Restore A Dead Decoder With One Easy Command (291)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
- There are a number of things that can result in your decoders becoming unresponsive giving the appearance they are dead. However in a lot of cases it may only be that an important CV value has been changed in the decoder and it simply isn't getting the right command. In this video I'll tell you what to look out for, how to debug the problem, and most importantly tell you how you can return your decoder to normal operation with one easy command.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:46 What is a dead decoder
1:16 What causes it
3:24 Quick fixes with DecoderPro
4:40 The Factory Reset
7:42 Doing a reset with a PowerCab
10:15 Resetting using DecoderPro
16:42 Wrap up - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Great video, very informative. I saw you a few times at Warley, and wanted to say hello, but you were always deep in conversation with people and since I was assisting with running a layout I didn't have time to wait for you to be free. I do hope that you enjoyed your visit. Pete.
Pete-wish you had interrupted. It was a great show and I lost count of all those I met.
Thank you for sharing. I have two decoders that need help, I'll give the factory reset a try.👍👀
Larrry As always good tips. I have done a few CV8 = 08 on a couple of my decoders which cleared up problems. Most of my decoders do not have any cv changes in them but in the future, I will save the config on my decoder pro computer which is on my work bench where I have my test track that I setup on my engines on never on the main line. Thanks
I am full on flu,just love your video. Well done
Thanks Larry, very helpful.
Another great video sir!
THANK YOUFOR VIDEO
I ordered 2 motor decoders from Japan. 1 worked the second couldn't be found. Living in Australia it's a 6 week wait. I'm just going to order a new one from hopefully somone closer.
For DecoderPro users who have previously saved a loco's settings, using a programming track, select the loco from the roster, go to the CVs tab, and use the Compare function. Depending on the decoder, this can take some time, but will show which CVs are now different. If it's only a couple, they can easily be restored.
Good tip, that’s a lot faster than doing a complete rewrite which can be prone to errors.
Hi Larry, nice video. Another source of decoders not responding is when the user forgets that the locomotive is in a consist. If CV19 is set to anything other than 0 it won't respond to its regular address (unless you are using NCE and the consist was programmed on that very system).
If the loco has been programmed in a consist set by someone else on their layout, does this consist function stay with the loco when it returns to my layout? I have a few locos come back from a friend’s layout where it was consisted and can’t get the loco to move. I use NCE like the one Larry has. Thanks for any advice.
@@kropotken Advanced Consist stays with the locomotive in CV19. So when you return home your NCE system doesn't know that your locos are in advanced consist. You can run they by the consist address (1-127), but if you want to run them by their actual address you have to do the advanced consist on your system.
Stuart is correct about advanced consists however universal or command station assisted consists are only stored in the command station so will not travel with the locos.
Excellent Video Larry, although there was a reference to the 4th of July weekend which raised my eyebrows.
That one is a recycled video from the vault since I am in England.
@@TheDCCGuy ahhh, you are still there. I hope you are having a great time. All the best Larry.
Hello Larry. Zakery Dartt here, I'm new to DCC I've been building a layout for the past few months. I have an Walthers GP15-1 Locomotive Dcc and sound. I recently upgraded to a Digitrax Zephyr Express. Once I got the locomotive program to the Zephyl. It was working correctly for a few minutes. But after learning what function I had and they did. The locomotive started acting weird. Now it won't move or make any sound of any. I've been a subscriber of yours for a good while and watch the video on restore a dead decoder.. I am going to give that a try and see if that will solve the problem.
Thanks for all your video and tips.
That probably hast a SoundTraxx decoder in it so should be a good performer. Let me know how the reset works for you.
@@TheDCCGuy Hello Larry. I tried the reset but it didn't work. I see the changes of the setting on the screen, plus I can hear little sounds coming from the engine while the programming writing is going on, if that is normal, but the engine still doesn't respond. I'm going to take to my local hobby shop after the holidays and have them figure it out. I will update you what the out come is. Thanks, really enjoy your videos and and have gotten several tips.
Zakery Dartt
I have that problem with my loco. I was programming the braking rates and momentum. Then I go to test it and my dynamic brake settings were not working. So I went ahead and reset my loco. Then started over reprogramming the cv's again and then it all worked fine.
Often that’s all it takes to sort it out.
Nice presentation. Presentation idea for ya. How about how to program these multi CV/index CV setting. QSI and others? How, what, when etc.
When I want to do indexed CVs I definitely use DecoderPro. These can get very complicated to access and program. TCS even has a program on their website to calculate these CVs it is so complicated.
Actually what I'd like to see is a video describing advanced function mappings. I *think* I get what they do, but I've never seen them used in real life.
@@chrisridd9423 most of this stuff is probably pretty easy to do….especially when you have a mentor, (club member or friend) show you how to do these things. Self-teaching has it limitations even with TH-cam’s.
@@fallnflags5587 you're probably right and I guess every decoder and user is going to have very different needs. Nevertheless given how poor (super technical describing what you can set, less helpful explaining "why") decoder manuals are, a video might be worth a shot
Hi Larry, I have a tsunami 1 decoder that appears to be stuck in an advanced consist and does not respond to any of the decoder reset functions on Decoder Pro, or my throttle. Any advice on how to fix this?
Have you tried reprogramming CV19 to a value of “0”? If that doesn’t work then did you possibly lock the decoder? It sounds as though you tried a factory reset. If none of that works then call tech support and see if 5hey can help.
Can you please do a video on how to speed match locomotives?
The are a couple on the channel already. Just go to the main channel page and scroll down through the main listing. There are over 290 videos listed there so enjoy.
Hello, Mr. DCC Guy. I have a related question and hope you can help. I just bought from Trainz a new Athearn G63925 HO Amtrak SDP40F Diesel Locomotive. It is a DCC ready unit of which I will be installing a new DCC/sound decoder. When placing it on my Digitrax test track, it causes my Digitrax DCS50 command station display to rapidly blink its address. Is this some type of 'short' and if so where should I look to fix it. Thank you in advance.
I’m nit understanding what you are doing. You have a loco without a decoder that is DCC ready with no decoder and trying to operate it using a DCS50 Zephyr. So what address are you using? You should be able to run a single DC loco using address 0 on your system but don’t do it for long as the motor can heat up. Once I hear back from you with clarifications I will dig out my DCS50 and try to duplicate what you are seeing.
@@TheDCCGuy Sorry Mr. DCC Guy for the confession. Here is my situation: 1. I bought a new Athearn G63925 HO Amtrak SDP40F Diesel Locomotive which is DCC ready; 2. It has in it from the factory a DC board; 3. When on my test track and under the default address, my Digitrax DCS50 command station starts rapidly blinking the address number. Is there some kind of short inside of the loco or dose it have a bigger problem?.
@@anthonygunter4064 The board in your SDP40F is not a decoder. As a result it will not run under any DCC address. It may run under address 0 on most Digitrax systems.
@@stuartaaron613, You are correct and I stand corrected. It has a "Board" in it. From the factory it has an address of 03 but when I put it on my test track and turn on my Digitrax DCS50 command station, the display of the command station starts blinking the address number rapidly. The engine doesn't move unlike other engines I've similarly tested.
@@anthonygunter4064 The "board" is not a DCC decoder. It has no address on it. You have to remove the dummy plug from the board and install a DCC decoder in place of it.
Hi Larry iv killed two ESU decoders that keep saying on the programmer it doesn’t read the decoder. What could I do to fix that?
What DCC system/programmer are you using?
I have a digitrax decoder That's has always been a problem it runs just fine until it besides desides too take a break I put it the programming track and it runs until next time.
The next time it does that try the factory reset method. That should clear it completely and may resolve whatever is causing it to misbehave.
Already tried that.
I have 3 atlas n scale engines with factory decoders. I have reset them using CV8 and CV 30. Then I reprogram them they will light up but won’t move. Any suggestions?
What address did you use? You may have reset the address to the original default of 3.
I tried address 3 but still got no movement. I did reset one of the locomotives again today and tried address 3 and got the same result, it lights up but doesn't move. I've read that a magnet can reset a decoder, is that accurate? These are NCE decoders according to the case they came in. thank you. @@TheDCCGuy
@@kevinihrke Since you don’t tell me which decoder it is I just picked one at randome from the NCEDCC.com website and they say:
CV30 - Set this CV to 2 on the programming track and the decoder will reset to factory settings.
Thank you. I’ve tried that as well but I must be doing something wrong so I keep trying and hopefully I’ll get it figured out. Thanks again, I appreciate your help.
I lock all of my decoders with CV 15 and !6 and ever since I have had no problems with random CV changes or decoder brain farts.
Interesting approach, I’ll have to try that with some decoders. In theory it shouldn’t since the intermittent shorts act on the components directly and not be dependent on a CV setting but since I have never bothered locking them it would be a good test.
You may be right but it certainly prevents old guys from broadcasting to 20 different locomotives if he is on the leading edge of old timer’s disease by selecting programming on the programming track by mistake.
One point I might add is that I have been chatting with TCS and they advise a factory reset value of 2 into CV8. Not a value of 8 as mentioned above.
I thought setting CV 8 to 8 was the standard way of resetting a decoder as well. It is indeed very common but apparently not standardised - do a search for "dcc reset decoder cv" and you'll find a manufacturer-specific list.
Some decoders offer several options in addition to CV8=8. With TCS you can selectively reset just certain sets of CVs or just set them all back to factory using a value of 8. There used to be a lot more variations but most manufacturers I am aware of offer CV8=8 and then a subset like TCS does.