I have just aquired my first DCC system a MRC DCC Prodigy Epress. I have read the manual and looked at their FAQ's but I am still confused on how to actually program my DCC locomotive. The CV's probably are the most confusing with the addressing a close second. Does the DCC system assign the locomotive and address and a number or just either or. I have tested the locomotive in DC mode just to make sure everything is connected correctly but I get confused trying to follow the manual and program at the same time. Does anyone know a simple method for programming with the Express. If there were more pictures in the manual it would help. Thanks
Kev
Can't stop working on the railroad!
MRC claims it's easy to use. Look at the back of the throttle. There should be simple instructions on how to programm. You enter the loco number and CV's and values yourself. Do the loco # first then the CV's. Most people use th loco # for the address. You will have to find in the manual what the 2 digit address range is. On Digitrax it's 1 to 127. 128 is considered a 4 digit address even though it's 3 digits. I would recommend joining the MRC Yahoo group as well. And check mout mrdccu.com Joe
There's at least one video on YouTube for this set.
Kev,
Since you are just starting out, don't worry about the CVs at this point. All decoders are set to factory default which provides all of the basic functions. For all practical purposes, setting CV values other than factory default is really a more advanced step once you become familiar with your DCC system.
For now, just set the address. The decoder comes with a 2-digit short address, that is 3 or 03. You could run the loco on the short address or program a 4-digit long address. As someone already mentioned, most of us simply program the road address on the loco as the long address, e.g., 4012.
To program the long address, place the loco on the Programming Track, press the PROG key to Prog, Prog Track, then press ENTER. Key in the long address, press ENTER and you are set to go. Move the loco to the main track, press the LOCO key, key in the long address, press ENTER, and take off. The long address will be automatically stored for later recall.
Rich
Alton Junction