BromsMods

Hi Rob The site is actually where it has always been but is now running on a secure server. Sadly my retirement took a grave knock on Friday when I was told that my wife, who helped me so much when I was running the business, is seriously ill. My son and I were both devastated at the news.

Try the link to instructions here - https://clarahost.clara.net/www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/dcc_concepts_manuals.htm

Just a note to say we're still here! It's amazing that, even though the retail business closed 5 years ago, I still get requests for products and help...........

From the limited information you have provided it seems that you have already set up the PowerCab and are having trouble programming a DCC decoder. It would also seem that you are, correctly, using the programming track otherwise you wouldn't get the "cannot read CV" response. So the problem is not with the PowerCab but with the decoder. Is this a new loco with a decoder already installed, a loco into which you have installed a new decoder or a second hand loco which already had a decoder in it? The make of decoder would help with trying to identify the problem.

Better left as a guide to the path others who have a similar problem should take, I think!

Did you plug the second cab in once the first had completely booted up? What was displayed on the second cab as you connected it up? Where are you located?

I would suggest booting up the NCE system using the throttle with the latest version of firmware, making sure the address of the throttle is set to 2. Once the system has booted up plug the other throttle in using the curly cable and change its address to 3.

In that case I woud suspect that the delay you experienced was caused by both throttles having the same Cab address.

I assume the second cab was using the correct (curly) cable and had its address changed to 3? What happened if you used the cab with the latest firmware as the command station ?

North Coast Engineering

The L11BQ power supply from Maplins was recommended to me many years ago by NCE. When I bought mine it was £10 more expensive than they are today! However, it has worked well and is reliable.

I have been contacted by a number of people who have commented on how valuable information is on my site so I have decided to keep it going, at least for another year or so, depending on my own health and commitments. I have also been offered some contributions to help with the costs so this helped persuade me to keep it going for the time being. I will endeavour to find some time to sort out one or two problems some people have been having when accessing the toyfairs calendars.

Many thanks Colin - very much appreciated from a former and much valued customer. I'm trying to do as much as I can (without over-doing it) whilst I still can. This philosophy was brought home to me in a big way this week when a close friend of mine just dropped dead at home on Tuesday.

Many thanks for your kind comments. I had hoped the installation guides would be useful and I do get the occasional thanks, though I must admit I haven't done too much with that side of the site recently as I have been doing too much travelling!! (Well, not as much as I would have liked......) It's also interesting that the EFE and Corgi sections also have a following - I was even contacted by a Corgi rep who thanked me so much for providing information about production quantities of models over the years as he didn't have access to this information through Corgi!!

I am currently considering closing down our website as it costs several hundred pounds a year to maintain. I have never made any charge for publicising events or products on the site but as the business is no longer trading it means the costs now have to be met from my own finances. If anyone, either an individual or a commercial enterprise, is interested in taking on the whole or part of the site then please do let me know. I will continue with the current site until the end of the year, when the annual web contract is due for renewal.

Am I right in assuming you have the 21-pin decoder installed the right way up?? See https://clarahost.clara.net/www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/bachcl350dccinstr.htm for more info.

Of course!!!

It's actually in the PSX manual, Alan, where it describes what each jumper does: J7-1 and J7-2 are the auto/manual reset input. If the connections are open, the breaker will automatically try to reset every two seconds. If the terminals are connected together (like a SPST toggle switch or a N/C push button switch), then the breaker will remain off after a short until the connection from J7-1 to J7-2 is momentarily opened. So linking the two connections together provides a manual rather than an automatic reset.

That's fine. Bear in mind that the CP6 was never intended as a circuit BREAKER only as a circuit PROTECTOR, i.e. it won't actually shut down the power to the power district but will illuminate the bulb(s) to show where there is a problem and also protect the PowerCab.

I wasn't going to mention that, Ian!!! Actually the PowerCab is very robust and I haven't had many "impact damage" PowerCabs to repair. If anything is damaged it is probably the LCD screen, but again, very rare and, with more recent versions of the handset, reasonably easy to replace.

Or worse!! Having seen the results of what some shorts can do to the PowerCab, and having had to repair them, I would always recommend the use of at least one circuit breaker for any DCC system as no system is totally immune.

You can set routes from within the PowerCab - this is standard functionaility using what are called macros. As for circuit breakers I would recommend the PSX-1 from DCC Specialities (stocked by Digitrains) - not only does it work extremely quickly but can be set at a sufficiently low level to protect the PowerCab.

Not the basic PowerCab, which the OP has - output from this is limited to 2 amps.

Text and photos now complete (with appropriate comments!). https://clarahost.clara.net/www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/bachmann4mtdccinstr.htm

OK - I've done the text for the 4MT - photos will have to wait til tomorrow, now, I'm afraid!!