MRC SOUND DECODER

[ba&prr]

I'm glad we were all helpful. I use a Digitrax PR3 and JMRI Decoder Pro. Decoder Pro alows you to keep a record of the CV's for each loco. That way, if you reset the decoder, you have a list of what they were. Joe

[MUSHY]

Thanks to all for your help and suggestions. I was finally able to set my MRC sound decoder to its default settings by setting CV125 to 0. I still did not have any sound except the horn.  Thanks to a suggestion by ba&prr I changed the value  on CV 49 from 0 to 1. I am now getting all kinds of sound and much louder.

[CSX Robert]

Here are some things to consider:

Direct and Page mode programming are only for the program track, not the main track.  Ops mode programming is only fopr the main track, not the program track.  To use Ops mode programming, you do not need to remove other locos from the layout as someone else stated(usually, more on this in a minute).  You have to select the loco you are programming and the programming commands are sent to that loco address only.  The exception to this is if you do not know the current address of the loco, you can select address '0' and do  Ops mode programming.  Address '0' is the "broadcast address" and it WILL program everyrthing on the layout, so in this case you would have to remove all other locos from the layoput.

I have an MRC 1833 decoder, and the CV125 reset will not work in Page mode, but it does work in direct mode and ops mode.  The reset will NOT neccessarily resset the decoders four digit address, though it will reset the two digit addresss and enable it.  When you read the decoder's address, you have the option of reading the two digit address (AD2) or the four digit address (AD4).  The decoder stores both addresses, but can only have one active at a time.  If the two digit address is active and you select to read the four digit address, it will still read the four digit address.

[ba&prr]

Another sugestion, post the city where you live and see if someone close by can help you out. I also suggest getting a Digitrax PR3 and 18V power supply and down loading JMRI into your computer. I use my PR3 and JMRI to programm all my decoders.  Joe 

[cacole]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this before -- your problem seems to be very common with MRC decoders not being able to be programmed, not being able to be reset, or frequently losing their address.

A search of the forums will turn up many discussions of these problems.

[MUSHY]

I cannot get any response from my loco SD40-2 with the drop in MRC 1806 sound decoder. My programmable track reads the loco which is 6770 the number on its shell. I have tried to set it back to its original factory setting on both the programmable track and on the main track by using Direct and Ops and PAGE on the programmable track.

I do not get any response from the loco. When I try to set it to the original setting from the factory I get the symbol d nr. I am ready to give up and take it to a train place for repair or replacement. 

[ba&prr]

No.  Also, CV49 if it has a value of 0 all sound except the horn is OFF. This should be a value of 1. If this doesn't work, try a value of 008 for CV8.  Joe 

[maxman]

MUSHY

Anything else you can suggest?

Hmmmm, this isn't one of those decoders where you have to tilt the loco off the tracks to break the circuit after making a change to get it to accept the change, is it?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

The only other thing I can think of is there may be something wrong with the decoder. I had a Digitrax DH120 that worked OK but it couldn't be programmed on any of the advanced CV addresses and it couldn't be reset. One day it did me an immense favor and went up in smoke.

[MUSHY]

Jeffrey-Wimberly and Maxman: I have tried all of your suggestions, which I appreciate,  in regard to trying to program my DCC MRC 1806 sound decoder including using Ops and Direct on the main track. Nothing seems to work. In fact, when I finished everything, including trying to program CV 125 on the main track with both Direct and Ops, I put the loco on the programmable track. it still read 6770. If it had worked the address should have been 3.

Anything else you can suggest?

[maxman]

MUSHY

To: jeffrey-wimberly:

Thanks for the info. I followed your instructions. The display said P0018 and not P0001. I entered the value of 125. When I pressed the CV-RD button, I got a message of d nr which means the DCS50 was not able to read the decoder. However I was able to establish that the DCS50 did read the address of the loco which is 6770 the number on the chassis.

I know the programmable track is working since it read the address of the loco.

Any suggestions?

 

i looked at the instructions for your 1806 decoder ( http://www.modelrectifier.com/resources/trainsound/0001806.pdf and they say that the decoder supports full read back (on the program track).  So if your system reads back the loco address, it should read back everything else.  That said, the default value of CV 125 is zero.  To reset it you need to enter a value of 1 as stated by J-W above.

 

I would not worry about reading back the value in CV 125.  You just need to make sure that you are actually resetting the decoder properly by changing the value to 1.  I guess if you were able to read CV 125 after resetting, it should now have a value of zero.

 

If you successfully reset the decoder, it will no longer have a long address of 6770 until you re-program the decoder to that address.  It should run on short address 3 as that is the default value.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

MUSHY

Thanks for the info. I followed your instructions. The display said P0018 and not P0001. I entered the value of 125. When I pressed the CV-RD button, I got a message of d nr which means the DCS50 was not able to read the decoder. However I was able to establish that the DCS50 did read the address of the loco which is 6770 the number on the chassis.

I know the programmable track is working since it read the address of the loco.

Any suggestions?

Have you tried Direct or Ops mode programming? See page 26-27 of the Digitrax decoder manual that came with your DCS50. The Program track uses reduced power and may not have enough power to program a sound decoder. Programming on the main uses track power to program the decoder. Be sure to remove all other locos from the track first. Otherwise you'll program them all to the same settings as the one you're attempting to program. The DCS50 CANNOT read CV's on the main.

[MUSHY]

To: jeffrey-wimberly:

Thanks for the info. I followed your instructions. The display said P0018 and not P0001. I entered the value of 125. When I pressed the CV-RD button, I got a message of d nr which means the DCS50 was not able to read the decoder. However I was able to establish that the DCS50 did read the address of the loco which is 6770 the number on the chassis.

I know the programmable track is working since it read the address of the loco.

Any suggestions?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

MUSHY

The manual says that you can use the program track to program CV #125 with value 1 to restore the decoder to factory settings. Just exactly how do I do this? I have a Digitrax Zephyr DCS50.

Place the loco on your program track. Press the Prog/Mode button. The display will say 'Page'. Press 'Steps/CV'. The display will say 'P001'. Enter the value '125'. Press the 'CV-RD' button. The DCS50 will return a value. Enter a value of '1'. Press 'CV-WR'. Your decoder will be reset to factory defaults.

[MUSHY]

On my programmable track I have verified that it reads and recognizes my loco as 6770 which is the number on its side. I cannot get it to run at all on the regular track. It does not turn on at all. It was running okay for a while. I may have screwed it up when I had the Loco on the Programmable track and punched in numbers for some of the CV values. The manual says that you can use the program track to program CV #125 with value 1 to restore the decoder to factory settings. Just exactly how do I do this? I have a Digitrax Zephyr DCS50.

[ba&prr]

Go to MRC's web site. At the top of the page is a search box. Type in 1806. This will take you to the discription page. At the bottom is is link for the decoder manual.   Joe

[Stevert]

MUSHY

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. The decoder came installed in the loco. I do not have a manual. The horn works but not the bell. I have a Digitrax DS50. I have a programmable track. How do I get the bell to work?

Hint:  The manual for this decoder is available on the MRC Web site.

[MUSHY]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. The decoder came installed in the loco. I do not have a manual. The horn works but not the bell. I have a Digitrax DS50. I have a programmable track. How do I get the bell to work?

[tstage]

Mushy,

The correct term is F1 rather than CV1 for the bell.  CV1 is actually reserved for the locomotive's short address (or "3").

You state that you're "not getting a sound for the bell".  Are you getting the horn when you press F2.  Is F8 (mute) activated?  If it's not you won't hear any sounds.  Also, did your MRC sound decoder come with a manual?

Tom

[MUSHY]

I bought a MRC 1806 sound decoder to drop into a KATO SD40-2. I accomplished this. I am not getting a sound for the bell which is CV-1. I have a program track. I also have a Digitrax DCS-50 control unit.

How do I program and get the bell to sound?