My second DT402 throttle is going "bad order" -- in less than two years from its October, 2014 purchase.The problem: When I use the RH-throttle's direction button, instead of the signature(?) "chirp", the entire unit goes into a mode of...blinking, indecipherable gibberish, rendering the DT402 inoperable. Only after I shut the entire system down, and re-start, am I able to operate. I've just ordered my third DT402 throttle @$185!!
Any ideas on what I might be doing? (I often use the RH throttle, set to "00", to operate the lone DC loco on my layout) Or, is this a recurrent problem, inherent to Digitrax, the price of doing business in DCC?
Thanks
A couple of questions, Do u have a good battery in it? Also Have you looked at your power supply? If you are using a 515 it maybe going bad. As to the throttles I have 2 402s and know a lot of guys at the club who have them and have not heard of anyone else having that problem, in fact the only problem I have had with a throttle is when I dropped one on the floor, whick will mess any brand up.
It's definitely not normal, and why do you keep buying a new one? Even out of warranty, Digitrax will repair it for a whoel lot less than the cost of a new one.
My DT402 is now about 5 years old, not had any problems. I have a DT400 I bought at elast 13 years ago, and I also have an old DT100 that I have no idea how old it is, I bought it on eBay, but it is still fully functional.
The symptoms are simialr to those caused by the bad capacitors that plagued the entire electronics industry a number of years ago, but that was before the DT402 and I doubt any DT402's got built with the fake junk capacitors. That is only happens on one throttle knob means it's more like the encoder is getting worn out. I'm not sure what it take to cause this, I tend to use only the right throttle on mine and typcially only use the left when consisting or speed matching, or if I consciously think about it and run on the left in some attempt to even the wear, but I have not had any issues with this. And I ALWAYS use the click feature to change direction, I never hit the direction button on the throttle. This makes it interesting when I use the DT100, which does NOT have clickable encoders, you MUST use the button on that throttle.
A DT402 does not need a battery unless using the IR mode with a UP90/91/92.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Georgia Flash,It may be due to the chip inside the throttle being jarred loose from it's plug. Open the case and gently push on the chip to make sure it's fully set in the plug. Close the case back up (making sure not to pinch the battery wires because the case will shear them off if you're not careful), and check to see if the problem still happens.
If it does, it might be a bad button that is causing a short or some other errant operation. Sending it in to Digitrax for the $25 service charge is the only option. And if they can't fix it, they'll replace the whole throttle without charging you anything else.
Remember, folks, these DCC throttles are not mass produced consumer goods made by robots in a giant factory in Asia. They are made right here in the USA by "hand", IOW not with million dollar precision robots. There are bound to be problems with any product in our hobby, from locos and cars to DCC throttles and decoders. It's how the manufacturer backs up their product that is really important.
rrinker The symptoms are simialr to those caused by the bad capacitors that plagued the entire electronics industry a number of years ago, but that was before the DT402 and I doubt any DT402's got built with the fake junk capacitors. That is only happens on one throttle knob means it's more like the encoder is getting worn out.
The symptoms are simialr to those caused by the bad capacitors that plagued the entire electronics industry a number of years ago, but that was before the DT402 and I doubt any DT402's got built with the fake junk capacitors. That is only happens on one throttle knob means it's more like the encoder is getting worn out.
I have a pair of DT400's, and one of them was a victim of the capacitor plague. The symptom showed itself as the garbled display.
But it showed that display as soon as it was plugged in (I supply power to my UP's instead of using batteries). So I agree with Randy that it sounds more like an encoder issue. Are you one of those folks who could be considered a "throttle twiddler"?
And by all means have it repaired instead of buying a new one! Go to the Digitrax Web site, click on "Support" at the top-center of the page, then select "Warranty and Repair". Go through their process to authorize the return and send it in.
Did that with my DT400 and for the $25 cost (which includes return shipping), I got it back in perfect working order in a few weeks.