Hi everyone!
OK, let's get this out of the way first: I am a !
I installed a decoder into an Intermountain F7A but I can't find my records to tell me exactly what decoder I installed. My normal procedure is to put a recipe card into the locomotive box with all the details, CV settings etc but this one has gone missing and my memory is the pits.
This is an add on decoder (meaning that the original board has been left in place and the decoder has been connected via an eight pin plug). The decoder is approx. 1 3/8" x 5/8" with a black heat shrink cover. There is a sticker on it (round white approx. 5/16" dia) with the date 25/06/08, or at least I am assuming it is a date, but otherwise there are no external markings.
The reason I want to identify the decoder is because I want to install classification lights in the locomotive and I need to find out if there are functions available to control the green/red/off settings for the class lights. It would also help if anyone could tell me how to access those functions (i.e. where do I connect the leads).
From now on I am going to glue the information cards into the box!
Thanks as always.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Just use your DCC system to query the manufacturer ID in CV 8. That will give you a start. Sometimes they also store a version number in CV 7 as well. Decoder Pro can do this as well, sometimes it isn't 100% accurate, but it will get you on the right track.
BARN DOOR!
Scan a copy of documentation, and place a .pdf of it in a suitable folder on your computer.
LION has these dating back many years. Pull up invoices, purchase orders, confirmations: all neat and tidy in just one place.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Dave.
CV8 is the manufacture ID number that can be cross referenced here. http://www.nmra.org/standards/DCC/mfgnumbers.html
CV7 is the software version number of the decoder. The manufactures web site may have a download copy of the programming guide.
Hooking up lights is easy if you follow the NMRA color code standard. Blue is the positive side of the lighting circuit. White is the headlight, yellow is the tail or rear light. That takes care of a two function decoder. A four and six function decoder will have purple, green, pink, and turquoise. Since your decoder is plugged into an 8 pin socket I would bet that it only has 2 functions.
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!
First clue, the date code is European format, so it's not a US made decoder like TCS, Digitrax, or NCE.
TCS uses green or red shrink wrap, Digitrax uses blue. NCE and Lenz usually aren;t shrink wrapped.
ESU Loksound and Lokpilot are black shrink wrapped. So is the Bachmann cheapo one made by Lenz. But the Bachmann one has the Bachmann logo and part number ont he shrink wrap. ESU just puts a date code sticker. SO - before you even check CV8 and CV7, I'm going to say this is an ESU decoder.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks everyone for your help. Randy, you were right. It is a Loksound V3.0 or 3.5. I am not sure which it is but for my purposes it doesn't matter. CV7 read 059 but I haven't looked for the identification table to look up which version it is yet. It uses a 100 ohm speaker.
There are two aux. leads (green and violet) which will work for me. I can install bi-colour red/green 0606 LEDs behind the classification light lenses and use the two leads to control colour.
By the way, I figured out why there was no information card with this locomotive. That is because I bought it used with the decoder installed. It didn't come with any documentation and until now I had no need for it so I never filled out a card. Thank goodness my memory is still intact - useless but still intact!
Thanks
BroadwayLion Scan a copy of documentation, and place a .pdf of it in a suitable folder on your computer. LION has these dating back many years. Pull up invoices, purchase orders, confirmations: all neat and tidy in just one place
LION has these dating back many years. Pull up invoices, purchase orders, confirmations: all neat and tidy in just one place
And back up your computer. All that great stuff is gone if your had drive crashes. Or, rather, when your hard drive crashes.
I've got a spreadsheet with road number, decoder and all the CVs I've changed. This comes in handy if I have to reset a decoder. Stuff like momentum and sound volume are trial-and-error things, so it's a lot easier to just put them back from a list than it is to start from scratch.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
LION and MISTERBEASLEY:
Thanks for the suggestions about using my computor for record keeping. I am a bit of a computer dinosaur so things like that don't readily spring to mind.
One more reason to go with Decoder Pro. It allows you to save the decoder & setting info, and you can always put an engine on the programming track and let it read what kind of decoder is in it (and it's settings).
Hi STIX:
Decoder Pro sounds like a good idea.
Can you tell me how to get it and what equipment I will need?
JMRI is available at http://jmri.org/
What you need to use it depends on what system your connecting to.
Peter
Hi Dave,
I'm not STIX, but I'm an avid JMRI user. You can download it here:
http://jmri.org/
The only equipment you'll need is a computer interface for your particular DCC system. More info about connecting JMRI to the various DCC (and other) systems is here:
http://jmri.org/help/en/html/hardware/index.shtml
Unfortunately, though, if you use an MRC DCC system, they haven't released the protocol for their interface device to the JMRI developers, so JMRI can't work with MRC systems. But you can still use a stand-alone programmer like the SPROG or Digitrax's PR3 with JMRI; other than a suitable power supply no DCC system or other adapters are required.
Stevert and Peter
Thanks for the JMRI leads. Being a bit slow on the computer stuff, it will take me a little time to figure out exactly what cables and interfaces I will need but I will get there. I know I will have to use a USB cable because there is no serial port on my computer. I'm sure I will have more questions.
The first thing I have to do is upgrade the chip in my Power Cab. The chip is on order but apparently NCE is swamped with requests for it so it make take a while to arrive.
Thanks again everyone.
hon30critter The first thing I have to do is upgrade the chip in my Power Cab.
The first thing I have to do is upgrade the chip in my Power Cab.
Dave,
Okay, you have a PowerCab. If you want to interface that to your computer and JMRI, you'll need the NCE USB interface.
The instructions to use it with JMRI, as well as mention of the cables you'll need, is here.
Thanks Stevert.
I figured I needed the NCE USB interface and the two cables.
I will get the interface as well as an RJ12-12 cable and a second PCP panel from NCE. (I want the second PCP panel for my workbench). What I have to find is the USB A to USB B cable to run from the interface to the computor, but I am assuming that they should be readily available at electronics suppliers. If you think I might be wrong on that assumption please let me know where I can find said cable.
Also, does the RJ 12 cable for the interface plug into the front right socket or the rear socket on the PCP panel?
As always, you guys have really helped me get through something that was initially boggling my wee mind.
Thanks very much.