RailMaster not recognising/reading Bachmann decoder

[Chrissaf]

I have two Bachmann 36-556RA right angle decoders for a couple of my n gauge locos, but when trying to program they are not being recognised by Railmaster. Railmaster says "Error unable to read".

Anyone on here using Railmaster been able to read/write the 36-556RA decoder successfully? 

[Chrissaf]

"Error unable to read"

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Just usually means that RailMaster just cannot electrically see the decoder.

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Will this loco actually respond to DCC commands on the track? If you can't actually control the loco, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the decoder or its installation.

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If you can control the loco (if it is brand new it should still function on the factory default 003 address). Then double check and thoroughly clean all the connections between the eLink PROG A&B terminals and the 'programming track' piece'. I take it, you are actually using a dedicated 'programming track' to configure your locos.

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Crucially, can you read the CVs of other locos OK to prove RailMaster and eLink are working?

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Again, if you can read CVs of other locos, then the inference of that is that the issue is with the decoder.

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TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

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[96RAF]

Does it show in the drop down list at CV7. If somit should read OK.

There was an issue reading some 36-5xx decoders using Elite but the firmware was updated to fix this. The details are in my files on the other PC, which I can look up later.

[96RAF]

Just bumping this post with a suggestion.

 

When setting up the readback operation in RM try adjusting the time between reads to a larger value. It may be RM isn’t allowing enough time for the read process to complete.

 

This suggestion may work when trying to read Hornby decoders from an alien controller. If the read time can be slowed down it may help by trying to read in another programming mode such as Reg or even Paged Modes.