As much as I liked some of the lower priced DCC stuff like MRC Prodigy what I really wanted was a wireless throttle so I could walk around my layout without haveing to unplug the throttle then plug in again and be limited by the length of the cable. I had too much of that with my controlmaster 20 so I splurged and got the Digitrax Empire Builder with an upgrade to the DT400 throttle and an infrared receiver. This is wirless for normal operation but to change locos it still has to be plugged in. What I do like though is the throttle can handle two locos. So far one infrared receiver is working OK but will need another for complete control. I plan to get another throttle then two people can control four trains. That will be enough activity for my layout. To start, I got an Atlas GP38 BNSF loco with decoder installed. Great results. with the 128 step throttle set at 1, the loco moves about as fast as the minute hand on a clock. Great scale speed at about 36. Now to attempt installing decoders in my other locos. Fun eh!
Congradulations Robin. Here it is, March, and I haven't even started my new layout yet. Probably another couple of months at least. I sure miss my old one even if the trains did keep derailing all the time.
I have just installed the Digitrax Chief II (radio) on my N-scale layout. I have connected enough of the feeder wires to get the signal to all of the track that has been laid so far. I had some analog engines running around the layout, so I decided to try a decoder equiped loco. It moved a few inches and then stopped cold...never to start again. Blown decoder?? I'm hesitant to try another one. This could be a VERY expensive hobby at this rate.
Put your locomotive back on the programming track and check out the CVs. Your Chief supports CV readback so make sure everything is as it should be. If you still can't get it to run, open up the loco an make sure all your connections are good. If that doesn't work then take the decoder out and use the decoder tester that came with your Chief to make sure that the decoder is still good. That would be how I would start.
I don't know what I did originally, but I got the engine to work the next week without any problem. I found that it responded to the factory setting (03). How it got back to that I don't know, but everything seems to be working now. DCC is fun again!
Wow Robin! You really burst into DCC in a big way! I think you really made a great choice with the DT400... they had not been released when I bought my DT300 wireless throttles and Chief II system. I hope you enjoy it... you should Harold
I had some problems with some SD80MAC's ... they would stop unexpectantly,,,, once I opened them up, I found that the decoder modules had moved sufficiently under use to cause shorts. Harold
Robin I am thinking of adding the IR receiver to our cheif set up. How have you found it? Apparently there can be a slight delay before the engine takes the command (also true in Radio controlled throttles). Can you point your throttle just about anywhere in the room and the IR receiver act on your command? I am pretty certain this is how I would like to go (save $ for other things).
Rick, so far I only have one IR receiver and it works well considering that line of sight is not possible from all areas of my layout. I mounted it high near the ceiling and so far have control from around 12 feet away. I do plan to get 1 or 2 more IR receivers to do the job right. The IR signal does bounce around off of backboards and such. When I start up the system ,the throttle must be plugged in. It recgonizes that there is IR in operation, then I can unplug. The first control takes about a couple of seconds to see a response by the loco. From that point on the control is immediate. Its sure great to be able to walk around following the train without worrying about cable. I love it and once I install one more IR receivers it should work like a charm.
