Rick, This was posted by LEXON here on Trainboard on 1/7/10: Could be helpful. This is the Model RR Hobbyist (the Joe Fugate e-zine) "DCC Shortcuts Card" http://00200530.pdl.pscdn.net/002/00530/MRH04/DCC%20Shortcuts%20Card.pdf Here is where the link came from: Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine | Free model railroading magazine for every model railroader, model trains buff and lover of model railways Hope this helps.
Rick, I would have to respectfully disagree with this. I have many different locomotives with decoders that have the same CV programming and work fine together. Some of them even have different decoder manufacturers, but with the same speed table settings and momentum settings, they still run fine together. Case in point - I have 12 Kato SD90MAC's with Digitrax DN163K2 decoders in them. The all have exatly the same CV configurations except the addresses are matched to the road numbers. The all take off and slow down together and run at speed together. I can also say with a minimal adjustment, I can match almost any other locomotive in my fleet to the SD90's and vica versa. A different case in point. I have too many Kato and IM F units to mention, but they all have the same settings for the momentum and speed tables and run just fine together when I do a simple Forward (CV66) or Reverse (95) Trim adjustment. This is not difficult to do, it all lies in the quality of the decoder. I did a pretty good write up on this here in the DCC forum a few months back. I think that maybe the DCC unit you have, isn't a good match for you and it is not allowing you the ease of programming and operation that other systems do. I have the Digitrax Super Chief and along with a RR-Circuits LocoBuffer, can easily load the same CV settings form one locmotive to another using JMRI's DecoderPro. The key to good DCC is the same as for anything else. Get the right tools for the job and things go a lot better. DecoderPro is one of those indespensible tools. It is not magic or even over the edge geeky science. DCC's shortcomming was the lack of command station standards in the begining that would have made things less troublesome. This allowed systems that managed to pass the requirements that had no user interface specifications and some companies took shortcuts here. I am afraid your system came from one of those companies. You have an open invitation to bring any and all N scale locmotives to my house and I will show you how to dial in locomotives in less time than it takes to install most decoders.
Rick, If I was smart I would have invested my time in creating you a flowchart then selling trucks. Inobu
John, I think you are on to something here. I will give this a read and get back. Ahh, John, I'm back. It was a very short read...it came up blank. Inobu, In all due respect a flow chart should be worth the cost of putting it together. I was hoping the big wigs, manufacturers would hear the distress call and come to the rescue. So far nothing. Exception, the computer soft ware...of course. David, You had to wait until now to tell me? Grin! Well, you might have already shared this thought and I missed it, if so my apologies. There are times, here on TB.., I get the feeling it is the blind leading the blind. Upside is, those who are blind usually have acquired listening skills that allow them better awareness of their surroundings then most of us have. It's ok, I only get paid for the time I put in here. Let's see nothing, times nothing, is still nothing. Is that right? Heck, I'm not getting paid at all. I wondered what was up? Can I talk you into sharing the values you use for the various CV's. And, if you do... it is with the understanding that before anyone flames you for it, they at least try it. Thanks in advance. Mark, Was that easier to follow?biggrin: heeheehee
Rick, The mentality is unbelievable. You are wanting info and people are saying NO NO ! I cant believe it. Look at this. Intelligent customers drives technology and innovation. This what Germany is doing. http://www.youtube.com/v/E011TNviyaQ&hl=en_US&fs=1& Inobu
Did you see where the guy used the pen to draw his speed table in? LOL Innovation. They are over there drawing their speed tables and we are over here begging for info to type it in. LOL Inobu
Back to the mother land to learn the language. Is there a English version? Sounded like Greek to me...ahhh....German, maybe? You are so right about the No, No, No. There are those here who want to share but don't know how. Or are afraid to put it out here. A fear of flame wars...perhaps. Sorry, but it frustrates the poogiebie's out of me when information is either shared in a lingo that is over my head (electronic's dergarbage) but that's a different thread. OR they with hold the very information many of us need and say do your own research. WELL, I'm doing my own research and as soon as I'm able I will be back with something, I hope, helps move the learning curve along....much faster. Simple, is the key word here and you've already been slowed down in another posting. Grrrrrrrr! Thanks for the come back.
Rick, some of it is trial and error, too. There are differences between locos and decoders, so a lot of those CVs having to do with running characteristics are adjusted "to taste" as they often write in recipes.
Hmm, Rick, don't know why it didn't work for you, just tried it again, works for me. Could be a browser or patch level problem. Here's URL to the same card, on the New Mexico Railrunners NTrak club web site, found it via Google: http://www.nmrailrunners.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/dccshortcutscard.pdf Hope that works for you.
Funny. If I click the link in the post above, I get a network error. If I go to the NM Railrunners main page and navigate to the shortcuts file (click "DCC" in the left side bar and it's at the top of the links list on that page), I have no problem accessing the file. That looks like a very useful tool. Being a shortcut card, it is of course VERY BUSY. But it does look quite concise and has helpful information. I'm not sure what's on the other links in that page, but it looks like if someone could expand that shortcuts card into a human-readable book with some descriptive explanations, that would be ideal as an educational reference. We need to get right down to the nuts and bolts, but at a very practical level. Wanna speed match your loco? Follow these six steps on these three CVs. In plain English. It will also help to have high level descriptions of what the heck it means to speed match a loco to give people a frame of reference for the checklist.
Rick, Before I can deliver the CV settings, I need to know what decoder you are using. Then tell me what locomotive it is going in and I will map out the decoder settings for a good running locomotive. Also, you were told almost a year ago to contact me about anything DCC ............
A dumb donkey's quest! Dave, Spank my hand. You are so right. Please PM me your home phone or private e-mail. To all others and in case we missed it the first time around. Repeating myself: I only have one locomotive, I bought it used, I have no idea what decoder is in it. I understand from the OO, (original owner) it is locked up. He indicated, I will need to read it before I can unlock it. Appealing: For the umpteenth time I want examples. It doesn't have to be particulars... as to how to set up the CV's for a specific decoder. Just a starting point or a jumping off place. IE.,, Starting with: CV 20, Momentum, has a range of 20-120, use the value of 10 to start out with and go higher if you need for the locomotive to take longer to get underway or go lower if you want it to start sooner and use the value of 0 if you want momentum shut off. Disclaimer, this is not an actual representation of a CV. Just a hypothetical. What is so difficult about this? You don't need to know what locomotive or decoder I own. Just give me examples of how you set up your CV's. I will put it into a flow chart. What I keep hearing is this can't be done. If that's true then let it die right here. I don't believe it's so... and yes I'm still beating this drum...among others. Personally, I did take the advice of a good friend and am doing my own research. I've read various Tips, Notations, Exceptions and those websites shared here. Still no flow chart. At least none I understand. As a review of the OP's intentions: Objections - Complexity of DCC - TrainBoard.com So the quest continues.baffled:
You know sometimes the most obveous is the problem. I wonder if the light board in the unit is actually just that a light board rather than a decoder. Can you take a picture of it and post it Rick. Forgive me if you already did and I missed it.
Repetitious It's without a doubt a decoder and not a light bar. You aren't the first to ask about this little VO1000, Atlas, Decoder Equipped locomotive. I've been reluctant to take it apart. Kind of hate to break something that isn't broke. I've been known to do that. The switcher can be controlled by my MRC Prodigy system. It works well and allows me hours of fun. It is locked down and until I can get a program that reads the decoder...and we are close....I'm out of luck for now. I'd just as soon leave it alone as it runs sweet. Hopefully, next month I can order in some decoders for my SD24's and then the experimentation can begin. I've already smoked one decoder in a SD24. I though for a second or two... dozen that the unit came with a smoke generator. Grin! I'll get back to you. Tired!
Closing Remarks I don't think anyone get's it. That may not be a fair statement. What I should be saying is: No one has responded to sending me information on what values they use to set up their CV's. You can still do that. E-mail to: hpwrick@yahoo.com. I was going to say call me. If you e-mail me or PM me I will gladly share my phone number. Just reluctant to put it out here. Perhaps I didn't make my self clear in the first place. The whole point to this discussion: How do you set up your CV's? Do you have your own flow chart? If so would you be willing to share it? And ultimately what values do you use? Allow me to be very blunt here. This is not about the locomotive I have on hand. The VO1000 and the decoder in it. It is not about this locomotive. Has nothing to do with it. Are we clear on that? It's not about my wanting to order decoders that you have pre-set so I don't have to. Thanks for the offer. It is about: Three of us on this hill with multiple locomotives and the need to know what "Values" to start with when setting up our CV's. What I already know and have heard most often, "No two decoders are alike and no two locomotives run at the same settings." Please tell me something I don't already know. I was hoping you could help me out with the "VALUES". If that's not possible...hey...that's ok. The sad thing here is I do know, there are those who have this knowledge and aren't sharing it. What? Some sort of badge of honor that places them above the rest of us...perhaps? Observations looking back on this discussion. I couldn't help but notice that in the first responses to my original posts many of you were asking....what math? Apparently unaware that there is several formula's out there that you can use to set-up the values for your CV's. There is and I'm capable of using them. I'm looking for a way and means that is simpler. Not just for me but the newbies. If you get my drift. Maybe we just don't know, what a flow chart is? Do you think? If we did someone would have posted an address to a website that had one or provided one. Worse yet, maybe the reason we keep dancing around this is because, none of us knows how to set-up the values. In that case you just proved my original point. See original first post here on this thread: Objections - Complexity of DCC - TrainBoard.com. In that case I have work to do but I could use your help. Inobu, early on submitted a copy of a page from a specific computer soft ware program, the same one under discussion at the time. Down on the left hand side is where you can put in various values to set your CV's. Get this! You need to know the values to drop in. The program soft ware will not provide that for you. Are you seeing it yet? The need to know what values to start with. I don't mean to be talking down to you. If that's how you are perceiving this then my humblest apologies...you don't deserve that. I will be working on a flow chart and get back to you ASAIC (as soon as I can) not ASAP that would be to soon. Ok, you get one grin on that one. You all have fun figuring out the values for your CV's. In the meantime I would recommend you use computer soft ware to set-up those dag-nab-it (you guessed it) CV's. That is if you know the values to install...in the first place. Thanks for the offers of help, your participation and thoughts shared. To this date it still appears to be complex, confusing and down right frustrating. I will continue my own research. Thanks again to all!
Rick, if your VO1000 has the factory installed decoder here is a link to the instructions: http://www.atlasrr.com/pdf/N_VO1000Manual_Atlas.pdf . As far as the flow chart your asking for do you mean something like: 1)Decide if you're using short or long addressing and what address to use. Addrress programming needs to be done on the programming track. 1A)short address - set address in CV1 and make sure CV 29 bit 5 is 0 1B)long address - set address in CV17&18 and make sure CV29 bit 5 is 1 2)Set Vstart - with loco on main track use throttle to set speed to step 1. If locomotive doesn't move increase value in CV2. If locomotive moves to fast at speed step 1 lower value in CV2. 3)Acceleration - with loco on main track and stopped set speed step to maximum and observe acceleration. If loco accelerates to fast for your taste increase value in CV3. If acceleration is to slow, decrease value in CV3 and so on... I realize this isn't in a proper flow chart format and it's no where near complete, just a few CV's I remember off the top of my head. I'm just trying to determine if this is what you're looking for.
MarkWR, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes. To the examples you provided not the Atlas example. Here is an example I used earlier: IE.,, Starting with: CV 20, Momentum, has a range of 20-120, use the value of 10 to start out with and go higher if you need for the locomotive to take longer to get underway or go lower if you want it to start sooner and use the value of 0 if you want momentum shut off. Disclaimer, this is not an actual representation of a CV. Just a hypothetical. I also bookmarked the Atlas website and will give it a read later this evening. I and others will need to check out the definitions...edumacating ourselves. No problem there. Allow me to be very blunt here. This is not about the locomotive I have on hand. The VO1000 and the decoder in it. It is not about this locomotive. Has nothing to do with it. Are we clear on that? As to the flow chart, CV's and the Values: Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes! Now we are on track. As per my closing remarks posted above: I just finished editing my closing remarks for this thread. Please feel free to go back and give it a read. See above. I have work to do, good weather and my layout as well as house is calling for a spring cleaning. If you can add to this thread with the information requested then please feel free to add on, e-mail or PM me. Thanks again to all who participated, shared your thoughts and gave this a read. Edited add on: After Mark's posting here we may need to continue this so feel free to do so. Mark, I will get back to this later this evening.
