Dapol Imperium

[Fuggles]

I have recently acquired Dapol's D and D1 class locos. Both run smoothly on DC but with the Imperium decoder they are rather jerky in performance. I have about 25  other locos, some proprietary, some kit built, with various makes of decoders and they all perform as one would expect. It was suggested to me that there is a CV setting which allows the loco to be run on DC with the DCC chip, and this should be changed but which CV, and to what value nobody seems to know. The Dapol website does not have any information about CV settings, not even the basic ones. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Is there an alternative decoder I could use? Any help would be very much appreciated.

[SRman]

I have an Imperium in my D class, and a Lais 870015 in the D1. both run very smoothly on DCC.

What I do change on all decoders besides the addresses is the inertia/momentum settings on CVs 3 and 4. I have all locomotives and units set with large-ish values in those CVs to match closely with the driving qualities of sound-fitted items. This smooths out some of the running, but won't compensate for a stiff or "coggy" motor and gear chain (if yours have other problems). I use starting values of CV3=25 and CV4=18, then tweak them from there.

 

 

 

Edited January 27 by SRman
Adding video link

[NIK]

Hi,

 

If you search the web for Dapol Imperium Decoder Manual you should find what you need fairly quickly.

 

Regards

 

Nik

[Right Away]

Not familiar with the Imperium decoder but accessing CV29, setting bit 2 to1 is the NMRA setting for enabling DC operation. This is generally a default setting on many decoders.

 

FYI. The Lenz 21 pin Silver decoder, initially fitted to my D1 could not be made to effect a really smooth start from rest, regardless of how much config adjustment was made; always leaping from standstill to around a scale 4 mph. Not wishing to part with getting on for 40 odd quid for a different 21 pin decoder, I hard-wired a spare Zimo 8 wire (originally £20) and, as always, the starts are gentle.

Sure, it’s negated the convenience of the “slide in” decoder arrangement but that’s more than compensated for by watching those big drivers ease away from rest.

Perhaps the gearing ratio of these models might have been better matched to the size of the driving wheels.

Edited January 28 by Right Away
spelling

[jamesed]

Providing your decoders are NMRA Standard compliant then ensuring that bit 2 in cv29 is on will allow your locos to run on dc. The actual value of cv29 will depend on other settings within that cv. Use this online calculator to determine the required value for cv29.  The best thing is to read your current cv29 value first and use the back calculation to view the current settings. Then switch on bit 2 if you need to and reprogram the new value of cv29.  It's quite likely that you won't need to do anything as bit 2 is usually active by default in a new decoder so unless you've previously turned it off it's probably already on. 

Edited January 28 by jamesed

[Butler Henderson]

The Imperium are rebadged Lais decoders cheapened by the removal of the shrink-wrap and hiked in price

[Fuggles]

Thank you very much everyone for you suggestions. I will try them and report back. Sorry for the late response. I've been off line for two days