Model Railroading > Resetting a Decoder

Greetings,

I need to reset a locomotive to 3 so I can reprogram it, the cause of all this is someone "borrowed" it from a club I belonged to reset the address and my sprog is down for the moment and I can read the decoder. I am using a NCE Pro-cab and I tried on their web site to see if there was a way to read the decoder so I could reset it.

Andre

Do you know what decoder is in the loke?
Reset procedure depends on the decoder.

Not that it matters, but what the heck is a sprog?

Reset depends on the decoder. Hopefully you have the manual for the decoder that you or someone else installed for you. If the locomotive came with a factory installed decoder, there should be a booklet in the box with directions about programming or resetting the decoder. What is the manufacturer of the locomotive and who made the chip that's in it? If you know those two and can't find the manual or directions, perhaps someone on here will have a same or similar chip and be able to help from their directions. I had one that had Loksound and it was a different reset cv than a Digitrax. Also, I had never heard of sprog, but I think this is what it must be: http://www.sprog.us.com/. Good luck with reprogramming! ~Mary in Whitefish,MT~

A sprog is a young child.

VunderBob Wrote:
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> A sprog is a young child.

In what language?

If you are able to identify the manufacturer of your decoder, refer to the info at the link below. Shows the CV info for factory resetting essentially every major brand of DCC decoder on the market.

http://www.tonystrains.com/technews/dec_rescue.htm

* Unsure of the make for the decoder? Take a pic and post it here. Someone should be able to identify it quickly.

Mr. MRL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/14 05:55 by MrMRL.

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
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> VunderBob Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A sprog is a young child.
>
> In what language?

American English, Midwest slang edition.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/14 08:55 by VunderBob.

The majority of decoders reset with CV 8 to 8 on the program track. Unless you have a sound equipped locomotive this should work. If it is a sound equipped locomotive you would need a program track booster between your DCC system and the track in order for the reset to work. Note that the booster is only required for QSI or SoundTraxx Tsunami decoders. LokSound decoders do not require the program track booster.

Resetting the decoder is going to be the easiest way to get it to run again. It'll be address 3 and you'll be able to start over. Yes other settings will revert back to factory defaults as well but at least your locomotive will be operational.

Reading back the address on the program track uses the same rules as above for a decoder reset but is a bit tricky if you don't know the formula. CV 1 stores the short address (1-127). Usually this remains at 3 unless you use the short address. Most DCC operators use the cab number which is usually higher than 127. CV's 17 and 18 store the long (extended) address 1-9999 (9983 if Digitrax). You can read both of these CVs back but the values you get back will be foreign to you unless you know the formula. I can help you if you want to try that, just pass along the values you get. Also check CV 29. Usually 34 or 38 is set to enable the extended address but if other things like speed tables are used, this value will be higher.

Lee Ryan - Rio Grande Fan
Denver, CO

Along these same lines, is there anything that can be done with a decoder that won't respond on the programming track? I have a TCS AMD4 that JMRI says 308 "No acknowledge from locomotive". Can it be reset or other fix?

Ryan Wilkerson
Fair Oaks, CA

Thanks for the reply's,

I should have told you that it is in a Bachmann 4-4-0 spectrum and is a Tsunami decoder. A Sprog is a device that connects between your computer and a programing track using JMRI's Decoder Pro, usually you can set the locomotive on the programing track and ask it to read the decoder and it will tell you the address, and everything else that particular decoder has been set to. It uses on of your USB ports to communicate to the programing track. One of the advantages to the Sprog is that it can program the sound decoders where some of the DCC systems can't because of the current draw.

Andre

See here :


http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM_pages/bachmann/ho4-4-0.pdf

RyanWilkerson Wrote:
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> Along these same lines, is there anything that can
> be done with a decoder that won't respond on the
> programming track? I have a TCS AMD4 that JMRI
> says 308 "No acknowledge from locomotive". Can it
> be reset or other fix?

That depends on a lot of factors. What brand of decoder and what DCC system? Some combinations cannot read CVs. Next, what is wrong? Many cases of the dreaded 308 are due to a bad connection, either in the programming track wiring, or inside the locomotive. There is also the possibility that the decoder is bad. That's the one thing you can't fix, but all the others you can work around or repair.

Barry Draper

Andre Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Greetings,
>
> I need to reset a locomotive to 3 so I can
> reprogram it, the cause of all this is someone
> "borrowed" it from a club I belonged to reset the
> address and my sprog is down for the moment and I
> can read the decoder. I am using a NCE Pro-cab and
> I tried on their web site to see if there was a
> way to read the decoder so I could reset it.
>
> Andre
Most decoders can be read with the NCE Pro-cab on the programming track. The known exceptions are Tsunami and QSI decoders, and locos with a Keep-Alive installed. In the case of a Tsunami or QSI you should be able to "blind program" the address on the programming track with the Pro-cab by just waiting for the read to fail and then continuing with the process each time. When you are done the decoder should respond to the address you programmed on the main track, and you can then make any other changes ther.

Barry Draper