just bought a nce power cab today hooked it all up but the light on the utp is not lit please help!!
Do you have the hand set plugged into the proper side of the UTP? I think it plugs into the left side as you face the UTP.
Yes, make sure the Cab is plugged to the left side of the UTP using the flat cord.
Jack W.
i was using the coiled cord ill give it a try
no luck same problem and my cab says can not read cv when i try to progarm
flyboy10just bought a nce power cab today hooked it all up but the light on the utp is not lit please help!!
Did you ever get the red light to come on? If not, then you do not have power to the track.
Did you follow all of the instructions on page 3 of the manual exactly? Read them carefully,
I asume that your loco is equipped with a DCC decoder.
Jerry
Rio Grande vs. Santa Fe.....the battle is over but the glory remains!
fyi i have been reading the manual over and over and no i never got the light on i know there is no power to the track cant figure out why yes my loco is dcc equiped and it was professionally installed i hjave followed the instructions to the word as well
I hope that someone with more experience with this system can help you. It sounds like you may have a defective power supply. Maybe someone can tell you another way to test it.
flyboy10 no luck same problem and my cab says can not read cv when i try to progarm
The cab says "cannot read cv"? Is this what it said when you first plugged in?
no that was when i first dicovered that the track was not recieveing power and had tried to program my loco address
got the light on now it still says cnt read cv when i try to program it
What sort of decoder is it? Some don;t have readback, so you wouldn;t be able to read it, and some sound decoders need a program track booster to be able to read. If the loco was never programmed, try running it on address 3, that's the default address per NMRA standards. Enter just 3, not 003, 003 on NCE systems in long address 3, and the default decoder address is short address 3.
Or if the decoder was installed and set up by someone, they may have programmed it to the cab number, so try that. Don't worry about figuring out programming until you have a train running.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
flyboy10 got the light on now it still says cnt read cv when i try to program it
It would no be helpful for others if you tell us what you did to get the light to come on.
Now, what exactly are you trying to program that you are playing with CVs at this early stage of the game? You said that the engine had a decoder and it was professionally installed. If that is the case, the installer should have told you what address the engine was programmed to. If he did not assign the decoder to the address on the locomotive cab, then the loco should run on the decoder default address which is normally 3.
So, what you need to do if you haven't already done so is escape/exit from the programming mode, press the select loco button, enter the engine address, press the enter key on the cab, and see if the engine runs.
i bought it pre installed it is a drop in chip for n kato sd70 mac the man a the hobby shop said it was pre programed to the loco road # 9863 and was tested so idk what decoder it is i also tried that # and it did not work
Can you get the loco to run? If it's new hit select loco and then press 3 and enter. Most loco's come default to address 3. The second address to try is the loco's number.
Springfield PA
flyboy,
This may be semantics or a typo on your account but...your Power Cab will ONLY operate when plugged into a "PCP" panel; NOT a UTP panel. UTP panels are only for extra cabs, or for your Power Cab when it is used in conjunction with a Smart Booster (SB3 or SB3a).
If it really is a UTP panel, your Power Cab will light up but it won't work properly. Your Power Cab has to be connected to the LEFT connector port of a PCP panel in order to work.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Flyboy10
First thing, I have never had a decoder that the Power Cab couldn't read with out the need for a booster. The "PC" will only read back in the programing track mode. Any track can be a programing track as long as there are no other engines on the layout track. Push prog then button #4, then enter, to go directly to programing track mode, push #2 and wait for it to ask what "CV" to read. push #1 for decoder "loco ID".Make sure that the power panel is right side up. The red light is below the plug ins. Don't ask how I learned this. Plug the Power Cab into the left hand side.
Just a review. I'm very pleased with my Power Cab.Best of luck
Lee
davidmbedard For the love of GOD, read the manual. David B
For the love of GOD, read the manual.
David B
Too funny!
Alton Junction
The good news: that TCS decoder should not need a program track booster to read.
The bad news: there are reports that both this decoder and the Digitrax equivalent have contact issues - originally it was being claimed Digitrax made the decoder too thin but now TCS is having the same problem so I suspect Kato changed things. The contact isue with with the motor connections and with no motor connection it won't move nor will it program or read back. However the lights ought to work. If the installer said it was programmed to the cab number, use that address,a nd try hitting the headlight button to turnt he lights on. If that works then we have the contact problem issue.
If that still doesn't work, disconnect the entire system from your layout and grab a spare piece of track. Making sure to follow the wiring diagram in the manual exactly, connect it to the single piece of track. Now try it out. If it works here you have a wiring issue with your layout, or you had a wire in the wrong place on the back of the PCP.
hi i have been using a small strip of snap track like i said earlier the man at my local hs said it was tested personally by him and worked fine so i dont think its a decoder issue unless it had developed during the time it was sitting dormant on the shelf he also said it was set to the road # though it does not work with that # ( no, not even the lights) i am really starting to get frustrated i have checked wiring over and over again it says i have power to the track but am i only getting partial current to the track? would the red light be on if i was not getting sufficient power to the track? i read else where that this can occur and can cuase the " cannot read cv" message is that correct?
By now Yankee Flyer would have given up and switched to Digitrax
Let's start at the beginning. Are you using the FLAT cable, not the twisted cord? Is it plugged in to teh LEFT socket on the PCP? Are the track wires in the two screw terminals, with no stray strands of wire touching the opposite terminal? When you plug in the power supply, does the display come up on the PowerCab the way it is shown in the manual?
If all this is true, then there's not much else it can be. Try a new pair of wires for the track. If you have a meter, see if you're getting any voltage to the track. If you don't have a meter, find the nearest Harbod Freight and get one for $2.99.
Well, any further testing requires a meter or even a 12-16V light bulb if you have one around. With everything turned on and nothing on the track, the bulb should light when touched to the two rails. If not, no power is getting to the track. If it doesn't light uup at the track, try at the track terminals on the PCP. If nothinnthere either, you may hve gotten a defective unit.
If you DO have power all the way to the track, then it has to be something with the loco or the decoder. Doyou have any other decoder equipped locos? You can try to reset the decoder, TCS decoders reset by setting CV8 to 2. Then remove the loco from the track and put it back on. It should now respond to address 3.
He hasn't posted since his last visit on this thread.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989