Annoying glitch with Prodigy DCC. FIXED!

[Temeraire]

Afternoon all,

 

You may have seen on my Tidworth thread that I have fitted a DCC Concepts ADS-2 & an ADS-8 to the layout for point control using my Gaugemaster Prodigy System (not the squared version). Both are great products in their own rights and do the intended job brilliantly but seem to create an annoying glitch when coupled together, and I wondered if anyone else had seen this?

 

Most of my locos use the Bachmann 36-553 3 function chip and have always worked perfectly with the Gaugemaster apart from the odd reset to 3 after a short. However, now I have the point decoders in circuit, being powered by the DCC bus, every time I switch the Prodigy off the last used loco seems to lose its memory and doesn't move under its previous code number, although the lights can be turned on and off but are not direction changeable. This is something that has never happened on my Exford layout and by disconnecting the two point decoders and switching off, the problem doesn't occur, it only happens with the point decoders connected!

 

To solve this issue for the time being, I am pulling out the 4 way green plug to the back of the Prodigy (disconnecting the DCC bus) BEFORE switching it off, and there is then no issue.

 

I will send an e mail to both DCC Concepts and Gaugemaster to see if this is known and if there is a fix, but I just wondered if anyone else had seen this with either the Prodigy or any other DCC system?

[Sunnysa]

MMM, strange one.

 

 I use ADS8 with Lenz and ECoS aqnd have never encountered your problem.

 

 Admittedly I don't use Bachman decoders.

 

 Not saying that b decoders are the problem.

 

As has been suggested, contact DCCconcepts.

 

 Cheers

 

 Ian

[Temeraire]

Morning Ian

 

I have sent e mails to DCC Concepts and Gaugemaster and await replies. Today I am going to play around and find out if it affects my sound chips in the same way but I don't see why because I choose to use Bachmann NMRA compliant chips this should occur, it clearly shouldn't. I am also going to experiment by adding switches to isolate either the track or the point decoders to see if I can stop this happening by switching one or other off before the Prodigy. As someone mentioned on the other thread it would be a good idea to be able to isolate the track with a switch in the event of a short caused by wrongly set points, so that the points could be switched and the 'hand of god' not intervene! I will let you known the outcomes later.

[Temeraire]

Afternoon all,

 

Just an update, the problem I am seeing turns out to be nothing to do with the point decoders and seems to be a fault with the Prodigy system. I certainly haven't noticed this happening before so I can only assume that something has failed inside the unit. I will revise my emails to the two manufacturers!

[Temeraire]

Evening all

 

Just an update. I had a reply from Gaugemaster waiting for me when I got home tonight with the suggestion that I do a clear of 'old consist', by pressing 'double head' 4 times followed by enter. A sceptical me tried it and lo and behold it has fixed the issue! Although I don't understand why as I hadn't used a consist recently, so can only assume a short caused it I guess, but thought I'd report back just in case anyone else sees it.

[charles2]

Hi Ian !

 

I've read your thread here because this bloke I know (strangely enough called the same name as me !) made a hash up of trying to change some values on an old Bachmann 3 function decoder with my sorry, his, Gaugemaster prodigy wireless. Having cussed enough for the entire year in the past 24hrs when I,sorry, he, gets chance tomorrow or Wednesday, then he'll try the 4 double heads in rapid succession followed by the enter. I'm sure that I can then report back on my his success or lack of as soon as possible !

Many thanks for this topic !

Charles