Hey. I'm sorry. I'm about to ask a lot here, so thanks in advance for answering. I bought a Digitrax Zephyr today, and am not having much luck getting it to work. I have some questions:
1. In the decoder installation, it says to use Kapton tape. I have never seen/heard of this stuff, but a google search brings something that looks like the tape my digitrax decoder came wrapped in. Anybody know if it is the stuff? Or, if electrical tape would fulfill the same duties...?
2. The manual says when the track is powered, a blinking light on the decoder means a short circuit. When power is added, the light blinks once, and nothing happens. Is this their definition of "blinking"?
3. I have no idea how to use the LT1 decoder tester that came with the set. It says to put two wires from decoder ( I think) to the right rail, left rail (red. black). Then, take the twisted together red/yellow, and green/black, and attach them to the motor -,+. My problem is, this is a plug and play decoder, with no wires to attach. Can anyone describe this correctly?
As you can see, I'm having some trouble. As a disclaimer, I'm not very good at electronics (I'm sure you can tell). My decoder is a DN163K1C, on a Kato SD40-2, with ditch lights. Thanks a million,
Nagrom1 wrote:1. In the decoder installation, it says to use Kapton tape. I have never seen/heard of this stuff, but a google search brings something that looks like the tape my digitrax decoder came wrapped in. Anybody know if it is the stuff? Or, if electrical tape would fulfill the same duties...?
Morgan,
Kapton tape is a very thin (0.001" thick) transparent tape. Besides being a good insulator, it sticks and re-sticks well.
Electrical tape will work fine, too. Kapton tape just has the advantage of being clear, thinner and adhering better to parts. I like using it for my decoder installs and bought mine from Litchfield Station.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I am not positive, but I believe that the Kaptan tubing was responsible in part for the SwissAir disaster off Nova Scotia 8 years ago.
That out of the way, Electrical tape, if you can manage the operation with it, should be good, but the techs will tell you that the heat-shrink stuff is way better.
I believe your system should beep, too, so a single blink doesn't suggest to me that there is a problem.
Have you dialled 03 as the address into your throttle (number pad hand-held) and then tried to run the model? It won't do anything, except to make sounds if it is such a decoder, unless you move it by first dialling its factory default address. In fact, doing a reset, per the manual, is often what the decoder pros do as soon as they know it is working and not shorting...just to start from a known reference point. Lights normally work in factory default, so I don't know much about that.
You'll get lots of help here when others see this.
UPDATE!
Thanks to those who helped. I now have an installed decoder. It runs the locomotive fine, but there is one problem. I have no front headlights! I tried resetting to the factory CV's, and I only have tail-end lights. Is it possible I broke the light/ decoder somehow installing it? I think I may need another decoder. Any thoughts?
It's possible that you may have the decoder in backwards - i.e. rotated 180 degrees. This won't hurt your locomotive. Only your lights won't work properly.
Is this a plug 'n play decoder? Also, what locomotive is your decoder installed in?
I don't think it will fit in any other way. The way the frame of the loco is, there is only one way to get the sucker in there.
Nagrom1 wrote: UPDATE!Thanks to those who helped. I now have an installed decoder. It runs the locomotive fine, but there is one problem. I have no front headlights! I tried resetting to the factory CV's, and I only have tail-end lights. Is it possible I broke the light/ decoder somehow installing it? I think I may need another decoder. Any thoughts?
If it is NOT an LED, Double check your bulb and wiring to the head light. you may have broken a wire putting the shell back on, or the bulb may have been jarred and then just burnt out. I've never heard of "just the lights" portion of a decoder going bad with no adverse affect on running.(It may happen, but I've never seen it)
Nagrom1 wrote:I don't think it will fit in any other way. The way the frame of the loco is, there is only one way to get the sucker in there.
Sorry, Morgan. I just got my questions answered by going back and looking at your OP. So this is a Digitrax 6-function decoder for a Kato SD40-2. Are these the decoders that stretch from one end of the locomotive to the other?
Steve had a good question. Are your headlights (front and rear) bulbs or LEDs?
Nagrom1 wrote: Beginning to think I should have paid the extra $25 and let the shop install it, lol.
I don't know, you might be getting more than $25 in education by doing this yourself. If you can install decoders yourself, over the long haul, you should save quite a lot.
FT
Maybe this is too obvious, but have you tried turning the headlight on by pressing the Function 0 key, or FL, whichever Digitrax calls the headlight on/off switch.
Nagrom1 wrote:Hey. I'm sorry. I'm about to ask a lot here, so thanks in advance for answering. I bought a Digitrax Zephyr today, and am not having much luck getting it to work. I have some questions:1. In the decoder installation, it says to use Kapton tape. I have never seen/heard of this stuff, but a google search brings something that looks like the tape my digitrax decoder came wrapped in. Anybody know if it is the stuff? Or, if electrical tape would fulfill the same duties...?2. The manual says when the track is powered, a blinking light on the decoder means a short circuit. When power is added, the light blinks once, and nothing happens. Is this their definition of "blinking"?3. I have no idea how to use the LT1 decoder tester that came with the set. It says to put two wires from decoder ( I think) to the right rail, left rail (red. black). Then, take the twisted together red/yellow, and green/black, and attach them to the motor -,+. My problem is, this is a plug and play decoder, with no wires to attach. Can anyone describe this correctly? As you can see, I'm having some trouble. As a disclaimer, I'm not very good at electronics (I'm sure you can tell). My decoder is a DN163K1C, on a Kato SD40-2, with ditch lights. Thanks a million,
1. That has already been said here, it is a very thin, and sticky tape, they only recommend it to hold the decoder in place.
2. I'm not sure, but I do know that rolling "o"s across the display means a short. eg., When I do the quarter trick with my Zephyr, with a BSM K-27 #455 selected (Decoder address also set to 455), the display looks like this: o455,_o55,o4o5,_o5o, and so on. (Sorry if that confused you, that was the best I could do!)
3. The LT1 is designed to test decoders without the wiring harness, you can test one with a harness, by plugging it into the engine, selecting it, and if it moves oh, say, backwards when you tell it to go forwards, (or vise versa) it is on backwards, but if it moves forwards when told to go forwards, than all is fine. If the decoder is plugged in backwards, don't worry, it won't harm the engine or the decoder. Just switch it around. (Note, if you want to just do it right the first time, make sure that the pin connected to the orange wire, is in the slot marked 1.
This may not make me seem over bright, but am I missing something? There are no wires. Is testing the decoder really all that important? I figured I'd find out if it worked, and if it didn't, it was just as simple as pulling it out, and replacing it.
I think my next step, if fiddling doesn't help, will be to take it back to the shop, and let them have a look. I imagine I'll buy a replacement then, and have them install it this time. Thanks for the help.
I don't have a "decoder tester", but I have seen photos of one assembled using a motor and some lights. If I were you, I would assume the decoder is in working order and go ahead and install it without worrying about testing. I do normally hook up the 2 power wires and the 2 motor wires and then test the loco for proper direction of movement. Then I wire the lights and test again to make sure the lights work. Then I reassemble the shell.
Jim
Don't be apolagetic. I had the same problems/issues /questions when I installed my first few Digitrax decoders. I have a Zephyr. I still can't figure out some of the issues.I had the same question about the testor. Couldn't understand the instructions as I was holding a PnP decoder in my hand and looking at the wiring schematic. I guess Digitrax printed this up before the 8 pin decoders were available or the writer just forgot to mention that this schematic is for the 9 pin decoders only. Just in case, what is your loco number? I had a heck of a time setting up my loco addresses until I realized my loco # 107 had to be set as a 2 digit address and I was setting it as a 4 digit address. Oh well.
You'll get the hang of it soon.
Now you don't want to hear about my Blueline AC6000 programming issues, do you? could write a novel. Sheesh!
Nagrom1 wrote:... Is testing the decoder really all that important? I figured I'd find out if it worked, and if it didn't, it was just as simple as pulling it out, and replacing it...
Nagrom1 wrote: This may not make me seem over bright, but am I missing something? There are no wires. Is testing the decoder really all that important? I figured I'd find out if it worked, and if it didn't, it was just as simple as pulling it out, and replacing it. I think my next step, if fiddling doesn't help, will be to take it back to the shop, and let them have a look. I imagine I'll buy a replacement then, and have them install it this time. Thanks for the help.
After installing a decoder, I always put the engine on the programming track and see if it will read any CV's like the address. If it comes up "03" I know everything is OK and can program and run the engine. The programming track has lower power on it than the regular track has, so it won't hurt the decoder if there's a short. If there is an undetected short and you put it on the main and turn on power...bzzt - well, time to get a new decoder!!
BTW, did you hit F0 after calling up the engine's ID, to see if that worked??
cacole wrote: Maybe this is too obvious, but have you tried turning the headlight on by pressing the Function 0 key, or FL, whichever Digitrax calls the headlight on/off switch.
Where were you when I installed my first decoder? I installed it, double checked everything, placed it on the track and was sooooooooooo impressed when it actually responded to the throttle. But no light! I rechecked all the wires, dug out the multimeter to make sure all my connections were good I even cleaned the track (seemed like a good idea - perhaps the "light" signal from the control station was blocked by some gunk on the track) and considered sacrificing an HO cow. After about an hour I looked at the controller and thought "Gee, I wonder what the button with the light bulb drawn on it is for?" Yeah, sometimes the obvious is the one that kicks my butt the most.