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Tsunami - where to begin tweaking

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  • Member since
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  • From: Winnipeg Canada
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Tsunami - where to begin tweaking
Posted by Blind Bruce on Friday, February 11, 2011 12:17 PM

A friend installed a medium steam Tsunami 1000 in my Mantua Pacific. He left it with me but it starts like a jack rabbit on speed step one. I have the NCE power pro radio system.

Do I use programming on the main or should I connect up a program track?

Which CVs are relevant thruout the speed range?

Decoder pro is not ready yet (no laptop)

73

Bruce in the Peg

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Posted by locoi1sa on Friday, February 11, 2011 12:36 PM

  Bruce.

 I am not sure you will be able to read CVs in program track mode with your power pro. I would start with POM and set CV2=0 and see what that does for it. I would also add some momentum in CV3. This should slow down the start fast syndrome.

  Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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Posted by woodone on Friday, February 11, 2011 1:58 PM

If you are looking for slow speed control you will need to set CV's 209 and 210.

First you need to make sure that CVs 2,3  and 4 are set to zero.

Now in speed step 1 adjust CV210 until the locomotive starts to move (it will be jerkey)

Now adjust 209 to smooth out. You might have to play with these a time or two to get what you want. 

You can do this in the ops mode but I don't think that you be able to read back the CV's.

CV's209 and 210 are set about 15 or 20 ( default) if I recall correctly.  Try setting CV 209 at 7 -CV210 at 10 for starters

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Posted by gandydancer19 on Friday, February 11, 2011 3:48 PM

The NCE Power Pro will not be able to read back unless you have a programming track booster.  Or you can modify your command station.  There are E-articles on how to to that, but unless you are experienced with small soldering, don't tackle it.  It will void the warranty.

As for adding momentum, just use the momentum button on the throttle.  Don't worry about trying to set it in the CV's by programming.  It's the same thing anyway.

It sounds like you need to down load the manual.  It is rather large, but gives you all the information, and more, that you are looking for.  I even printed it out - once.  It helped a lot, just being able to see it in print.

Elmer.

The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.

(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.

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  • From: South Carolina
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Posted by Train Modeler on Monday, February 14, 2011 3:39 PM

I would download the manuals(both).    I use Decoder Pro and have gotton kind of spoiled.     But, it could be that you are programmed to use the speed table and speed step 1 is set high.     Was it set up to run on DC?   

Richard

  • Member since
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  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
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Posted by selector on Monday, February 14, 2011 4:54 PM

woodone

If you are looking for slow speed control you will need to set CV's 209 and 210.

First you need to make sure that CVs 2,3  and 4 are set to zero.

Now in speed step 1 adjust CV210 until the locomotive starts to move (it will be jerkey)

Now adjust 209 to smooth out. You might have to play with these a time or two to get what you want. 

You can do this in the ops mode but I don't think that you be able to read back the CV's.

CV's209 and 210 are set about 15 or 20 ( default) if I recall correctly.  Try setting CV 209 at 7 -CV210 at 10 for starters

Thanks for this informative post!  I tried it on my slightly hesitant J Class from BLI a few days back and it worked like a charm.  My eventual values were in the 80 range.

Crandell

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Posted by woodone on Monday, February 14, 2011 7:17 PM

Wow!  A setting of 80 is high I would think. My reply was for a slow speed control, and the defaults are a little on the high side for most.

You might want to try setting CV2 for starting volts. Default is zero.

  • Member since
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  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
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Posted by selector on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 4:19 AM

What can I say?.  The loco behaves very nicely and I have not changed the setting in CV2 from the fiddling with 209 and 210 procedure.  All I have done is to restore CV's 3 and 4 to their usual high settings because I like lots of inertia and momentum.

I found that an initial setting near 20 did nothing, and 40 wasn't appreciably better.  When I ended up at about 85, the loco was smoothed out and I called it a done deal.

I recall, I think, that the Tsunami Tech Manual says the maximum setting is 255, so I would think that 85 is only near the 30th %ile.

Crandell

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Posted by Train Modeler on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 7:03 AM

I set CV209 to 0 before setting CV210 first.

It could be that the BLI has some binding going on requiring higher values--normal cause.   

 

To help the speed step 1 "runaway" make sure CV25 is 0 or the default to not use speed tables.   Also CV29 needs to have speed tables turned off.      Both of these work together and sometimes CV29 is forgotten.

 

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Posted by woodone on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 10:07 AM

Well if it works,   Big Smile  That is the important thing!  Done deal!

 

 

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Posted by Hamltnblue on Saturday, February 19, 2011 8:09 AM

Don't forget to write the settings down and put the numbers in the loco's box.  You never know when you'll have to do a decoder reset.

Springfield PA

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Posted by woodone on Saturday, February 19, 2011 10:27 AM

Hamltnblue

Don't forget to write the settings down and put the numbers in the loco's box.  You never know when you'll have to do a decoder reset.

Well, if you use Decoder-Pro, you have a file which you can recover the CV's. This is one of the best ways to keep track of your Tsunami installs and the easiest to work with when you are programing.

I print the CV's out and put with the unit too.  If I have to do a factoy reset it is back to Decoder-Pro, for a copy and update. 

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