A friend of mine just bought an Atlas Item #9873 Santa Fe - Road #530 HO Dash 8-40BW loco used on Ebay. My friend said that the seller admitted selling this loco because he was unable to program it. My friend's layout is powered by the old AtlasMaster DCC system so I knew he would not be able to program the Loksound decoder. Thus, I offered to try using my MRC Prodigy Advance system. I own an Intermountain EMD F7 loco with a Loksound decoder and the MRC system had no problem programming that loco. However, I have had only limited success programming this Atlas loco. Since it has to use a 2 digit address to operate with the AtlasMaster DCC system, I started by trying to reprogram the address from the road number (530) to 30. I first tried doing this on the MRC program track but no luck. Next I tried programming it on the main but still no luck. Finally, I tried removing all other locos from the main and successfully blast programmed this loco to address 30 by not specifying which loco I was reprogramming (did not enter an address when the system prompted me to do so). Success! The loco sounds and motor control all performed nicely using address 30. I also tried adjusting the momentum settings and the loco operated beautifully. The only things that still did not work were the headlights and ditch lights. At this point, I called it a day and shut off the layout.
I went to the Atlas web site and looked up the Loksound manual. Lots of good information there including the proper reset procedure (which I had not been doing correctly). I returned to the layout the next day to try some of the tips I got from the manual but the loco will no longer respond to address 30, no matter what I try. I performed the proper reset procedure and the loco now reponds to address 3 (okay for the AtlasMaster system). I have tried reprogramming the address to 30 several times but the loco no longer accepts it. Everything but the headlights and ditch lights works on address 3 and programming CV's on the main line works, too. Just not the address.
I would suspect that the original owner had taken the shell off and poked around inside. However, the loco shell and incredibly fine details are ALL intact and no evidence of someone ham fisted enough to screw up the electronics inside having removed the shell is present. Thus, I must conclude it has never been opened. I read on another thread that the installer of a Loksound decoder also had trouble with the headlights until he checked a box on his Loksound programmer. As I don't own a Loksound programmer, is there a corresponding CV setting I could try that would duplicate checking this box? Any ideas?
Hornblower
What a coincidence! I had a similar problem with my NCE silent decoder a few weeks ago. Took it to a club member and they discovered that a couple of CVs had been changed that locked the decoder. I guess I accidentally had this locomotive on the main while programming others. Made that mistake many times. I'd recommend doing a deep dig into the Loksound manual to find the CVs that lock the rest of the decoder. Then, restore them to factory defaults. If that doesn't work, I'd recommend trying different DCC systems, programming modes, and JMRI on the decoder to fix the problem before giving up.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
The Loksound programmer software can be downloaded and referred to without having the programmer. With the software you can select how you want to program your Loksound decoder. Enter your changes on the screen then click on "tools" in the upper left corner and you can see what CV's have to be changed. You can then make these changes with any DCC system that work.
Mark
Did someone add a keep alive to this loco? And not the ESU 3 wire type, but a standard 2 wire one? That will almost always interfere with programming, especially on the program track.
And for it to work on the Atlas Master DCC system, it will need to be SHORT address 30, where CV29 is either 2 or 6 (if not using a speed table)
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks for the tip regarding the Loksound programming software. I will give that a try.
Randy
You are correct regarding the short address. Per the Loksound manual, I have a value of 2 in CV29. I had successfully changed the address to 30 but the decoder lost this address when I shut my layout down. The next time I fired up the layout, this loco would not respond to address 30 and I can't reprogram it back to an address of 30 . However, the decoder reset got the address back to 3 and the AtlasMaster system can use that. At this point, everything works on address 3 except the lights. The owner will be able to run the loco with bell and horn. I just want to try getting the lights to work, too.
Decoders don't just 'forget' data programmed into them. Perhaps the reason it was being sold is the decoder is someone damaged.
And even not in use - that memory stays set a LONG time - I recently pulled out one of my locos that has been stored over 6 years, probably closer to 7 since I last ran it - it still responded to the cab number address it was programmed with, and the functions all worked as they were previously programmed (which isn't saying much because all I have are basic lights front and rear, no ditch lights or anything). The only exception might be MTH, which seems to use a supercapacitor to save the configuration information, after a long enough time even with the extremey low current requirement to keep that memory alive, it will discharge. I do have one MTH loco that hasn;t run in 7 years, be interesting to see if it still remembers its address.
That it responded to a rest is a good sign, but it shoudl then take any addres syou want to program it with. ANd after a reset it should at least have basic lighting that comes on with F0 and is maybe directional. The other option would be that it would have whatever light functions are defined int eh user manual - when you load a sound project in a Loksoudn decoder, you cna also set CV values that get set when the "factory reset" is used - for example, if the loco has ditch lights and decoder was set up to make them alternately flash when the headlight is on and the horn is sounded, the CVs needed to make that work can be saved as the new default settings so that after a reset, they are still set. The depends on the sound project loaded, who's doign the loading, and what they decided to do. But the defaults it not set to some alternate value for the headlight and rear light would just have it come on with F0 and be directional, so if customezed settings weren;t used, that's how it should now be working.
Alternately, the decoder isn;t defective, but someone previously played around in the Lokprogrammer and consifugured things in a strange way and set that as the default, so while the reset is changing the address back to 3, it's not fixning the light CVs. But that would take some doing, and it wouldn;t revent setting a different address. If you are programming ont he main though - many decoders to not allow changing the same type of address, ie, you are trying to change short address 3 to short address 30 - not allowed by many decoders when programming ont he main. Instead you may have to give it a temporary long address, like 1234, then change it to short address 30. On the program track, you should eb able to pick any address you want. If there's no keep alive, it should program on a program track just fine, I've never had an issue with various Loksound decoders.
rrinkerDecoders don't just 'forget' data programmed into them. Perhaps the reason it was being sold is the decoder is someone damaged.
Ya, it's a bad sign. I've had several Tsunamis go bad over the years. Usually the first sign of trouble was the decoder starting to "forget" CV settings like momentum or top speed or ID number...or, in one case, the lights quit working. Haven't had it happen with a Loksound decoder (knock on wood) but I suppose it would be a similar series of events.
Randy! You're the man! As you suggested, I reprogrammed the loco with a temporary 4 digit address, verified the loco ran under the new address, then reprogrammed the loco to 30 as originally planned. Bingo! The loco now responds to an address of 30, even after I turned the layout off and back on. I'm beginning to think something is indeed wrong with the lights as I too expected the reset procedure to restore the default light settings. However, as everything else on this loco functions beautifully, and for the low price the owner paid, I think he should count his blessings and enjoy this model without the lights.
I would not give up hope yet.
I'm 3000 miles away but is there anyone on this forum with a lokprogrammer near Fullerton CA? You are not exactly in the middle of the sticks.
I had some weirdness with either a Bowser or Atlas loksound, where the default should have been sound before movement. My memory is a little foggy but with the lokprogrammer I was able to see that F8 was defined as (not F8)
I think the odds that the factory incorrectly wired the lights are pretty small.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Just an update regarding my progress (or lack of) attempting to reprogram this Atlas loco without a Loksound Programmer. I downloaded the software and a couple of sound files that were listed as appropriate for a Dash 8-40BW and printed out the list of CV values, ALL 22 PAGES OF THEM!!!! I didn't get very far as my MRC system apparently is one of the systems that doesn't know what to do with CV numbers above 200. It was also too easy to make programming mistakes and there is no way I can get through 22 pages of CV inputs without goofing up somewhere. I guess I'll just have to try to find someone in my area who already owns a Loksound Programmer and beg them to reprogram this thing.