If you saw the DC voltage changing on the meter as you adjusted speed and direction with address 00, then I'm going to have to say it must be the loco. Especially if a DCC loco runs as it should. Your system is good and you are doing everything right.
I wouldn;t worry about the address 00 thing too much. It 'works' but no where as smooth as a loco with a decoder in it. Some people turn it off as with a large layout, having a loco running on address 00 can slow the respone of all the DCC locoos. Plus , when combined with setting CV29 in each decoder so as to no longer work on plain DC, turning off the analog feature in the command station helps prevent random runaway locos, which usually happens when the decoder gets power but does not see a valid DCC signal before the timeout which basically says, if no DCC signal, you must be on plain DC. Except then it sees full voltage and takes off like a rocket.
I have a few old locos I've kept for sentimetnal reasons, but most of them won;t run on modern Code 83 rails anyway. One - if someone can decoder this, I'd love to see how. It's an old Hornby/ATT Stphenson's Rocket, the frame of the loco IS the motor and the pickups that run on the backs of the wheels ARE the motor brushes. But it too has oversize flanges and won;t run on modern track anyway. Eventually I will just put them in some sort of display cabinet.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Hi All - Using my multimeter as Randy suggested, I got exactly what he said I should. I still haven’t got an analog engine to work with my setup. I finally decided to try a DCC engine with a decoder installed and it ran exactly as it should!! I was surprised! I still have not seen the Track Status light change, except to go off and on as I toggle power to the track. No problem with color blindness. I have one more analog engine I am going to try. If that still won’t run, then I will call Digitrax first thing Monday morning.
BigDaddy rrinker DO you have a multimeter, even the cheap Harbor Freight type? If so, you can put it on the 20V DC range and connect the probes across the rails. It should be effectively 0. If you have address 00 selected, as you turn the speed knob, the voltage should slowly go up (or down, it might go -, but that's ok). Reverse direction and if it was reading say -5 it should change to +5. On the 3rd post of this thread he previously said he got 14 v before he turned the knob. It's unlikely all his engines are bad so either the Digitrax unit isn't going into DC mode because he is missing a step, it needs rebooted as you described, or it is defective OR there is some other track wiring issue yet to be discovered.
rrinker DO you have a multimeter, even the cheap Harbor Freight type? If so, you can put it on the 20V DC range and connect the probes across the rails. It should be effectively 0. If you have address 00 selected, as you turn the speed knob, the voltage should slowly go up (or down, it might go -, but that's ok). Reverse direction and if it was reading say -5 it should change to +5.
On the 3rd post of this thread he previously said he got 14 v before he turned the knob.
It's unlikely all his engines are bad so either the Digitrax unit isn't going into DC mode because he is missing a step, it needs rebooted as you described, or it is defective OR there is some other track wiring issue yet to be discovered.
Yes so he's measuring AC across the rails. If the meter is used in DC mode across the rails it will show the effect of address 00 on the rails. It does all come back to that if it DOESN'T change, then the commands for address 00 aren;t getting passed through, due to one of those reasons. But it eliminates a faulty loco or the track power LED being faulty (or the user being red/green colorblind), and the track connections.
I have only ever done this once...DC loco on my Super Empire Builder. As soon as I applied throttle on my DT400, with the Add set at "00", the Proto 2000 0-6-0 began to groan and sing. Hated it, but it did move and accelerate.
If the tiny dot light is not flashing and is steady red, there should be steady voltage to the rails. You need pulses to get the DC motor to begin to give audible indications that it is being manipulated by the DB150, and that's where the first throttle speed steps are required.
I wonder if we have a stiff, worn, glazed, or stuck drive at play here.
rrinkerDO you have a multimeter, even the cheap Harbor Freight type? If so, you can put it on the 20V DC range and connect the probes across the rails. It should be effectively 0. If you have address 00 selected, as you turn the speed knob, the voltage should slowly go up (or down, it might go -, but that's ok). Reverse direction and if it was reading say -5 it should change to +5.
It's unlikely all his engines are bad so either the Digitrax unit isn't going into DC mode because he is missing a step, it needs rebooted [reset maybe the better term] as you described, or it is defective OR there is some other track wiring issue yet to be discovered.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
DO you have a DCC loco to try with? You can always skip the address 00 part of the startup and jump right to a DCC loco. If it's new, the address should be 03. Turning the throttle should make the loco move, the track status light will not change color when running a DCC loco.
Smoking? From the proper end, or from the back? Is this one of those Bachmann locos which probably has the pancake motor? Do you have a DC power pack to try it out to verify that it actually works? Or even a 9V battery MIGHT have enough juice to make it move.
Your DCC test track does not have to be a loop. a single piece of flex track is sufficient just to see if things work.
I'd advise to test for now with NO loco on the track. If you start up that the right side says address 00 - what happens when you turn the knob? The numbers should increase from 0-100 and then stay at 100 (100 perfectn, full throttle) no matter how much more you keep turning. Turn th eknob the other way, and it should go down to 0, and then stay at 0 no matter how much more you turn in the same direction. If you look at the little icon of a steam engine, when you press the knob, or hit the direction button under the right side throttle, it should change direction.
If instead of going to 100 and stopping, the number keep going - you are still in loco select mode and are dialing in an address, not a speed. You have to press the Looco button, enter the address (or use the knob to scroll through) and then press Loco again, or Enter.
Just asking - you're not red/green colorblind, are you? Because those are the colors of the track status light and if both appear the same to you, you wouldn't see any change.
DO you have a multimeter, even the cheap Harbor Freight type? If so, you can put it on the 20V DC range and connect the probes across the rails. It should be effectively 0. If you have address 00 selected, as you turn the speed knob, the voltage should slowly go up (or down, it might go -, but that's ok). Reverse direction and if it was reading say -5 it should change to +5.
And what should be the first question - did you buy this all new, or was it used? It is possible to turn off the use of address 00. In the back of the DCS100 manual there is a section on Option Switches (OPSW) and how to reset the system. Basically, change the mode swith on the front to OpSw, on the throttle hit Switch, key in 39, and hit the C key (also Clock). Now move the Mode switch to Sleep for a few seconds, and then back to Run. Now test things again.
Randy - nothing I have done so far causes the Track Status light to change in any way. There is no buzzig or "singing" with any of the analog engines I have tried. The switches on the Command Station are set to HO and Run. Best I can tell, the system is not in an E Stop condition. I have tried this enough times that when I power up the system, the throttel shows a soild power light dot, 00 is displayed for the R knob, and the little engne is smoking, but the engines will not "sing" and will not move when I increase the throttle. I'm bummed!
Henry - I have several engines that were my fathers from the 80's. When I place any of the engines on the track, the Quick Start instructions say the engines should "sing," but they do not. The headlight does come on each engine so I know there is some power to the track.
[quote user="mbinsewi"]
No. I do this on my program / test track. A wire going to each track, and away it goes.
Mike.
Thanks, Mike. This is what I expected but wanted it confirmed.
Is the engine one you have used before or is it new or used from Ebay? Are they any other engines you have or can borrow?
My You Tube
Thanks, Randy. First thing in the morning I am going to again follow the Quick Start directions, very carefully, step by step, and keep in mind what you said. I'll replay as to what happens.
When you follow the steps, are you pressing the Loco key, then making sure to press 0 so that the displays shows address 00, and then hitting Loco again? Does the track status light change color at all, from the orangy-red to nearly all red, or nearly all freen? Is the track status light even on, you might be missing the step to turnt he track power on. In the upper right of the throttle display is a simple . It can be not there, indicating track power off, a steady little dot, indicating track power on, or it can be flashing, indicating the system is in emergency stop. If it's flashing, there will be power on the rails (DC loco headlight will light up) but no controol of anything. The solution is to press the Power button and the On button again.
Does the DC engine buzz or sing? Witht he track power on (truly on), the headlight should be on and the motor should buzz or sing .
And last (but maybe check first), are the switches on the front of the DCS100 set properly - the scale one should be set based on your scale (it just changes the voltage, so wrong position here won;t do anything except possibly burn out the headlight from too much voltage), and the one that says OPS/Sleep/Run should be on Run. The steps for getting started in the manual do have every button you should press for things to work, but the track power is one of those things that 99% of th time just one press of the Power and On buttons ont he throttle turns it on as expected, but the other 1% of the time you sometimes get the E-stop state and need to press the Power and On a second time.
I would in fact try the sanity check with the track status light WITHOUT the DC loco on the rails. If you are actually controlling address 00, the LED will change color and that's enough to prove it works - the ability to run a DC loco is nice to be able to run a quick check but leaving a DC loco on DCC track sitting still WILL eventually burn out the motor, some quicker than others (big heavy older open frame motors have more mas to dissipate the heat build up, smaller enclosed can motors heat up much faster).
What DC loco do you have? Older ones, like Athearn BB's, make a fair amount of buzzing noise. If you have a loco that has the dual mode decoder, it might not make all that noise. Either way, you should be able to hear if the loco is responding to the track power, besides just the light.
I remember my first Athearn BB (blue box) loco took a lot of throttle to get it moving.
Your manual should have a "quick start" guide. My SEB set does, and it spells out the steps to get a DC loco running.
It is a DC engine and the headlight is on. Perhaps I don't have the system in DC as BigDaddy suggested. Now, how do I put the system in DC? I bet the manual will tell me, if I can find the right page!
Edit
If it's a DC loco, it doesn't accept commands nor are the lights independant of the throttle. It can only respond to an increase in voltage.
Perhaps write out the steps you did and compare that to the instructions. I'll bet you've missed something.
Thanks, Mike, for getting me straight about the track powder I should be seeing on my meter. I'll continue reading. I'm sure my problem is something simple to solve. If necessary, I will call Digitrax on Monday.
I'm not one of the DCC gurus on here, but I have an older (2005?) Super Empire Builder. Once you have track power on, it's on. The loco lights up, and is ready for a command signal from the throttle.
Yep! I get 14 volts before I turned up the knob. Now that I think about it, that should be zero before I turn up the knob. I'll do some more reading in the manual. Thanks!
Did you measure 14 v before you turned the right knob up?
My reading of the instruction say an arrow on the display is supposed to change direction when you hit reverse.
But if you are getting 14 v at what should be stop or no speed on a DC loco, then you aren't in DC mode.
I'm an NCE guy so that's my theory and I'm stickin to it till Randy or one of the other electro-gurus set me straight.