It's definitely not a 0 probability that the battery could be dead afte rjust 6 months - the question is, how long was the battery in NCE's inventory before it got installed int he command station Gary eventually purchased? And it is still possible to get a brand new battery, open it up, and find it is dead or nearly so. Especially if you buy lots of 100 or so as a manufacturer like NCE probably does.
Selector, your DB150 does not have a battery. Only the DCS100 has a backup battery (and the rather rare DCS200, 8 amp version). DB150/200, Zephyrs, and the new command stations and boosters do not have batteries.
And dang it, the NCE tech is even perpetuating the idea that there is somethign in the decoder that changes for 28 and 128 steps. No. Pushing the 28/128 button (or status editing on Digitrax) doesn't send anything to the decoder. Most decoders default to the 28/128 setting in CV29, so if the BLI locos would 'forget' something it would be if you programmed it to 14 steps, it would revert back to 28.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker Pushing the 28/128 button (or status editing on Digitrax) doesn't send anything to the decoder.
Pushing the 28/128 button (or status editing on Digitrax) doesn't send anything to the decoder.
Then how does the decoder know whether to operate with 28 steps or 128?
Ed
Just tested the Bachman with the NCE decoder. I turned the system on from the power supply, selected the loco and pressed the 28/128 button on the controller and the loco was in 128 speed step mode. I selected a different loco which removed the Bachman from the controller. Then I shut the power supply. Turned it back on and selected the Bachman loco. When I started to increase throttle it was STILL in 128 mode.
I need to check my other BLI locomotives and the Proto 2000 to see what happens. The NCE Tec was not fond of Quantum decoders either.
Gary
7j43k rrinker Pushing the 28/128 button (or status editing on Digitrax) doesn't send anything to the decoder. Then how does the decoder know whether to operate with 28 steps or 128? Ed
It's a completely different DCC packet that gets sent by the command station. See some of the posts by passenger1955 who has been delving into the NMRA DCC standards.
I really don;t see how this can be the decoder's fault. I don't have any Paragon 2 or 3 locos, but we have a whole fleet of them at the club - following the run of Reading T-1's. I already had 2 of the PCM ones with Loksound decoders so I didn;t buy any of the new ones (don't need smoke, which is about all the new one did that my old one didn't) and we run Digitrax at the club. Digitrax ALWAYS sends 128 speed steps unless you specifically configure a loco address to use 28 - ie, no button presses, you get 128. Some button presses and you can get 28). They've all worked, everyone's that I've seen running. That it actually resets to 28 and goes to 128 when you press the button is still telling me the system itself is resetting because there is no CV in the decoder related to this. I would try a cab reset and a command station reset.
We did find that glitch with the Paragon 2 decoders where certain addresses messed up the 128 speed step packet and the locomotive would only run in the reverse direction.