Your loco is actually an E6A. I have the identical locomotive in the C&NW road name.
Here is what the Operator's Manual has to say about returning the loco to factory default values using the "Quantum Reset Jumper".
In case your engine's sound and control system misbehaves and turning the power off for 15 seconds does not return it to normal operation, you can reset your locomotive to factory default values.
This is the so-called "hard reset".
Give it a try.
Rich
Alton Junction
the old train man Rich,I did what you suggested & it tooted the horn 3 times. When I tried to run it it would not move & did the same old thing so I reprogamed the address to 750 again & it worked fine til I turned power off,then I had to program the address then it worked fine until I turned the power off again.
Rich,I did what you suggested & it tooted the horn 3 times. When I tried to run it it would not move & did the same old thing so I reprogamed the address to 750 again & it worked fine til I turned power off,then I had to program the address then it worked fine until I turned the power off again.
Aha, those three toots of the horn are an audible acknowledgement that the decoder was reset to factory default. So, definitely a QSI decoder, because those three toots of the horn are unique to the QSI decoder series.
The reason that you had to re-program the 4-digit address the first time after the reset to factory default is that a reset to factory default clears the 4-digit address. However, the 4-digit address should not be lost after each power down/power up. How are you writing the 4-digit address? On the programming track or on the main?
Do you have the box and small reddish colored manual that comes with the loco? I am wondering if this unit includes a wand to do a hard reset. Sometimes, that is the only way to keep these QSI decoders awake.
Edit Note: Forget about a wand, your loco comes with a jumper on the circuit board. See my next reply.
I am trying to rationalize what is now happening with your loco. Give me some time to think this over. Meanwhile, maybe others have some thoughts.
Ok thanks
It may be that the Digitrax DCS50 cannot read a sound decoder without a programming track booster. If that is the case, then we will need to identify the manufacturer ID some other way.
Meanwhile, I called BLI to inquire about repairing a Paragon loco with a QSI decoder. They indicated that they still have replacement QSI decoders on hand, and that they would not have upgraded to a Paragon 2 decoder. So, there is every likelihood that the replacement decoder in your loco is a QSI. If you call BLI, they will check their repair record for your loco and tell you the manufacturer of your replacement decoder.
Rich,I did try to put 8 in ,it said dnr which means cant read the decoder
According to the Digitrax manual, d na means there is no acknowledgement from the decoder typically during write operations.
You need to read the CV, not write the CV.
Read Section 16.6 - Reading Back CV Values Programmed
You want to read the value of CV8.
Rich I tried that & it said d-na
Let's find out who the decoder manufacturer is.
Put it on the programming track and read the value in CV8.
Then come back and tell us the value in CV8.
Hi,
If I understand this correctly, BLI had the loco twice and said there is nothing wrong with it. Yet, it won't run on the OP's layout.
I may have missed this in previous posts, but it seems a help would be to take the loco to another person's layout or the LHS and see if it works there.
If it does, the problem is with the OP's system/layout. If it doesn't, then it is very likely the loco itself.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Also, when you put the loco on the programming track, read the value of CV8.
Is it 113? Is it 38?
the old train man Rich I tried what you said to no avail but listen to this,I put a new address in (#75) & it came on and ran normally,then I cut it off ten seconds & turned it on & it would not respond. so I reprogramed 75 back into it and again it worked,so here is the deal,everytime I want to run this engine I am going to have to reprogram the address in it.Any suggestions?
Rich I tried what you said to no avail but listen to this,I put a new address in (#75) & it came on and ran normally,then I cut it off ten seconds & turned it on & it would not respond. so I reprogramed 75 back into it and again it worked,so here is the deal,everytime I want to run this engine I am going to have to reprogram the address in it.Any suggestions?
Let me suggest this. Instead of 75 which is a 2-digit address (Ad2), change AD4 which is a 4-digit address to 750, the cab number.
Run it on the main line for a moment. Then, put it back on the programming track and reset it, using this procedure.
Put the loco back on the programming track and change three CV values as follows:
CV49 = 128
CV50 = 255
CV56 = 113
This is the 3-step sequence to reset the original series of QSI decoders.
Then place the loco back on the main line and see if it will respond and how it responds.
Rich.
richhotrain OK, BLI #773 was part of the original Paragon run with QSI decoders. Of course, since BLI supposedly replaced the decoder, we do not know for sure if the replacement decoder was a QSI or a Paragon 2. But that can eventually be found out.
OK, BLI #773 was part of the original Paragon run with QSI decoders. Of course, since BLI supposedly replaced the decoder, we do not know for sure if the replacement decoder was a QSI or a Paragon 2. But that can eventually be found out.
rrinker 3, 03, 003, 0003, do not matter with Digitrax. 3 is a short address, period. There is no with or without leading 0 confusion. Now if the loco were previously owned by an NCE user who set it to long address 3 - it would not be accessible to Digitrax until reset. --Randy
3, 03, 003, 0003, do not matter with Digitrax. 3 is a short address, period. There is no with or without leading 0 confusion. Now if the loco were previously owned by an NCE user who set it to long address 3 - it would not be accessible to Digitrax until reset.
--Randy
Ad2 is the 2-digit address and Ad4 is the 4-digit address.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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So, are you saying that if you put the loco on the programming track, and press the LOCO key to Ad2, the 2-digit address would read 03 ?
Try this.
Then place the loco back on the main line and see if it will respond.
03
Old train man,
When you call up the units address, are you using just 3, or a longer 03, or four digit number 003 or 0003?
This could be part of the issue.......
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Ricktrains,right.
I get the job part, I myself work retail. I could be anywhere from 8am till 10pm. Never the same time, never the same day each week. And then, day off? House work, projects, errands, etc...
I really hoped the "crazy theory" would work. (Something in that fixed mine, so I thought, maybe.... But, not so here.)
I just think all are getting frustrated that nothing seems to be working, and information is hard to get across in writing at times.
Now, if I have this correct, BLI Part number is 773, so a Paragon E6A in L&N, road number is L&N #750, right?
But, that gets complicated though, as earlier it was said that BLI replaced the original decoder once before, so it may not have gotten an original Paragon decoder, it maybe a newer Paragon 2 decoder, if it was offered in the E-series. (Not at all sure if the 2 was ever even offered for the unit in question here. If it is still the original Paragon series, that would explain why my thoughts were incorrect, as it fixed my Paragon 2 unit....)
I am also of the group that feels this unit is really not on the address we think it should be, or that the DCC command station is not fully resetting. (Though I have been wrong here before....)
EDIT: I see some of this is now covered... My internet is quite slow tonight...
Richhotrain,03 is programed in right now
The reason that we are pressing for answers on how the locomotive performs is that we are not convinced that the loco is responding to the 2-digit address (i.e. 03) or the 4-digit address (e.g., 0750, the L&N cab number). So, it would be helpful to confirm the address by placing the loco on the programming track and reading the address.
Here are the instructions for doing this with the Digitrax DCS51:
3. Press the LOCO key and you will see either Ad2 or Ad4 in the display. Ad2 = two digit address (address must be between 01-127) Ad4 = four digit address (address must be between 0128-9983) Each time you press the LOCO key the display will toggle between Ad2 and Ad4. When the one you want to use is in the display move to the next step.
4. Press the CVrD key to to read back the address programmed into the decoder. Your display will show Ad2 or Ad4 while it is reading then it will display the decoder’s currently programmed address. When reading back addresses, 2 digit addresses are displayed with 3 digits, (001 through 127) and 4 digit addresses are displayed with 4 digits (0128 through 9983).
At this point, we really need to know the addresses programmed into the decoder, both Ad2 and Ad4.
Rich,let me say first of all I apologise for not responding to the threads. I work at a job, & I have just completed the bench work on my new layout. This week I layed roadbed,layed track & finished up the wiring today. As you can see I have been busy. I will now have more time at the computer.The #on the box is 773 L&N is the roadname,thanks so much for your interest & the interest of others on this thread.Im sorry &I hope to respond faster in the future.I guess I had to many irons in the fire. I set the address to 3 & that did not help so I set it to another # & that did not help. The regular light is on not the mars light.
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the old train man richhotrain,The top headlight is on,its set on #3,it hisses regardless of what # I program into it,it will not toot the horn or ring the bell,& I did reset the digitrax.
richhotrain,The top headlight is on,its set on #3,it hisses regardless of what # I program into it,it will not toot the horn or ring the bell,& I did reset the digitrax.
Let me try a different tact. What is the BLI # on the box that the loco was shipped in?
When all else fails - look in the DCS51 manual and do the OpSw 39 system reset. Especially if BLI is saying there was no problem found with the loco. This has fixed more than one person - if the DCC system itself gets slightly scrambled it can make wierd things happen. OpSw 39 completely resets it to factory default.
maxman The loco has been to BLI twice and they say it works, but then it doesn't perform on your railroad? Sounds to me like something else is going on. When BLI sent the loco back to you, did they happen to tell you what address they used for their tests? Maybe they left it at some other address than 3.
The loco has been to BLI twice and they say it works, but then it doesn't perform on your railroad? Sounds to me like something else is going on.
When BLI sent the loco back to you, did they happen to tell you what address they used for their tests? Maybe they left it at some other address than 3.
My other question relates to the initial peformance of the locomotive (1) when power is applied to the layout and (2) when power is applied to the decoder. When I access my BLI Paragon E7A by calling up its long address, I do hear some diesel start up sounds, probably what you refer to as hissing. The upper head light comes on. When I press the first speed step, the upper headlight starts rotating (beacon). I have to press the headlight button to turn on the lower head light. I can toot the horn without the loco moving. Does your E7 do this? All of this? None of this? Some of this? If only some of this, which does it do and which does it not do?
Since the locomotive hisses but doesn't move, what does it do? Observe and describe what happens with the upper headlight and the lower headlight.
When the locomotive is first accessed by its address number, does the upper headlight actually light? Is the lower headlight off when the loco is first accessed by its address number? Can you turn the lower headlight on at that point? Can you toot the horn without the locomotive moving?
Next, when the first speed step is applied to get the loco moving (or trying to get the loco to move), what happens to the upper headlight? Does it rotate? How about the lower headlight with the first speed step applied? Can you turn on the lower headlight? Can you toot the horn?
When you perform those tests, are you using the short address 03 or are you testing with a 4-digit long address such as 0234 or 1234?
Take your time and documenting how and what you are testing. It would be premature to set it on the shelf. Don't give up..........yet.