I asked this question on another forum but I did not get an answer I needed in the reply.
I may join a second club where I spend a bit of time away from home. They use MRC's Prodigy system. I usually run two or three locos consisted with Digitrax universal consist using the cab numbers.. The MRC system uses advanced consisting by programming a seperate consist number into CV19 for each loco I want to consist. Since I make and remake consists occasionally will programming CV19 effect the ability to use cab numbers to make consists on the Digitrax system? Thanks.
When an Advanced Consist number is entered into CV19, the locomotive(s) in that consist will run ONLY on that consist number -- regardless of the DCC system being used.
In order to run the locomotives on their individual cab numbers or using a different DCC system, you'll have to reprogram CV19 to a value of zero to kill the consist address.
We've encountered that exact same problem at our club, where we use the NCE PowerHouse Pro system. If locomotives that are part of an Advance Consist are used on our portable layout that uses the CVP EasyDCC system, we have to program CV19 with a value of zero to delete the consist number or they won't run.
Thanks. That is exactly the info I needed. The MRC system does allow universal consisting but it only allows 1 consist to be made that way at any time. I don't want to have to reprogram CV19 each time I switch layouts or break up a consist.
Does that mean that a three loco consist will only be using one address slot?
I'm not familiar at all with how MRC handles consists, but with the NCE system a consist takes up one address slot, as you call it. NCE uses addresses from 4 through 128 for Advanced Consist addresses, and having an individual locomotive with a short address in that range together with an Advance Consist using the same address, can cause some very unpredictable results.
Even if you do have to clear your consists prior to operating with the second club, you will find consisting with the MRC Prodigy Advance system to be quite simple. Press the "Consist" button on the handheld and the word "Set" will appear on the display. Press "Enter" and the display will ask you to input a consist address. Enter the desired consist address and press "Enter." The display will then ask you to input the first loco address. Enter the first loco address and press "Enter." Repeat this process until all the locos in the consist are entered. If any loco is to run reversed in the consist, simply enter the loco address, press the direction button, then press "Enter." When all of the loco addresses are entered, press "Enter" a couple of times to exit the Consist menu. Finally, press the "Loco" button, input the consist address, then press "Enter" and the consist is ready to be operated.
When you're done with a particular consist, press the "Consist" button twice so that the display reads "CLR" and press enter. The display will ask you to enter the address of the consist you want to clear. Enter the consist address and press "Enter" to clear the consist. Press "Enter" a second time to exit the consist menu.
Hornblower
Thanks. I have the consisting procedure down, but from what I understand the consist address remains in CV19 so no matter what system I run them on I will have to use the consist address. I remix consists now and then and I don't want to have to reprogram CV19. So I guess I will have to use universal consisting on the MRC layout.
All you have to do is clear the Advance consist at the end of the Prodigy session. This will clear every CV19, not much of a hassle
Jack W.
As long as every locomotive in the consist is still on the track, all you have to do is "Delete Consist" or whatever MRC calls the command to remove the consist address from CV19 in all the decoders.
If you consist the locos using CV19 on one system, you can take them to the otehr system (Digitrax) and run the same consist with the same consist address - it WILL work on Digitrax without re-consisting anything. If the three locos have CV19 set to 50, selecting address 50 on Digitrax will run the three, same as they ran on the MRC system.
Digitrax can actually be configured to use CV19 consisting instead of command station consisting, but few do it - CV19 consisting has some advantages but also some big disadvantages - the reason it works so well on NCE is that NCE has added some extensions to the basic concept of setting CV19 that overcome the shortcomings of CV19 consisting. STandard CV19 consisting is just setting CV19 to a consist address, and then controlling which functions activate on each individual loco with CV21 and 22. Pretty unwieldy, actually. NCE adds the concept of the TOP loco and so forth so that functions work the way they are supposed to, and you can easily swap ends of the consist. Without that, you'd have to adjust CV21 and CV22 every time you built a consist or reversed the direction so the former trailing unit is now the lead. Very much not fun.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Last night I visited the new club I am joining and MU'ed a pair of Atlas SD35's with MRC's advanced consist using 100 as the consist number. They ran OK but I couldn't turn on the headlights after MU'ing. I deleted the consist and both locos ran independantly on their cab number. Next week I will take them to my regular club and see if they will still run with the consist number I used. Thanks for all the help from you guys.
When you deleted the consist on the MRC system you also deleted the consist number of 100. This will not run on the Digitrax system unless you program a value of 100 into CV19 for each locos you want to consist. If you want to run one or more of these locos in reverse direction you must also add a value of 128 to the consist number. For lights and functions to work using the consist number you have to programm CV21 and CV22 for whatever action you want.
retsignalmtrLast night I visited the new club I am joining and MU'ed a pair of Atlas SD35's with MRC's advanced consist using 100 as the consist number. They ran OK but I couldn't turn on the headlights after MU'ing.
Not sure exactly how the MRC consisting works. However, if you use the NCE system the advanced consist number is really an alias number that gets placed into CV19. After you advanced consist you don't really need to remember that number again because you normally use the cab numbers.
For example let's assume that you consist locos 2000 and 3000. When you advanced consist them the command station will assign a consist number or let you choose one of your own. Let's say that you choose 100 as in your example. Now there are three numbers that will make that consist run; 2000, 3000, and 100. If you select 2000 or 3000 to run the locos, the command station "remembers" that those numbers belong to consist 100. You will be able to operate the lights on the lead unit because the lights respond to the lead unit number you selected. And that number is also the decoder address. However, if you want to operate the consist by selecting 100 as the loco number, you cannot operate the lights because that is not the decoder number of either unit.
Now when you take your consisted units somewhere else, they will only respond to consist address 100. Since the command station does not know what loco numbers are assigned to that address, you can only operate forward and reverse. However, if you want to operate the lights, bell, or something else, you should be able to select the lead loco number and do what you need to do. Remember, however, that if you need to change speed you need to reselect loco 100 to get the consist to react.
One other thing to remember if you take your locos somewhere else. If you have assigned them a consist address there is a good possibility that there is another set of locos on the railroad with that same address. It is likely that the other units are somewhere where you can't see them. Mr. Mayhem from the insurance ad will come around knocking on your door after you run those other super detailed locos into the turntable pit.
At the club I belong to I try to stress that anyone adding or removing locos on the layout to be consisted/unconsisted make sure that CV19 is zero. We are very familiar with Mr. Mayhem.
It is unfortunate maxman that only NCE handle consist that way. I wish that the NCE way to handle consists will eventually be adopted by all DCC manufacturers.
Maxman.
I am well aware of Mr. Mayhem, as are the members of my club. I will be very interested to see how my locos respond to the consist number at my club. Digitrax uses the cab number for consisting, so with the top loco being 6002 in consist with 6045, 6002 will be in control. But I did not remove the consist number from those locos. I want to see if I can use the cab # or if I have to use the consist # there. The only problem we have had consisting with Digitrax is someone using 3 as their address.
retsignalmtr Maxman. I am well aware of Mr. Mayhem, as are the members of my club. I will be very interested to see how my locos respond to the consist number at my club. Digitrax uses the cab number for consisting, so with the top loco being 6002 in consist with 6045, 6002 will be in control. But I did not remove the consist number from those locos. I want to see if I can use the cab # or if I have to use the consist # there. The only problem we have had consisting with Digitrax is someone using 3 as their address.
I am confuse here, did you or did you not delete the consist with the MRC system?
If the consist was indeed deleted, then CV19 has now a value of 0 (zero). This means consist 100 no longer exist on any DCC system.
I did not delete the consist. I did break up the consist and ran each loco individually, but when I entered the consist number of 100, both locos ran together. This is the first time I have used the MRC system so just like when I started with Digitrax there is a learning period.
retsignalmtrDigitrax uses the cab number for consisting, so with the top loco being 6002 in consist with 6045, 6002 will be in control. But I did not remove the consist number from those locos. I want to see if I can use the cab # or if I have to use the consist # there.
I believe that if you have entered a value in CV19 the locos involved will defer to that number. You can see that on your home layout. If you put a value into CV19 without going through the consisting process (use the handset to program CV19 to to a value of 100), you will see that the unit will not respond to the cab address.
Now when you take your consisted locos to the club, they will not run on the cab addresses because they are defaulting to the address in CV19. And when you go to the club and select loco 100, they will move because they think that is the address they have. But you haven't really consisted a darn thing at the club. All the club's DCC system knows is that you have entered a loco number of 100. It sends out a command, and whatever happens to have an address of 100 will run. This will include your locos which think they are 100, any other loco which happens to have an address of 100, plus a consist of 100 if there happens to be one.
I may be wrong here, but I believe that all consist information is contained in the command station no matter which system you have. So since your locos were not consisted at the club, they are not contained in any consist that the club system will recognize unless you go through the consisting procedure.
It is also my opinion that even if you consisted your locos on your home NCE system, they will not be recognized on your neighbor's NCE system, again because the neighbor's command station has not had any information entered into it.
retsignalmtrI did break up the consist and ran each loco individually, but when I entered the consist number of 100, both locos ran together.
As an additional note, I have found that some decoders do not have their value in CV19 revert to zero when the command station is told to "delete consist". I don't know why that is, but it happens. So if your units ran on address 100 after you deleted the consist from the command station what happened was that CV19 did not get cleared out
If the unit runs on address 100 after the consist is deleted, use program on the main to access CV19 and set it to zero. It won't run on that address after.
Probbaly more that it 'misses' the packet that says "program on main, set CV19 to 0"
If there is a vlaue other than 0 in CV19, this is the address the decoder will respond to. If the loco address is 1234, and you put it in a consist on a system that uses CV19, and CV19 gets set to 100, if you pick that loco up and go to another DCC layout, it will not respond to address 1234, it WILL respond to address 100.