I have a pair of InterMountain ES44DC locos that are have a non-sound decoder and work fine in DC. I am switching to DCC but my NCE PowerCab does not see the decoders; is there something to do like moving a jumper ?
Ihave the same issue with a pair of Walthers GP15-1 equipped with #0001750 MRC Sound decoders working fine in DC (sounds triggered by remote controllers) but not recognized by the NCE controller.
Any hint ?
I'm a rookie at all this myself, but, the Intermountain locos probably need to have some type of jumper plug(s) removed for DCC operation. And the Walthers locos might be equiped with sound only decoders, and nothing for motor function, and I'm not sure if the sound would work on DCC.
I use Digitrax, and I'm not familular with NCE, but all DCC decoders have a default address of 03, until you program a new address. Maybe try running the locos on address 03.
Kind of like the blind leading the blind here, but that's how I managed to get things going, along with reading forum post and the good old instruction books that come with a DCC system, and the instructions that come with the loco.
Mike.
My You Tube
Do you know what decoder the IM locos have?
Not sure about the MRC sound in the Walthers. The PowerCab should have enough juice to program it without using a booster. Check you docs on it and find out what the factory reset CV values are, then try that.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I asked for help from InterMountain and MRC; no answer yet. I don't know wich decoder brand is used by IM and I would prefer avoiding to open my locos. I tried address 3 without success. Trying to setup I get "cannot read cv" at each step.
Same about MRC. The supplied instruction sheet has information about consisting, acceleration and deceleration rates, speed table, so I think it should work as a motor control decoder as well. The product isn't listed any more on the MRC site.
What address are you entering in your PowerCab, 3 or 03? You need to enter 3 since the decoders have a short address. 03 is a long address.
When you say that you are trying to read the decoders, I assume that you have the PowerCab in programming track mode. Did you try running them prior to trying to program them?
Are these new locos that you purchased, or did they have previous owners? If previously owned, the original owner may have changed the address to something other than the default 3 address.
So far as I know, older MRC decoders (and maybe new ones) never could read back on a programming track. EDIT: see following post.
I have an early model MRC decoder and even though the instructions mention alternate speed tables that doesn't mean the NMRA-type 28 speed step tables. For that particular decoder all it meant was some useless, at least for me, alternate pre-programmed speed curve. EDIT: your decoder instructions do state that the decoder supports speed tables...see following post.
Although your particular may no longer be available for sale from MRC, MRC sometimes does have older instructions available on their website. Try Googling MRC XXXXXXX decoder and see if anything shows up.
And of course the obvious question...for the Intermountain loco, are you sure it actually has a DCC decoder in it?
I did the Google thing for you. Here is a link to the MRC decoder instructions: http://www.modelrectifier.com/resources/dcc/0001750%20Walthers%20%20gp15.pdf
And I stand corrected: The instructions state that the decoder features full readback of all CVs and also supports speed tables.
I also see from the instructions that the MRC loco will not run if it has been previously shut down, and that you need to push one of the function keys to get it started. Try turning on the headlight and see what happens.
I did some looking around at the IM web site, and it makes a difference if the loco was shipped from the factory before, or after Jan. 2011. Those before said date have an 8 pin plug and you need to install a decoder. After the said date, have a factory installed decoder that allows DC and DCC operation. If your unsure what you have, you'll need to open up the loco and look. If it's the newer version, than there must be some instructions as to how to change modes.
EDIT: The IM web site also has instructions for taking the hood off the locos for servicing.
It also says they use ESU decoders.
Thanks for your post: the MRC decoders woke up as you suggested. I can set their address and all the functions work fine. Now let's see about the InterMountain units !
Thanks again !
Edit: the same procedure worked for my InterMountain locos ! The only thing I have to figure out now is how to light up the class lights on the nose.
Thank you all !