but I dont like the fact that you need to keep turning the dial, and the actual speed steps are on the screen, I think it might confuse him a little, so will try set the CV6 values a little higher so he doesnt have to keep spinning the dial to speed up/slow down.

 

The Zimo decoders are great value for money, and spending that little extra is probably worth it, the Lais ones are nice and compact so have a good purpose in the small 0-4-0 loco's where there is very little room. One of mine has NO cab, so no space at all to put a harness, they will have to be hardwired, so I will cut the wires (reluctantly) and install a Lais rather than a Zimo. On all the others, it will be Zimo all the way. 

 

Thanks chaps and chapette's (if any exist on a model train forum)...

Andy

[WIMorrison]

It is CV2 you need to adjust for minimum speed to make it 'take off quicker'.

 

Leave CV6 and CV5 at 1 and this will give you a good speed curve between CV2 and CV5.

[melmerby]

Hi Andy

Bit 1 in CV29 controls the direction, it may have been changed.

If you can read the value of CV29 with the Elite, It will likely be reading an odd number rather than even, reduce it by a decimal value of 1, that should switch off the reverse direction setting.

 

Getting a list of CV values and their actions could be a good starting point to get familiar with what you are doing.

Edited October 29, 2021 by melmerby

[sirandy]

Thanks Iain,

I understand your suggestion, I think I might have mis-worded...let me clarify...

 

The take-off from standing is fine, what I meant was I want it to 'ramp-up' from its slow start, to its maximum speed. Because the voltage an gearing are not conducive to good acceleration. In a curve environment, start is fine, top speed fine, I just want it to get up to speed a bit quicker thorugh the mid range. I have not adjusted the accel/decel rates just yet, as those will probably exascerbate the problem. Can I adjust CV6 and just leave CV 5 and get better speed build up through the mid point? I dont want to go into complex speed curves just yet.

[sirandy]

Melmerby, cheers, I will try that. I can read CV's with the Elite, but tend to use a calculator rather than spin head with bits....I do notice with the calculator, the relative changes that occur when changing factors and its probably experience that will help there...I will give it a go, thanks

[WIMorrison]

4 minutes ago, sirandy said:

Thanks Iain,

I understand your suggestion, I think I might have mis-worded...let me clarify...

 

The take-off from standing is fine, what I meant was I want it to 'ramp-up' from its slow start, to its maximum speed. Because the voltage an gearing are not conducive to good acceleration. In a curve environment, start is fine, top speed fine, I just want it to get up to speed a bit quicker thorugh the mid range. I have not adjusted the accel/decel rates just yet, as those will probably exascerbate the problem. Can I adjust CV6 and just leave CV 5 and get better speed build up through the mid point? I dont want to go into complex speed curves just yet.

 

Yes, if you want a convex curve from CV2 to CV5 then set CV6 at 2/3 - 3/4 of CV5. 

 

The default value of CV5=1 means that CV5 is 252 therefore I suggest that somewhere between 150 and 200 should give you what you are looking for (assuming CV2 is at 1)

[Nigelcliffe]

3 minutes ago, sirandy said:

Melmerby, cheers, I will try that. I can read CV's with the Elite, but tend to use a calculator rather than spin head with bits....I do notice with the calculator, the relative changes that occur when changing factors and its probably experience that will help there...I will give it a go, thanks

 

Plug your Elite into your computer with a USB cable, and then use DecoderPro (free, open-source software, runs on Windows, MacOS or Linux) for programming.   No more messing with calculations...

 

Also, for the Zimo decoder, you'll find there's a lot of things which can alter the acceleration away from stand-still.  As well as the basic speed curves, and acceleration/deceleration settings, there's a load of additional things such as exponential acceleration which extend the acceleration at slower speeds.   

 

 

- Nigel

 

[RAF96]

Not used DP for a while, but it used to have a graphic equaliser style panel that allowed you to play around with the speed curve just by adjusting sliders. Ideal for finding the right curve to suit your special needs.