WIMorrison Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 I hard-wired a Zimo MN170 into a loco that I bought over the weekend at the excellent Perth show and I am having a couple of issues. The loco is a Bemo SWEG v22-02. Before I installed the decoder I serviced the loco and ran the it forwards and backwards for around an hour on DC because it was clear that the loco hadn’t been used for a whil (if ever!). It was running very smoothly after the running in period. I installed the MN170 into the loco (removed the suppression capacitor and the two chokes) and ran it on DCC for a period (10mins), and again it ran well at full chat. I have found that to make it start I need to set CV2 at 100 which gives me a speed of 4.35kph on SS1 and I have CV5 at 150 to give a max speed of 40kph (prototypically correct) with CV57 set to 130. The real problem is that despite CV29 = 14 (126 speed steps, DC enabled, and Railcom) the loco will not run on DC. This is an issue for me as I use DC to clean and service locos. The loco is running well, just not on DC, anyone any suggestions? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted June 28, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2023 Iain what value in cv12? Should be 117 in the earlier Mn German manual, that appears to be another DC selection. If it’s an even number there appears to be a dc lock out? 117 would be bit 0, 2, 4, 5 & 6 on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim123 Posted June 28, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2023 What software version is the decoder - in the red box in Paul's screen grab it says "ATTENTION: DC analogue operation only implemented from SW version 4.50" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted June 28, 2023 Author Share Posted June 28, 2023 Checking the decoder CV12 = 127 and the translation of the manual suggests that is OK (why is there no value for Bit 1 or 3, despite them being on?) However it would appear with it being Odd that DC is enabled here. I think that for my use it could actually be 5 as I will never be using the other formats. Bit 0 - DC analog operation 0 = disabled 1 = enabled Bit 2 - DCC always 1 = enabled Bit 4 - AC analog operation 0 = disabled 1 = enabled Bit 5 - MM 0 = disabled 1 = enabled Bit 6 - mfx 0 = disabled 1 = enabled Value 0 = all formats on The software shows as v4.229 (CV7+CV65) - now is that more or less than v4.5? The fact that DC doesn't work might suggest that this may be the issue. Do you know where the firmware is kept for the MN decoders (can't see it on the website) and also whether the Z21 can update the MN series? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted June 28, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2023 4 minutes ago, WIMorrison said: The software shows as v4.229 (CV7+CV65) - now is that more or less than v4.5? The fact that DC doesn't work might suggest that this may be the issue. It’s less think of it as 4.2 so the software appears to be the issue even though cv12 is correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted June 28, 2023 Author Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) Not sure on that Paul - reading this page would suggest that 4.229 is the latest version and that it is significantly ahead of v4.50 (and I can't see any mention of DC only working after v4.50 :( MS & MN Decoder Software Update (zimo.at) Edit - good news is that the Z21 opens the file and shows that 4.229 is the correct version, and I expect that it will update decoder - though no point as it is already at latest version. Perhaps a mail to Zimo (with a request for an English translation of the manual!) Edited June 28, 2023 by WIMorrison Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted June 28, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2023 Zimo count up then go back down and start up again? Well that’s original! 😆 I just noticed the cv12 apparent other lock out in the old mn manual I had on file, also on their site, so I’m out of ideas I’m afraid. You can translate it using google camera a screenshot at a time, probably faster than waiting on a Zimo translation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted June 28, 2023 Author Share Posted June 28, 2023 I think that they simply count up from 1, therefore 229 is higher than 50 😀. I have written to Herr Hubinger who normally answers fairly quickly so hope to get an answers over the next few days. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted June 28, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 28, 2023 1 minute ago, WIMorrison said: I think that they simply count up from 1, therefore 229 is higher than 50 😀. Yes unusual way of doing it to what I’m used to where the third and fourth numbers are just sub versions of 4.1, 4.2, 4.5 etc Should really be 4-50, 4-229 rather than using a decimal point. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted June 28, 2023 Author Share Posted June 28, 2023 Not brilliant, but easier than German 😂 Zimo MN Manual English (Machine Translation) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpendle Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 15 hours ago, PaulRhB said: Yes unusual way of doing it to what I’m used to where the third and fourth numbers are just sub versions of 4.1, 4.2, 4.5 etc Should really be 4-50, 4-229 rather than using a decimal point. But in Austria, Germany, and other parts of Europe, they use a decimal comma! 4,5 5,75 etc. John P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted June 29, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 29, 2023 1 hour ago, jpendle said: But in Austria, Germany, and other parts of Europe, they use a decimal comma! 4,5 5,75 etc. John P Zimo’s list looks like a decimal point to me 😉 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Easterbrook Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, PaulRhB said: Yes unusual way of doing it to what I’m used to where the third and fourth numbers are just sub versions of 4.1, 4.2, 4.5 etc Should really be 4-50, 4-229 rather than using a decimal point. Standard for software versioning though. Version 1.10 is higher than version 1.9 as leading zeroes for each part are suppressed. Think of it as two numbers (major and minor) separated by a dot. Edited June 29, 2023 by Jim Easterbrook Typo 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpendle Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 7 hours ago, PaulRhB said: Zimo’s list looks like a decimal point to me 😉 That's cos you're not Austrian or Swiss for that matter 😄 John P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 It appears that a default CV#12 value of 127 is incorrect and this value *may* cause an issue (so why is it the value in a new decoder?). I have changed the value to 5 (DC+DCC) and it now works, though there is another issue because the motor doesn't start instantly when DC power is applied. I have checked CV#14 and the value of 67 should be making F0 and F1 available for DC, and switching off CV#3 and CV#4 when running on DC (1+2+64). It doesn't seem like CV#3 and CV#4 are being applied, it is simply that the motor has an obvious delay before starting to turn, almost as if the decoder needs to time to think about reacting to DC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelcliffe Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 CV12 in the MS-series has been the subject of some bug reports I made over the winter. Which may have had other consequences. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted August 30, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 30, 2023 I'm about to recommend an MN170 as an alternative to the MX617, should I hold off on this? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now