Power Cab upgrade

[richg1998]

NCE has just come out with an EPROM upgrade for the Power Cab.

Up to six recalls.

More improvements also.

I just received the offer via snail mail since I registered my Power Cab when I got it a few years ago.

Nothing at the NCE site about this yet.

I did read back in October about this upgrade for the Power Cab and Power Pro.

Registered users get the first chance.

Rich

[tstage]

Rich,

IIRC, it upgrades from V1.28B to 1. 5 or 1.6.  I got the V1.1 to 1.28B eprom upgrade a few years back.  The newest upgrade basically adds what the Smart Booster (SB3a) gives you, minus the additional 3.3A of output.

Tom

[richg1998]

Yeah, I got that upgrade as soon as it became available. This one is 1.65.

Support for three extra throttles, plus three USB AIU or mIni panels. Improved accessory control, whatever that means.

Improved USB commands. New manual and addendum booklet.

No idea on whaat the Power Pro will have for improvements.

Rich

[richg1998]

Deleted

[tstage]

Rich,

I knew about most of those upgrades.  The three USB A/U/mini panels is a new one on me though.  I know that NCE has been working on the upgrade for a while now to bring the Power Cab closer to the Pro Cab.

Tom

[richg1998]

I pretty much copied what the snail mail card says. The link I had just found does not say everything I have on the card so I deleted the link. It would only muddy the waters.

Some will still need the smart booster, though. I take my Cab to the club where we have the 5 amp Power Pro.

Rich

[hardcoalcase]

So, if I plan to add an SB3a in the near future, there is no point in getting the upgrade?

Jim

 

[richg1998]

hardcoalcase

So, if I plan to add an SB3a in the near future, there is no point in getting the upgrade?

Jim

 

Your choice.

Rich

[cacole]

NCE has also announced a new product called the "DCC Twin" in the January 2013 issue of Model Railroader magazine; a DCC system with two built-in throttles.

[tstage]

FYI: For those interested, here are the upgrades to the Power Cab that Mark Gurries posted on the NCE-DCC Yahoo! group earlier today...

PowerCab Software Update Notes Version: 1.65
Summary of new features:

1. All throttles now have up to 6 recalls - The default is two recalls just like the PowerPro system
2. Support for 3 external throttles - Cab address 3 as before, 4 now becomes official PLUS 5 has been added.  Total of 4 Cab/throttles.
3. Support for 3 AIU, USB or Mini-Panels in addition to the extra throttles - These devices use cab address 8, 9 and 10. Hence there is no loss of Cab/throttles when adding AIU, USB or MiniPanels to the PowerCab system. But to keep you honest, Cabs/throttles will not work at cab address 8, 9 or 10.
4. New thumbwheel control of CV programming values - In the program CV feature of the PROGRAM ON MAIN menu you can now use the speed buttons or thumbwheel to change the CV values dynamically.  Each button press or thumbwheel movement sends the next higher or lower value to the decoder. You can still enter CV data the old way by pressing number buttons as before.  Pressing ENTER or PROG/ESC will exit this mode.  This is useful for setting start voltage, sound volumes, etc. You literally can adjust the volume of a sound decoder by using the thumbwheel as a "volume knob".
5. Easy "memory" operation of the last thrown turnout - If you press SELECT ACCY twice in a row. the last used accessory will toggle to the opposite position.
6. Programmable "ProCab mode" timeout so multiple Power Cabs can be used together - When two Power Cabs power up at the same time, there is the possibility of both becoming Power Cabs at the same time or the WRONG Power Cab becoming the Power Cab for the layout.  You can force which Power Cab will come up first into Power Cab mode to power and run the layout.  The second Power Cab will now always come up as a ProCab.
7. Support for Analog Fast Clocks
8. New, improved USB/computer commands

Best Regards,

Mark Gurries
Electrical Engineer
DCC Website & NMRA DCC Clinics: www.markgurries.com

I'm a bit confused about #6 and not exactly sure what the "support" and "improvements" are in #7 and #8, respectively.  For #6, I thought that would be dictate by which Power Cab would be plugged into the LEFT connector port of the PCP panel.

Well, Jim - with that new bit of information from Mark, it appears that the upgrade eprom for the Power Cab will give you a few more advantages than what the Smart Booster (SB3a) adds.  However, the eprom upgrade will NOT:

1. Affect the total output of the Power Cab, which is 1.7A.  With the SB3a, total output increases to 5A
2. Affect the need for a Power Cab to remain connected in the LEFT connector for powering the layout

Tom

[tstage]

cacole

NCE has also announced a new product called the "DCC Twin" in the January 2013 issue of Model Railroader magazine; a DCC system with two built-in throttles.

I saw that last night, Chuck.  I wish there had been a little more information about it in the MR blurb.

Tom

[yankee flyer]

tstage

NCE has also announced a new product called the "DCC Twin" in the January 2013 issue of Model Railroader magazine; a DCC system with two built-in throttles.

Hi

This new product, Is it a new chip for the Power Cab?

Does anyone know what it will cost?

Thanks

Lee

[tstage]

Lee,

It's a new eprom that goes inside of your Power Cab:

The upgrade is $25.  If you don't receive a card from NCE, you can call them @ (585)-265-0230.

An instruction sheet on how to install the upgrade will accompany the eprom when it arrives in the mail.  Just be sure you follow the instructions - especially grounding yourself BEFORE you touch the eprom.  (They are VERY sensitive to static.)

I did the last upgrade myself.  It's pretty straightforward.  If you are squeamish about doing it yourself, you can either send in your Power Cab and have NCE install it (for a small fee), or have another MRRer or computer friend do it for you.

As mentioned, it's fairly straightforward:

1. Remove screws from back of Power Cab and remove back
2. Remove old V1.28 eprom
3. Install new V1.65 eprom
4. Replace back and screws and re-tighten

That's it.  Since you're changing the "brains" of your Power Cab, you will probably have to reprogram any cab address changes, button remapping, etc. that you made prior to the upgrade.

Tom

[yankee flyer]

Thanks Tom.

I did the last upgrade myself, but I'm not sure if it's worth the $25 for my use.

Thanks again.

Lee

[jrbernier]

Tom,

  Some questions about the current Power Cab and after the  firmware 'Upgrade':

• What are the total number of throttle addresses available.  
• If the USB adapter and a RB02 radio receiver are added, what addresses do they take up?  It appears that the USB adapter defaults to address 3.  What about the RB02?  Does it default to a fixed address as well, or can it be set to another address?  With both a USB adapter for JMRI and a RB02 for radio throttles, what is left for 'tethered' throttle addresses.
• And if I have a RB02,  what is the limit of radio throttles, or do they take up cab addresses?

Jim

[tstage]

jrbernier

Tom,

  Some questions about the current Power Cab and after the  firmware 'Upgrade':

• What are the total number of throttle addresses available.

V1.28 - Two; V1.65 - Four

• If the USB adapter and a RB02 radio receiver are added, what addresses do they take up?  It appears that the USB adapter defaults to address 3.  What about the RB02?  Does it default to a fixed address as well, or can it be set to another address?  With both a USB adapter for JMRI and a RB02 for radio throttles, what is left for 'tethered' throttle addresses.

Jim, here's my understanding: The USB would take up one cab address and, although the RB02 radio base unit itself is invisible to the Power Cab, it is connected to the RIGHT connector port and the radio throttle would use up a cab address.  With that said, someone on the NCE-DCC Yahoo! Group stated that, although it isn't officially supported by V1.28, he uses two throttles (i.e. one set at cab address "3" and the other"4") with his RB02 connected.

• And if I have a RB02,  what is the limit of radio throttles, or do they take up cab addresses?

Jim

The limit would be the Power Cab cab limit (see previous comment about RB02 and two throttles above) and each radio throttle would take up a cab address.  With the upgrade to V1.65, you'd increase the cab address by two - i.e. cab addresses would now be "2-5" instead of just "2-3"

Anyhow, that's my current understanding, Jim.  Hope that helps...

Tom

[aj1s]

With the V1.65 upgrade, USB interfaces can be assigned to address 2-5 or 8-10. By assigning it in the range 8-10, it does not consume an address that throttles can use, but it can still be used (via JMRI) as a throttle.

Andy

[tstage]

Thanks, Andy.  That would indeed cover Point #3 about the "support for (3) AIU, USB or Mini-Panels in addition to the extra throttles".  I'm still trying to get it all straight.

Tom

[engineAL]

I just happened to read this post and be looking at the NCE website at the same time, but, coincidentally, I found a link to both the 1.65 manual and the 1.65 upgrade instructions and thought that I would share it here: http://www.quaker-valley.com/NCE%20Documentation.html. The link is posted on the NCE homepage under Bob Bucklew's old NCE manual indexThe links are about a quarter of the way down the page. One is highlighted in yellow.