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Post by charlie on Jun 28, 2018 14:49:58 GMT -5
Hi there, I was wondering if someone have already installed a Digitrax decoder in the GP7 1st generation (decoder DX126T). I installed 2 of them in my AZL mikados, and they work perfectly. However, the one in the AZL GP7 (1st generation) isn't working. I use a Digitrax Zephyr power supply and the 6V reducer from the same brand. I have no problem with my other DCC locos. I can read and modify the CV's on the programming track, change the address, and everything works fine here. The loco reacts (light & engine) as all other locos when modifying CV parameters), but nothing happens when it is on the layout...the light blinks once and the engine doesn't work, no response. The engine is insulated from the body (I wired the power from the lighting board directly to the engin to avoid short cuts, power pick up works, (I followed the same steps as shown on TCS website for the Z2 decoder, it didn't work with the original motor tabs, that's why I wired as said before) . See pictures in attachment Any idea? thanks! Charlie Attachments:
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Post by Smolderz on Jun 30, 2018 1:49:26 GMT -5
Hi Charlie,
You can read/write the decoder, that's good! Try to run it directly after programming, on the programming track. Put the lights on and see if you get it to move.
You say the light blinks once. Does this happen when you set the engine to step 1 on the main?
I don't see any faults in your wiring or insulation, these are all good. If you haven't seen your motor turning since the decoder installation I would remove the wires from the decoder and try to run it off an analog controller or a battery. Make sure there's nothing wrong with the motor. If you have a multimeter you could measure the decoder tabs to see if there's any voltage coming out of it when you put it to step 1.
I killed a motor before when soldering wires to it. I thought I did it quickly enough but I seemed to have damaged parts on the inside. It's tricky! I hope this is not the case.
Greetings,
Rob
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Post by tjdreams on Jun 30, 2018 11:07:12 GMT -5
How are you insulating those solder points (wires from the board to the motor) from the chassis? from the looks of it your solder points on the board are probably making contact with the chassis and shorting it out
David
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Post by charlie on Jul 1, 2018 14:56:27 GMT -5
Hi, thanks for your remarks. The engine is fine. I tried again wiring it straight to DC after disconnecting it from the board. On DCC track, it doesn't, there is a quick flash from the light and nothing more.. Otherwise, for the second remark, the wire from the engine to the board is "insulating" the board from the body. The soldering points are really away from the body (you can see on the 1st picture the black wire in between), no way for short here, but good remark, I checked again. I'm thinking of a problem either on the board itself, or in the decoder. But how to know more! Charlie  |
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Post by markm on Jul 1, 2018 15:51:50 GMT -5
I'm by no means an authority on DCC, but one thing I've noticed in the forums is that many of the weird problems go away with a factory reset (CV08 set to 8). You might want to try that if you haven't already.
Mark
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Post by BAZman on Jul 1, 2018 22:02:48 GMT -5
a 6 Volt reducer is a potential issue. Assuming the Zephyr is 15 volts (HO), that would be reduced to 7 volts. For N scale, it would be 12 Volts - 6 volts = 6 volts. Especially older decoders with Silicon diodes and 5 volt processors. The NMRA minimum voltage 7.5 volt and we have seen many decoders have issues with this 7.5 volts. We've run dozens of locomotives with various Digitrax models and some NCE (N scale) and some TCS decoders at 10 volts for years but still found a few weird things solved by 12 Volts. You will NOT burn up your motor at these higher voltages but they will run correspondingly faster You can change CV 5 to ~30-50% lower number (e.g. 150 or 128) to reducer the top speed (it does *NOT* change the absolute voltage to the motor, only the duty cycle). Set CV 6 to roughly half of CV 5 for the Mid level. |
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Post by charlie on Jul 4, 2018 6:34:55 GMT -5
Hi, finally it's working!! Thank you so much guys, You all have been of great help I have to say Mark, you were right! By reseting the CV 08 to 8, It worked with the default loco adress 03, then I changed it to the one I wanted (122) and it keeps working! Maybe a small bug or so... anyway, good to no about CV8 I also tried reducing voltage by 4 instead of 6V, no big change, but indeed if I want to modify other CV (voltage, acceleration etc) it might be an issue. Happy Charlie |
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Post by markm on Jul 4, 2018 9:23:50 GMT -5
Charlie,
Glad it worked. I seems that the newer decoders can arrive with the flash memory (CVs) a bit scrambled. I've made it SOP to do a factory reset once they respond after installation.
Mark
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Post by markm on Jul 5, 2018 22:45:43 GMT -5
In the interests of completeness, I should mention if you were using a TCS decoder (Z2,MZA4,AZL4) the factory reset is CV8 set to 2.
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Post by charlie on Jul 6, 2018 4:41:47 GMT -5
Good to know! thanks
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