Bill Davidson Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Hi there, As yet I'm still in the planning stages of my outdoor layout and very much a novice to model railways. I have had a problem with a DCC sound fitted class 25 locomotive in that it refused to respond to my controler. As it was still under waranty I sent it back to the manufacturer who returned it saying there was no fault, but needed a decoder re-programme. what I am wondering is, after the waranty is finished is there a way in which I can carry out a de-coder re-programme myself and is there any special equipment needed, or will it still have to be sent back to the manufacturer should it go wrong again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I think what they mean is a reset while on the programming track. I'm not expert on this, but I had a decoder go south on me and I had to try a reset. In my case the decoder is seriously fried. What system are you using? Maybe the manual has something on resetting the decoder to factory defaults. Good to see a new member on here. Look forward to progress shots as you get going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 If the manufacturer is sure there isn't a problem other than the decoder needing to be reset then clearly they don't think there's a major fault. If it's just that the loco wasn't responding to any of your commands then they're making it sound like you were attempting to enter an incorrect ID or loco address number on your controller for that particular loco. When purchased new all loco's come pre-programmed with the default address of 3. The owner can then change this address to one of their choosing. I've had many occasions when, after changing a loco address from the default number 3 to something else, I had forgotten which number I had used and had been unable to send commands to the loco. Resetting the decoder to its default settings changes the loco address back to 3 so you can start again. The vast majority of decoders are reset by placing the loco on a programming track (or on the mainline if your controller allows this) and programming CV08 to a value of 08. The decoder should then revert to its factory settings. If you do get stuck remembering what address a particular loco has been set to then some controllers allow you to read back the values of the decoder. Failing that, I've also started putting a small self-adhesive label under each loco with the handwritten loco address on it so I don't forget in future. Am I on the right track or talking nonsense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Most people use the loco number as the address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essex2visuvesi Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Quick questions for the origonal poster. What make is the Decoder? What make is the controller? I've been through a selection of dcc controllers in my time and should be able to help, but the process varies from controller to controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Davidson Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Thanks for all the info guys and yes you are correct in saying it was a re-set that was required. Unfortunately when I phoned the manufaturers service department their advice on how to reset the chip was of no use. The reason being the locomotive moved off at a slow speed in reverse as soon as the wheels touched the track or the power was switched on and I was unable to stop it. Obviously there must be a way to re-set the chip and I can only assume it must have to be removed from the engine and somehow attached to a computer to carry out the function. Now I think about it maybe it's something best left to the profesionals but once again thanks for the advice and all the best for the forthcoming festive season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Bill Not sure if this applies to every DCC chip but from my experience, it is possible for a loco to start moving as soon as it's placed on the track if it hadn't been stopped using the controler the previous time. I believe the chip remembers its last settings (?) so for instance if the sound was on when it was lifted from the track, the sound will come on again when it is placed back again. If the loco was in motion when lifted from the track it will start to move once placed back on the rails if the power to the track is on. Let us know which controller you are using. You need to get the loco on a programming track or similar to reset the chip to default settings and we might be able to tell you how to do that once we know which controller you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essex2visuvesi Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 This is where a rolling road is extremely useful as a programming track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Davidson Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 mick said: Not sure if this applies to every DCC chip but from my experience, it is possible for a loco to start moving as soon as it's placed on the track if it hadn't been stopped using the controler the previous time. I believe the chip remembers its last settings (?) so for instance if the sound was on when it was lifted from the track, the sound will come on again when it is placed back again. If the loco was in motion when lifted from the track it will start to move once placed back on the rails if the power to the track is on. Let us know which controller you are using. You need to get the loco on a programming track or similar to reset the chip to default settings and we might be able to tell you how to do that once we know which controller you have. Hi Mick, the loco was definitely stopped and the power turned off when it was removed from the track and was at a standstill when I started it off, however as soon as I turned the knob on my hornby sellect controller it just shot off at full speed totally out of control, lights went off and sound stopped. Tried the emergency stop button but it wouldn't respond to that either, so had to cut the power at the mains. When I tried it again it would only go in a reverse direction at a very slow speed but still would not respond to any of the controls. It's fine now that bachman have re-set the chip but still don't understand why it went the way it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essex2visuvesi Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 If you look on some of the other model railway forums you will see there are some known issues with bachmann decoders and the select. The Select is not 100% NMRA compliant so some decoders will not work well and others not at all On the Hornby website it says, "* Please note certain US manufactured decoders are not suitable for use with the Hornby Select unit due to their inability to conform to EMC requirements. Bottom of this page. " https://www.hornby.com/hornby-dcc/controllers/ There is also this thread I started on another forum http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=35384&p=441519&hilit=select+decoder#p441519 (Mod..... I hope this is OK to link to another forum) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 essex2visuvesi said: ..(Mod..... I hope this is OK to link to another forum) Of course. Linking to any relevant material or topic, even if elsewhere on the Internet, is perfectly okay with me. That's what the Internet's all about. I don't have any experience with the Select controller and I'm not aware of it's capabilities. I've had a quick look at some documentation and it would appear that it doesn't have a dedicated output for connection to a programming track. Instead, programming takes place either on the actual layout with all other loco's and accessory modules removed, or ideally on a seperate length of track that is electrically isolated from the rest of the layout using an R046 lever switch (or similar). There is a http://www.hornby.com/filelibrary/download/?FileID=135' PDF brochure available on the Hornby website in case you have mislaid the one that came with your original Select controller which describes the set-up of a programming track. How have you managed to programme your loco's up to now? In light of the fact that there are/have been alleged problems with certain loco decoders and the Hornby Select, would you consider a new controller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essex2visuvesi Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 mick said: would you consider a new controller? Can do you a good deal on a roco multimaus (I have 3 of them from sets) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Davidson Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Once again thankyou to everyone for all the information. As I'm new to model railways, I had no idea of all the complexities between decoders and certain controllers. It is certainly something I'm going to have to think about in the future. so far, I have been following the instructions that came with my select controller and programming the locos one at a time with everything else removed from the track. I am going to wait until the spring when hopefully I'll be starting work on my outdoor set up and possibly purchase a more advanced controller as I'll probably be needing more power anyway. I've never attempted to install a decoder before and have been looking to purchase my locos DCC fitted. Would the forum members advise buying DCC ready locos and perhaps fitting the same make of decoders to all locos to avoid future problems? Also What type of decoders should I be thinking about for a novice like myself to fit and what is the difference between 8 pin or otherwise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essex2visuvesi Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 There are generally 4 types of decoder depending on the plug and socket:- 6 Pin (normally found in N gauge and one or two smaller OO gauge locos 8 Pin (pretty much the norm on most RTR steam locos) 21 Pin (Normally fitted to newer diesels with sound and/or Advanced lighting effects) Wires Only (Bare wires for "Hard wiring" into a non DCC ready loco) As for decoder brand its horses for courses. It's impossible to say what decoder is best for which loco as what works for one person may not work well for another. Personally I use digitrax for my own installs but do have locos with both hornby and bachmann decoders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Davidson Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks for that, I'm learning new things everyday with this hobby. think it's going to take a while though, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Davidson Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hi guys, happy new year to everyone. I'm sorry to bother you again but my bachman class 25 with sound has started playing up again and I can't get hold of Bachman at the moment due to the Christmas holidays. Unlike the last time, I have control of all the functions except the sound features. When I press F1 on my hornby select I can hear a click at the locomotive as if it's receiving the signal but it remains silent. My question is how can I, if at all possible programme the CV values with a hornby select controler, as I have the feeling that somehow the sound control has been turned down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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