Reading loco address with NCE

[Jenny Emily]

Due to failure of the Prodigy Express I formerly used on my programming track, I’ve had to try and use my NCE instead. Can’t say I’m impressed with its user friendliness. 
 

I cannot find any option to read the loco address despite searching through menus. Can anyone tell me how to do this on the NCE? On the Prodigy it was really straightforward and user friendly to do. 
 

Thanks in advance. 
 

Edit: I did find the answer. They weren’t shooting for user friendly when they designed the NCE! 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Jenny Emily
Answer found

[CHAZ D]

press escape 4 times to use programming track and hit Enter

hit 1 and it will read

manufactuer

enter

chip ID

enter

do you want to

1 for yes and it will read the short address and allow you to change it (hit 1 to save address and make it the address Enter to not change the address)

it will the ask for long address put in address as required and when asked hit 1 to make that the active address Enter to do nothing

 

Escape back to main menu (if you don't want to change any CV'S

Edited May 11, 2023 by CHAZ D

[Pete the Elaner]

I find the Powercab quite easy to use.

I feel you adapt your way of thinking to what system you have, taking advantage of its features & find ways around its deficiencies without even knowing you are doing so. This is true with other things as well as DCC: 3D CAD software iPhone v Android, even Mac v Windows v Linux is largely a matter of finding one easier simply because you are familiar with it.

[Vecchio]

20 hours ago, Jenny Emily said:

I did find the answer. They weren’t shooting for user friendly when they designed the NCE! 

If you want user friendly you should try z21. Even I can use it...  You probably see one at an exhibition - ask if you can have a try...

[Jenny Emily]

6 hours ago, Vecchio said:

If you want user friendly you should try z21. Even I can use it...  You probably see one at an exhibition - ask if you can have a try...

I already have an NCE which I like for running trains, and the Gaugemaster I used for the programming track died so I had to find a way of programming locos. 

[jaym481]

If you can find one of the NCE USB interfaces get it and use JMRI to program your locos. Easy visual interface and other than connecting the powercab to provide power, you never have to touch the handset.

[Sol]

As long as I know the loco number, I program my locos with NCE Procab on the main ,  no problems.

[Pete the Elaner]

41 minutes ago, Sol said:

As long as I know the loco number, I program my locos with NCE Procab on the main ,  no problems.

 

I usually find it helpful to see the value of a CV before writing it. If anything goes wrong, you know what you've changed & can easily reverse it. For this, it is necessary to keep a record of CVs, but doing it manually is a pain.

JMRI does this automatically: change the setting on the loco roster then send it to the loco.

[Izzy]

On 12/05/2023 at 21:10, Jenny Emily said:

I already have an NCE which I like for running trains, and the Gaugemaster I used for the programming track died so I had to find a way of programming locos. 

If you like having a separate programming track and have a laptop you can use when doing so them might I suggest getting a Sprog. You’d only need a Sprog II so not too expensive but it takes all the hassle out of it, no messing with cv’s, well unless you want to. With JMRI/decoder pro the graphical interface makes it easy and the loco roster means you can keep records of all the locos. 

 

Bob

[Jenny Emily]

22 hours ago, Izzy said:

If you like having a separate programming track and have a laptop you can use when doing so them might I suggest getting a Sprog. You’d only need a Sprog II so not too expensive but it takes all the hassle out of it, no messing with cv’s, well unless you want to. With JMRI/decoder pro the graphical interface makes it easy and the loco roster means you can keep records of all the locos. 

 

Bob

I have a Sprog II but couldn’t get it to work with my computer. 

[Izzy]

3 hours ago, Jenny Emily said:

I have a Sprog II but couldn’t get it to work with my computer. 

 

Oh that's a shame. I've an older Sprog II needing the special USB drivers and have had some problems with Win 11 but a Sprog upgrade has solved that now. I still think it's quite probably the best piece of DCC equipment I've bought especially seeing as how it can also be used as a standalone DCC command station if needed. There's a very helpful group for Sprog DCC on Groups.io and Andrew Crosland is most helpful with any issues you have with them if you contact him.

 

Bob

[Jenny Emily]

The problem I have is drivers related. The computer it is on is running XP and for some reason the drivers and the computer don’t get on. 

[Nigelcliffe]

10 hours ago, Jenny Emily said:

The problem I have is drivers related. The computer it is on is running XP and for some reason the drivers and the computer don’t get on. 

 

An XP computer should be in a skip or a museum.  Support for XP ended over nine years ago.  Either spend money on something newer (s/hand will be fine), or put Linux on it. 

 

- Nigel

 

[AndrueC]

One of the lines in my maintenance yard diorama is a programming track. It's easy enough to set up. Isolate the line, connecting it directly to the PowerCab then connect the rest of the layout to the main outputs of one of these:

 

https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201656579-Auto-SW-Auto-Switch-for-Power-Cab

https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/200551449/Auto-SW_Live_Program_Track.pdf

 

When I put the PowerCab into programming track mode the relay cuts the power to main layout but that line in the yard remains connected.

Edited May 18, 2023 by AndrueC

[Jenny Emily]

41 minutes ago, Nigelcliffe said:

 

An XP computer should be in a skip or a museum.  Support for XP ended over nine years ago.  Either spend money on something newer (s/hand will be fine), or put Linux on it. 

 

- Nigel

 

It works for me. I despise later versions of Windows for the smug arrogance that they constantly download updates which trash my settings and software even when told not to. 
 

For my writing work I have been using Word97 since it was released and have no intention to change. It does what I want without bloat and that’s the way I like it. 
 

The only new computer I have also hates the Sprog and won’t use it. I only have this computer for my video editing work as well as handling live streams. If the Sprog won’t work with my hardware, then tough, it doesn’t get used. It doesn’t bother me enough to waste time and money on it. 

[melmerby]

Linux.

Dual boot with Windows (using GRUB)

JMRI & Sprog to work on Linux.

Edited May 18, 2023 by melmerby

[Pete the Elaner]

2 hours ago, Jenny Emily said:

It works for me. I despise later versions of Windows for the smug arrogance that they constantly download updates which trash my settings and software even when told not to. 
 

For my writing work I have been using Word97 since it was released and have no intention to change. It does what I want without bloat and that’s the way I like it. 

 

They seem to have gone through that phase & appeared on the other side. I've not had an update cause an issue like that for a long time. (I have on my work Macbook).

 

Auto-updates are not an arrogance, they are a necessity.

Any system has to be rushed out a little. If they don't, then a competitor will & they will steal the market. If is therefore not perfect so updates are required.

Once an update is published, a hacker will reverse engineer it & write a virus to exploit a weakness the update is fixing. They do this pretty quickly.

There were a faction of users who did not want these updates so quickly. These proudly refused to install them then publicly blamed the vendor because their machines were vulnerable, even though the patches to close these vulnerabilities had been issued.

So how do the vendors cope with this? By pushing out the updates & making it difficult to refuse them. Apple also do this for their MacOS, so it would be wrong to believe that it is a Microsoft mentality.

As mentioned, Linux is an alternative. These are mainly free distributions so maintenance is entirely the user's responsibility.

JMRI works in a Java environment. Windows, Mac & Linux all support Java. That moves on too, so the latest versions on JMRI (with the latest updates to provide the latest features & read the latest decoders) may require a version of Java which is no longer supported by some older OS's.

 

There are tools out there to do what you want. If you reject their requirements then that is your choice.
Office 97 does not work properly on Windows XP or Windows 2000. Unless you give yourself admin privileges (which is not recommended), certain features are unavailable.

 

I've not used a Sprog but it seems to be well regarded so I have no reason to doubt its usefulness. If my system did not have an interface I could use with JMRI (which I find very useful), I would definitely get one.

[Crosland]

On 18/05/2023 at 09:21, Jenny Emily said:

The only new computer I have also hates the Sprog and won’t use it. I only have this computer for my video editing work as well as handling live streams. If the Sprog won’t work with my hardware, then tough, it doesn’t get used. It doesn’t bother me enough to waste time and money on it. 

 

I hate to see disappointed customers.

 

There are instructions on our download page about getting an old SPROG II (not a IIv3 or IIv4) with newer versions of Windows. We decided it wasn't worth the money to sign the drivers and then Microsoft tightened up the rules. Since Win 8 you need to disable driver signature enforcement when installing the drivers. Alternatively you can order an upgrade, which requires the SPROG to be returned to us. This will make the old SPROG work with the latest signed drivers from FTDI so you don't have to jump through hoops. look for the SPROG II signed driver upgrade on our website.

 

It should work fine with an XP computer. I would try and remove any drivers and then try installing the drivers again. It's a two step process, once for the basic USB serial drivers and again for the SPROG itself. Windows will prompt you to accept the unsigned drivers.

 

Andrew Crosland

www.sprog-dcc.co.uk

 

 

[Harlequin]

On 18/05/2023 at 09:21, Jenny Emily said:

It works for me. I despise later versions of Windows for the smug arrogance that they constantly download updates which trash my settings and software even when told not to. 
 

For my writing work I have been using Word97 since it was released and have no intention to change. It does what I want without bloat and that’s the way I like it. 
 

 

It sounds like you've been brainwashed by someone!

 

A bit of research into what the modern Windows experience is really like for the majority of users and the advantages of modern word processing apps (many cloud-based these days, so zero "bloat" on your computer) should show you that it's worth getting up to date.

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by Harlequin

[melmerby]

There's always Libre Office for Microsoft haters.

Works well on Linux

[smokebox]

I use Open Office.  Suits me

[RAF96]

Also numbers, pages and sheets on iOS. Office is a pest pushing for 365 subs.