Can’t access loco on DCC

[BritInVanCA]

Strange problem. I set up my A4 Falcon with the HM7000 Bluetooth chip and it works well on Bluetooth. However my Select DCC controller can’t seem to recognize it. I think it worked on the default 03 address but I changed it to 20 to get it out of the range of my other locos and now it doesn’t work on DCC. I even changed the address back to 03. No luck. I’ve power cycled the loco just in case. Still nothing

Some of the more obvious answers just to cut down the traffic

• Yes I changed the decoder to DCC operation on the app. I can tell its switched because the sound turns off
• My Select is running the firmware 1.6
• CV1 is set to 3 but that address has no response on my Select (sound or motion)
• Someone suggested setting cv8 to 8. It's set to 48 and I can't seem to change that
• I tried removing and adding the HM7000 from the HM:DCC app with no effect. Not that I was expecting any

[meatloaf]

Did you chabge the decoder mode to DCC?

[BritInVanCA]

Some of the more obvious answers just to cut down the traffic

• Yes I changed the decoder to DCC operation on the app. I can tell its switched because the sound turns off
• My Select is running the firmware 1.6

[Rog RJ]

When you write 8 to CV8 it resets the decoder to default values but does not alter the value stored in CV8. The number stored in CV8 is the NMRA code for Hornby and it does not change

CV7 is similar, it contains the manufacturers decoder version number

PS. Not all decoders use CV8 = 8 to reset them.

[96RAF]

The decoder manual states that CV7 the decoder version is set to 254 as the actual decoder and its Firmware and Sound Files where applicable are stored in other CVs.

As Rog says CV8 is read only but as explained by NMRA it can have a special case that resets the decoder.

The lack of response on DCC problem has been seen by the extended test team and is under investigation with respect to why this sometimes happens. If required to be fixed then a decoder update will flag up in the app.

[BritInVanCA]

I don't know why quoted reply doesn't work for me sometimes but this is a reply to 96RAF (our resident expert! Thanks).

I understand CV8 now. Thanks. Are you saying I should do anything or just hang tight for a fix from the extended test team maybe through a firmware update?

[dBerriff]

I have one of the original Selects but with updated firmware as above. I have set my 8TXS decoder to address 7. Switch to DCC in the app and the Select picks up full control, including the Functions to control sound.

It took me 3 profile installs to get the loco moving, including a complete reset. At one point I was ready to send the decoder back as faulty. The complete reset (I switched iPads) seemed to unlock things. I don’t know if this is just a coincidence but now everything has stayed functional through today, including when I reconnected back to the original iPad.

I have not directly edited any of the CV values.

I realise this is of no direct help but I am just trying to be supportive.

[96RAF]

There are others from the test team on here as well qualified to comment as I can.

Having written value 8 to CV 8 to reset the decoder, give it another go as a reset should put it back to address 3 and in DCC mode. If it works then try going back to the App and checking it is linked as resetting the decoder has likely dumped it from the app. If so go through the setup procedure again. Once working in the App try switching to DCC again and report back.

If all else fails try importing a different sound profile from the App importing the function list and running CVs as well. Some folk have found if the sound load fails that loading the function list, etc first fettles that.

[dBerriff]

As 96RAF says, that is one of the things I tried. I loaded the Black 5 profile with function list and CVs, then re-loaded the OO steam default along with function list and CVs as recommended.

[BritInVanCA]

There are others from the test team on here as well qualified to comment as I can.

Having written value 8 to CV 8 to reset the decoder, give it another go as a reset should put it back to address 3 and in DCC mode. If it works then try going back to the App and checking it is linked as resetting the decoder has likely dumped it from the app. If so go through the setup procedure again. Once working in the App try switching to DCC again and report back.

If all else fails try importing a different sound profile from the App importing the function list and running CVs as well. Some folk have found if the sound load fails that loading the function list, etc first fettles that.

 

 

Sorry. Didn't mean to malign others just show my appreciation for your support.

 

 

Using the "reset all CVs" option in the app for CV8 seems to have worked and I didn't loose my Bluetooth A4 profile either. Thanks once again.

 

 

Having spent 35 years in IT development and project management I appreciate how difficult it is to get hardware, peripherals and software all working seamlessly together. That doesn't account for all the million permutations of user scenarios that all these moving parts create. I feel we are a bit of a beta test team at the moment which is fine with me but I can see the backlash coming.

[dBerriff]

I’m fine with it all too and accept that the only way to really shake down the system is to get it into use, accepting that the test team has done a great job.

One observation: running through the Select so there is 15V on the track, the average default volume level is too high and pushes the supplied speaker into distortion. Turn down to around 5 to 10% of the full range and the effects sound a lot better. Better too much output that you can turn down of course, so perhaps is all that is needed for the initial setting default to be toned down a bit.

[96RAF]

Page 67 in the decoder manuals talks to global volume and the reason for the default setting which is set at less than 50% volume. Nothing to stop you turning it down even further and saving that profile to call up for other locos of the type.

[dBerriff]

Yes, I have done that. My point was that the default CV setting could be even lower than 50 (absolute value).

It is great that it is so easy to configure the CVs over Bluetooth, or to simply drag down the volume slider.

[dBerriff]

Tip for users new to the iPad: open the HM7000 manual in Safari (link at the top of this forum), click the Share icon (box with up-arrow, top-right) and load it into Books (you will see AirDrop, Messages, … : drag this ribbon to the left until you see Books). I find this makes it a bit easier to read and search the manual, plus you can add Bookmarks for key pages.