About two months ago I installed a DCC system developed by MRC. After some tweeking and getting the DPDT switch wired correctly off we went into the world of DCC. I use the DPDT toggle switch so I can switch from DCC to DC, depending on the engine I run. I like that, because I have some older engines, both steam and diesel that I like to run, only on DC.
Over this past weekend while running trains all of a sudden nothing worked and the engines stopped. Now I made sure nothing from the DC system was attached or turned on. I even read the manual and the first thing I thought of was a short. I checked all of the wiring and track work for shorts, found nothing. I tried to re-program the DCC unit with the engine number, nothing. I even placed an analog engine on the track and listened for the hum, nothing. Finally I turn off the system for a while, nothing,
I then checked the DC side and everything worked, engines ran fine, so I knew there was no short in the system. All of a sudden the green lights of the power station started flashing and the LED screen of the hand held controller started to blink at the same time. It would not respond in any way. So I shut off the power again.
Finally I decided to re-wire the system to the track. New wires to the DC and DCC power units. New power wire from the DPDT toggle switch to the track, soldered all of the joints and covered each splice with electrical tape. I some how stumbled over a page in the MRC manual that discused how many time you could stack the same decoder number like "3" for different engines in the system. You can only put in some many, the others won't work, so with too many "3's" something happens to the system. So I deleted all of the decoder #3's from the hand held unit and the system, then I only programmed one engine with the number "3".
Guess what? When I turned on the power the power came on, the green light was steady, no blinking and the LED screen on the hand held throttle stayed on and did not flash. I heard the engine's motor sound come on and when I pushed the engines horn button it worked. I turned the throttle and the engine started to move through the speed steps. The cab chatter came on and the engine rolled down the tracks without a hitch.
I thought maybe I had accidently inter-mingled DC with DCC and caused a disaster but that was not the case. To many of the same decoder numbers in the system. So if that happens to you remove all of the decoder codes of number three and put in just one, hopefully it won't happen, but if it happens you know what to do.
Robert Sylvester
Newberry-Columbia Line, SC
Since I use the cab number for my decoder addresses and only operate in DCC, that will never be an issue for me...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Sounds like what is happening is that the memory in the system is getting full. There should be some procedure to follow when you are done runing a loco, to free it from memory. It would be easier to figure out if you gave each DCC loco a unique address - the cab number is the most obvious thing most of us use. That does not mean that loco won't work on DC, just because it has a DCC address other than the default of 3.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Mel: Everytime I would purchase an engine I would use #3 since it is already set by the manufacturer. Every time I would just try and program the engine with that number, "ya know what I mean." I did not understand the concept, I thought could just keep programing #3.
And the engine would run, then finally I hit the brick wall. After reading the manuel I fingured out what was happening. Now I put in the separate engine numbers for each code for each engine.
And that is what happened-new to DCC mistake.
Newberry-Columbia, SC
Mel: Great Idea, my Prodigy will hold 20 locomotives/decoders as well. I now have 15 engines wired for DCC and I can also can buy DCC ready locos with 8 pin plugs and just swap out decoders when I want too. Each sound decoder has a speaker attached and the can slip into several engines when I want to change engine type or road.
I am getting ready to build a larger layout. The one I have now is 10 X 12, the new layout is going to be one half of a two car garage which will be big enough for me. I was going to build a building, 20 X 24 but why do that when I have the garage already built and finished off.
So the new layout will be about 14 X 25 or so; a good size don't you think. Also, I am taking the easy way out when it comes to track this time. I am 72 years old and I am just not going to spend the rest of my days cutting and nailing down flex track and cork roadbed or whatever. I saw some pictures by Ken Patterson who does the modeling photos for Bachman. You guessed it now that Bachman has 34 and 36 inch curves and #6 turnouts and three foot sections of track and if you follow what Mr. Patterson does with ballasting it looks pretty good. So, why not, fast and easy, good connections, DCC friendly, etc. It cost more but will save a ton of time.
It is going to be a double mainline, with DCC on one and DC on the other and they will not be connected. I will be able to run trains in opposite directions. It's my plan and I am keeping it simple.
Don;t get confused by "how many locos the controller will hold". That has no bearing on how many decoders and/or decoder equipped locos you cna have. It's just the limit on how many you cna select at one time.
You can have 200 locos with decoders. Just just can't run all 200 at the same time (and I know of only one home layout that could actually run near the number at the same time anyway).
That more than anything is one of the most confusing line items on a DCC system comparison chart. "Oh, I better get this one, it has 20 recalls" That does not reflect on the number of locos you can have, and when it comes to the feature known as "recall" it doesn't really have anythign to do with how many you cna run simultaneously. You shouldn't, nor should you expect to, load up the system with every number you've used. That may be how some of these new "scroll through a bunch of pictures of your locos" systems work, but it's not how most work.
Not having this system, I am lost.
I don't program multiple engine 3's in the Power Cab. I select #3 and however many locos that have the address 3 will move until I exceed the output capability of 2 amps of the Power Cab. If there is just one loco, the PC doesn't know if it's an Athearn, Atlas, or LL Proto 2000.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley