HooliganHedgehog Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 I have an EMU which keeps forgetting it's address. Working fine one minute, then fails to respond. Put it on the programming track and remind it what address it should respond to and it is fine again .... until the next time. Anyone else experienced this or know what might cause it please? I do not get this problem with any other loco. I am using an Elite Controller with a Select walkabout. It is an EMU with two decoders, (one for the lights). It has happened to both decoders, but not both at the same time. It is not a Hornby model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Given it happens to both decoders, it is unlikely to be a decoder fault. Decoders are known to lose address on occasion, but usually only under DCC fault conditions. Is there any chance you are getting momentary shorts on your layout? Maybe with an older loco going over points, or a loco with its wheel back-to-backs set incorrectly? Try to check if it happens when something in particular happens with some other loco on the layout. If my suggestion above is a possibility, and you are running a DCC bus, do you have bus terminators installed? These suppress spikes that can result from fault conditions. The only other possibility I can think of is that it has something to do with the different brand of decoder in it, possibly when used in conjunction with the Select walkabout rather then the Elite. Is that a possibility? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HooliganHedgehog Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Thanks Fishy. The momentary shorts are possible I guess, but to my recollection it has only happened when it is the sole loco being operated. (Others on the track but not moving). To be honest I am ignorant when it comes to buses. My layout has two power tracks each connected directly back to the Elite, so I don't have what I understand to be a Bus ( a power feed with multiple connections to the track at frequent intervals ? ). It is possible that it is something to do with switching control from Elite to the Select. Thanks for that, I have something to investigate now. ... Or could it be a lack of a bus and surges being encountered at a point or several points along the track? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 What constitutes a bus is somewhat academic. Is one of you power tracks are relatively long run from the controller, a few metres? If so, you could put a terminator on it. Take a look at Brian Lambert for details. But let's concentrate on the EMU. Have you checked its back-to-backs? Does it have problems over points with momentary stopping. And I would also experiment with Elite only. select isn't NMRA compliant and is recommended for working only with Hornby decoders. So see if the problem occurs on Elite too. I wouldn't think the changeover from one to the other would be a problem as that doesn't change the DCC supply which comes only from the Elite. You are only talking addressing it via Select. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Not much use to you, but I keep forgetting my address. The times someone has had to bring me home! Hope you get it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 @HooliganHedgehog Are the wheels on your loco clean, because a poor transfer of the power from the track can give all sorts of problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HooliganHedgehog Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Thanks guys, a few things there for me to look at. It has on occasion faltered on points but I have no idea what you mean by back-to-backs Fishy. Graskie you need a T Shirt like one of mine which says "If found please return to the bar". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HooliganHedgehog Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Just looked at the Brian Lambert site. Full of very useful information highlighting just how many mistakes I have made setting up my layout. If I had read that site first I probably would have given railway modelling a wide berth ! Too late now, I'm hooked ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Back-to-back is the correct distance between the wheels of 14.2mm. If wrong, you can get derailing and shorts on points. Sorry, thought you'd know about the Brian Lambert site which is referenced here often. Lots of great info, in the DCC section and elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 And Graskie, we know you don't need a T-shirt to tell everyone that, they already know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HooliganHedgehog Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Thanks again Fishy. No, I'd not heard of Brian Lambert. I selfishly only visit the forum when I need an answer to something specific and seem to have avoided seeing mention of him before. Saved in Favourites now though ! I'd not heard the term Back to Back in this context before, so thanks for explaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 HooliganHedgehog said: Thanks again Fishy. No, I'd not heard of Brian Lambert. I selfishly only visit the forum when I need an answer to something specific and seem to have avoided seeing mention of him before. Saved in Favourites now though ! I'd not heard the term Back to Back in this context before, so thanks for explaining. It's worth buying a hard copy - add it to your list for Father Christmas (via Amazon). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashbang Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Hi Just to make sure all readers are aware, the UK "OO" Back to Back (B2B)measurement taken across the insides of the wheels on one axle, is 14.4mm +/- 0.05mm This is defined in The Double O Gauge Associations Standards for Intermediate rail and wheel measurements (Not Finescale) which is linked to here... http://www.doubleogauge.com/standards/commercialwheels.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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