RICH! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! The locomotive's manual was not on top when I pulled the locomotive out when it arrived. After reading your comment I began to wonder(hope) if the manual was under the foam to see what it might say about the reset pins. I pulled all the foam up out of the box(no manual), but there was this little black piece of plastic in there. Hmmm. Looks like some sort of female plug. Sure enough it fit over the reset pins, powered up the layout, no 3 toots, programmed the address and it is holding! You've turned around what had been an absolutely crummy day up to this point! Thank you so much!
Mike
Water Level Route RICH! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! The locomotive's manual was not on top when I pulled the locomotive out when it arrived. After reading your comment I began to wonder(hope) if the manual was under the foam to see what it might say about the reset pins. I pulled all the foam up out of the box(no manual), but there was this little black piece of plastic in there. Hmmm. Looks like some sort of female plug. Sure enough it fit over the reset pins, powered up the layout, no 3 toots, programmed the address and it is holding! You've turned around what had been an absolutely crummy day up to this point! Thank you so much!
The key to solving this issue was the missing jumper. That sure suggested that the reset commands took place, but the actual reset process was not completed.
Rich
Alton Junction
Water Level Route I began to wonder(hope) if the manual was under the foam to see what it might say about the reset pins. I pulled all the foam up out of the box(no manual), but there was this little black piece of plastic in there. Hmmm. Looks like some sort of female plug. Sure enough it fit over the reset pins, powered up the layout, no 3 toots, programmed the address and it is holding!
I began to wonder(hope) if the manual was under the foam to see what it might say about the reset pins. I pulled all the foam up out of the box(no manual), but there was this little black piece of plastic in there. Hmmm. Looks like some sort of female plug. Sure enough it fit over the reset pins, powered up the layout, no 3 toots, programmed the address and it is holding!
richhotrainThe key to solving this issue was the missing jumper.
You left the jumper in place? I wonder why it was not installed in the first place?
We still don't know exactly which decoder version you have. Is there a BLI model number on the box? That may help narrow it down. There is some QSI/BLI documentation on their site for early locos.
https://www.broadway-limited.com/supportdocumentation.aspx
Does it look like the photo I posted in my first reply? The jumper pins are clearly visible.
Good Luck, Ed
What this implies: Some electronic 'resets' involve grounding pins (you short across them briefly, or install the jumper to keep the circuit grounded) whereas others require interruption (e.g. "opening a switch" by removing a jumper. This turns out to be an example of the latter case.
OvermodWhat this implies: Some electronic 'resets' involve grounding pins
This is what I gather, as well.
QSI_reset-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
It has been years, well, since I opened them up to install the upgrade chips, that I had one of my QSI locomotives apart.
I can not say that I recall if the jumper was installed or not. My original BLI Hudson, model # 001 and the first GG1 still have the QSI decoder and they are functioning well enough that I don't have them on the decoder replacement queue.
Regards, Ed
When I asked the OP if it was still holding, I was just looking for an update from him that the decoder was still holding the long address.
My understanding is that the jumper should remain in place on those two pins on the decoder.
gmpullmanBLI_UP-tender_board by Edmund, on Flickr
The jumper is still in place and the address is holding. What was strange about the jumper is that it wasn't in the little plastic bags of bits that come with the engine. It was floating around loose in the box. Not sure why someone would remove it. Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it.
I'm glad I came across this thread and I'm very thankful for the "permanent rest" being identified as the cause of memory loss.
We have been experiencing a lot of frustration trying to program an address on a BLI / QSI cabforward and we were seriously considering a decoder swap. This thread saved our day when we found that the sliding reset switch in the tender was left in the reset position. Once again the problem was not with the arrow but with the Indian.
That's a good thing.
I remember some having issues with the magnetic switch resetting the decoder using a magnetic uncoupling tool or an accidental derailment tripping the switch. I have one QSI decoder left in a BLI I1sa locomotive. Still going strong even with the plating completely worn off the drivers. It must have over 200 real miles on it.
Pete.