HELP!!!
As fun and easy DCC seems to be, I cant seem to "get it"
I have an prodigy Express and a digitrax decoder propertly installed into an atlas engine. I followed the instructions to the letter and....NOTHING.
Short of reading volumes and volumes of books on DCC, it is not as easy as MRC (or any others) make it out to be.
If there is anyone out there that can help me to get this engine going and simplify this decoder programming process I would greatly appreciate it.
PS i also have an atlas engine with the decoder built right in and nothing.
THANKS in advance
Mike
I'm afraid you're going to have to do a better job defining what "nothing" is.
Did you put the decoder in the engine yourself or did you have it done for you? If you had the decoder installed, the installer should have told you what address he set the decoder to. Typically the decoder address is the locomotive number. Or did he just put the decoder in and left it at the factory default address, typically 3.
Did you install the decoder? If so, did you try running it at the default address before trying any other programming?
Are you using a programming track?
Are you sure that you have your DCC system connected properly? Do you have a voltmeter to see if you are getting power to the track?
Plus about a hundred other questions that could be asked, but which would be non-relevant to your actual problem.
The first thing you need to do is get a digital voltmeter from Harbor Freight (usually on sale for $1.99 to $2.99) and see if you have power on the track.
Measuring track voltage with the meter set on AC Volts, you should get a reading of at least 14.5.
If you get no voltage, you may have a defective Prodigy Express, defective power supply, or the system is not properly connected to your track.
If connected to an existing layout, you may have a short circuit that is preventing the system from turning on. Did locomotives run okay on DC control?
Try a separate piece of flex track that is not connected to the layout to see if the system is okay.