QSI Decoder won't remember address

[richhotrain]

Yeah, it does seem to be a faulty, or at least quirky, decoder.

I have a lot of QSI decoder-equipped locos, and I have developed a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with them. So, I decided to research this issue further.

I found several websites that discuss various QSI upgrade chips, each a different version, that deal with faulty QSI decoders. One such upgrade was the Q1A Version 7.0 that apparently would solve my problem associated with Advanced Consists. That is not your problem, but I wonder if one these upgrade chips would solve your problem of programming long addresses.

If you are interested in investigating the upgrade chip solution, let me know and I can provide some links for you to contact before incurring the expense of a brand new sound decoder.

Rich 

[gmpullman]

Some are easy to spot:

IMG_7572_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

Others are tucked in closer to the board (alongside the chip socket):

IMG_7824_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

On this one the two pins this side of the big cap is where a jumper has to be placed for a "hard" reset:

BLI_UP-tender_board by Edmund, on Flickr

and here, a little rubber button does the job:

BLI_P2-reset by Edmund, on Flickr

Maybe yours was made without a method for resetting. 

Are you sure it isn't a Blue Line decoder?

Good Luck, Ed

 

[Water Level Route]

So I got the tender apart last night and there is no reset button or reed switch that may be sticking.  Absolutely nothing that could be disconnected that would indicate a reset jumper.  Guess I better start looking for a tsunami/econami for it.

Thanks again guys.

[Water Level Route]

Guys, thank you so much for all of your input.  Sorry about the delayed response.  I've been sick the last couple days.  As soon as I'm feeling 100%, I'll start by opening up the tender to see if there is a reed switch/reset button issue.  Yes, its the original paragon series BLI.

Rich,  I have the very same NCE system but haven't had the troubles with the throttle display when programming wirelessly, but I'll keep an eye out for it.  Thanks for the tip!

Worst case, this loco jumps to the front of the line for a decoder replacement.  Would be a bummer, but there are worse things in life.

Thanks fellas.

[selector]

richhotrain

 

 

 

 

 

Crandell, I would say that you are good. In my experience with QSI decoders, all of mine factory installed in BLI locos, if they are problem free out of the box, they stay that way. If they are problematic out of the box, they stay that way.

 

Rich

 

Thanks, Rich.  I thought I had a late model QSI Titan, or a Revolution, both post-2008, go toast on me a couple of years back, but I somehow convinced it to begin to play nice again.  I forget what it was all about...maybe it felt neglected because I rotate my locos in about a two year cycle to keep them fresh. 

[richhotrain]

Water Level Route

Hi everybody.  I recently bought a BLI mikado with the factory QSI decoder.  I finally figured out how to program the long address via CV's 17 & 18, then CV29 (It wouldn't let my NCE system do it via it's normal method on the programming track.  I had to figure out the individual values for 17, 18, & 29 and manually program them in on the main).  Problem is, when I shut off the layout, the decoder jumps back to address 3 when I power back on.  Am I missing something, or could it just be a bum decoder?  Any ideas? 

A couple of questions for you.

Which NCE system?  Ph-Pro or Power Cab?

Is the loco the original Paragon?

The biggest problem that I have encountered with factory installed QSI decoders in BLI locos is Advanced Consisting. The QSI is quirky, losing the consist on power down, not clearing CV19 when a consist is killed, dropping or adding locos from or to the consist.

I have never experienced your particular problem with programming long addresses. However, others have had all kinds of weird things happening when programming QSI decoders, particularly on the Programming Track.

One other comment. I have the NCE PH-Pro 5 amp wireless system. I find it useful to tether the ProCab to a UTP panel when programming, either on the Programming Track or POM (Programming on the Main).

Lately, when I program a decoder (any decoder) on the Programming Track, the LCD screen on my ProCab tends to overwrite instructions and values on the LCD screen. Don't know what that is all about, but it does not adversely affect the programming of the decoder.

So, your issue could be the decoder or the throttle.

Rich

[richhotrain]

selector

That leaves me uneasy.  I must have eight or nine QSI decoders, now at least 13 years old.  So far, I haven't had a problem with any of them.  I guess, though, that nothing lasts forever.  

Crandell, I would say that you are good. In my experience with QSI decoders, all of mine factory installed in BLI locos, if they are problem free out of the box, they stay that way. If they are problematic out of the box, they stay that way.

Rich

[selector]

That leaves me uneasy.  I must have eight or nine QSI decoders, now at least 13 years old.  So far, I haven't had a problem with any of them.  I guess, though, that nothing lasts forever. 

[wp8thsub]

Water Level Route

Problem is, when I shut off the layout, the decoder jumps back to address 3 when I power back on.  Am I missing something, or could it just be a bum decoder?  Any ideas?

That seems to be a fairly common issue with QSI decoders.  They often lose programming on one or more CVs, sometimes including the address, when you turn the DCC system off.  If you have one where this happens repeatedly, it's probably going to continue until you replace the decoder.  

One of the layouts where I operate regularly had this same problem with multiple QSI decoders, including those supplied with Broadway locomotives.  All the QSI decoders were eventually replaced because of it.

[gmpullman]

Water Level Route

Any ideas?

Just one.

 

It may be possible that there is a reset jumper still in place? Or if the decoder has a reed switch, the tiny electrodes are "shorted" (closed) causing the decoder to stay in reset mode OR if it has a pushbutton (probably only found on later decoders) the button is stuck or otherwise closed also calling for a reset.

QSI reset jumper by Edmund, on Flickr

Just maybe.

Good Luck, Ed

[Water Level Route]

Hi everybody.  I recently bought a BLI mikado with the factory QSI decoder.  I finally figured out how to program the long address via CV's 17 & 18, then CV29 (It wouldn't let my NCE system do it via it's normal method on the programming track.  I had to figure out the individual values for 17, 18, & 29 and manually program them in on the main).  Problem is, when I shut off the layout, the decoder jumps back to address 3 when I power back on.  Am I missing something, or could it just be a bum decoder?  Any ideas?