Hi all,
I have a proto 2000 0-6-0 DCC & Sound.. Recently, after several months I took it off the shelf and put it back on the layout to run it in the Ferry Yard to do some switching. It was running good then after shutting the layout and coming back the next day the loco would not respond to it’s long address.
Horn bell and other sounds worked but increasing speed steps did not increase sound or move the loco AT ALL.
Put it back on the program track and while “reading full sheet” (Basic Information) Decoder Pro locked up trying to read CV18. I ended the ”read full sheet”, closed the roster entry and reset the layout power.
Decoder pro now read the full sheet wothout a problem. Then I wrote the full sheet and the loco and once again it responded to the throttle.
This has happened in the past and it required resetting the loco decoder.
Any ideas?
I would suggest disabling DC in the decoder. That helps prevent this from happening. I would also disable DC is your command station if it allows you to.
Peter
He uses NCE, there is no DC option on the command station.
The symptons really sound like a QSI decoder in discoonnect mode - the sounds work but the motor does not turn. Varioous multiple presses of F9 engage different shutdown modes, and a double press of F6 usually wakes it back up again.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Gary,
Does your Proto 2000 0-6-0 come with the QSI or Soundtraxx decoders? If QSI, did you by chance double-press the F9 (shut down) button?
Double-pressing F9 with a QSI decoder places it in the 1st stage of Shut Down mode - i.e. the motor is disengaged but the lights and sound can still be operated. Double-pressing F9 again places the locomotive in 2nd stage Shut Down mode and lights turn off. Double-pressing F9 a 3rd time places the locomotive in Total Shut Down mode and it doesn't respond to anything. This can all be easily recified at any point by quickly double-pressing F6 again to bring the decoder out of Shut Down.
As mentioned, I would disable "dual-mode" or the "enable analog (DC) operation" mode in CV29 if you don't plan on operating it on a DC layout.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Thanks for the replies. I need to check if it is QSI or Soundtrax.
I didn’t think the loco would make sound if it was not woken up but I will get the info requested, disable DC and try the F6 thing and report back
Whatever decoder it is, try the double-press F9 test first. If you hear a long audible hiss after depressing F9 twice quickly AND the loco doesn't move, it's a QSI decoder. If that doesn't happen, it's a Soundtraxx.
QSI decoders, once fully factory reset, should voice back any CV changes undertaken in Ops Mode (programming on the main). I don't believe others do that.
I have the same little wonderful loco. It, unfortunately, has been one of my most troublesome, and I attribute the trouble to the design of the tether/coupler device. It gets loose, and yours may need a rebuild or a good cleaning, or simply tightened up some...a lot.
Also, the loco and tender wheels do stand a good cleaning...and by that I mean a good job of it...now and then. About every three hours of running or less.
gary233 I need to check if it is QSI or Soundtrax.
I need to check if it is QSI or Soundtrax.
gary233I didn’t think the loco would make sound if it was not woken up but I will get the info requested, disable DC and try the F6 thing and report back
Rich
Alton Junction
Ok all good now!
I did the F6 and it all worked.
Decoder is a QSI Version 7 . MFG #113 Model #319
CV29 was set to 34 so no DC
I forgot about the F9 scenario and probably left in the wrong state when I put it away.
Seems like a design flaw some how.
Now I have a card for this loco with all the info i need so shouldn’t have to bother you guys again.
THANKS
gary233 Now I have a card for this loco with all the info i need so shouldn’t have to bother you guys again.
Well, that’s fortunate for ME!
gary233 ... I forgot about the F9 scenario and probably left in the wrong state when I put it away. Seems like a design flaw some how...
...
Seems like a design flaw some how...
Can't say I agree. I like this characteristic, and also QSI's half-mute or less if you programme it into F7. I have probably 10 QSI-equipped locomotives, all 8 years old or more, and I like that they can be put into semi-dormant and comatose states using repeated presses of F9. If I get no response from the, a simple double-press of F6 often restores sounds and their other functionality.
gary233 Now I have a card for this loco with all the info i need so shouldn’t have to bother you guys again. THANKS
Good for you for profiting from the experience. I routinely put small stickies inside loco boxes when I put them away reminding me to lube them before using them next time, or what their decoder status is, etc. Saves long faces and unpleasant experiences late at night after the missus goes to bed and I want to play with a locomotive I haven't used in a year or more.
gary233 I forgot about the F9 scenario and probably left in the wrong state when I put it away. Seems like a design flaw some how.
Keep in mind a "cold" prototype steam engine could take several hours to get up to steam. You can't turn them on and off like an internal combustion engine. If an engine wasn't going to be operating for a time, it would often be left in a roundhouse stall or nearby track with a banked but active fire. A hostler would check on it once in a while. When it was time to use it again, it was much easier to increase the size of the fire until it was hot enough to produce the needed steam - at least, much easier than it would have been to start cold.
I'm not so suire the purpose of the modes beyond mute. Mute is always good too have, but the "makes all the noises but doesn't move" mode seems mostly useless. Mute AND not move could be used to park the loco in a siding without rigging a power switch. It's not really a realism issue steam vs diesel, as the diesel QSI decoders do the same thing. On decoders that have a plain mute, usually the unmute if the loco is stopped causes the start up sequence to play, lighting the fire in a steam loco, or cranking the prime mover on a diesel.
The way QSI implemented it has been the sooource of more confusion than darn near anything. It's been years since all those early BLI locos and everyone else using QSI on the factory sound locos, but search old threads here and there are dozens at least all about how the loco no longer responds, and it's not that the programming is lost, it's that it was in one of the deeper shutdown modes.
wjstixKeep in mind a "cold" prototype steam engine could take several hours to get up to steam.
We aren't doing real steam. My benchwork doesn't have to support prototypical engine weights either.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley