Honvik Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Hi all Ive got a loco that isn't reading all of the cvs or saving a new dcc no - I have just reprogrammed a different engine and it worked fine so I know its not the prog track - when it confirms the saved dcc no it looks like it has done it but when you read the cv again sometimes it flashes up 130 and sometimes 000 ................... Its a new loco so shouldn't be any issues what else should I check />/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Sounds like you don't have a good connection to the decoder. You could try swapping the decoder into the loco that works and see what you get. If it works in the other loco, it's definitely a connection problem so check for clean wheels and good pickup adjustment to the wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 @Honvik The title to your thread is a very good question. I am guessing that a lot of us have a decoder that appears to have stopped working but I am interested in how we can check them before we make the inevitable decision to throw it away. I am of course familiar with the options of trying it in another loco but then we are always thinking is that loco alright, is the programming track or the controller OK etc. etc. I would like to be able to check the decoder away from the loco, away from the programming track, just on its own. Is it possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Swap the decoders between two locos. If the fault moves to the other loco it's the decoder, if the fault stays the same in the faulty loco it's the loco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 @walkingthedog Yes, I realise that and it is not too bad if the decoder is a plug in type. What I am looking for is a (simple?) piece of Test Equipment, that does not involve a loco etc. I think I will see what I can come up with. I have in mind, a motor, a few LED's and a terminal block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deltic_Malc Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 There is a certain German manufacturer that makes exactly what you are looking for. I bought one and find it invaluable for testing, setting up etc. it is called a Decoder Tester. Do a quick search on the web and it will come up. Its a shame Hornby don't make one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 RDS said: @walkingthedog Yes, I realise that and it is not too bad if the decoder is a plug in type. What I am looking for is a (simple?) piece of Test Equipment, that does not involve a loco etc. I think I will see what I can come up with. I have in mind, a motor, a few LED's and a terminal block. I wasn't telling you RDS I was telling Honvik. It's surprising how many people don't realise that a fault can be traced this way. Even had to suggest it to one of our 'engineers' at work once when a printer stopped working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 @Deltic_Malc Thank you for your reply. I can't believe I had not seen them before but the one you describe looks very good and just what I had in mind, well more really because it does sound as well. When does Santa Claus come again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 @walkingthedog Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 RDS said: @walkingthedog Yes, I realise that and it is not too bad if the decoder is a plug in type. What I am looking for is a (simple?) piece of Test Equipment, that does not involve a loco etc. I think I will see what I can come up with. I have in mind, a motor, a few LED's and a terminal block. I have one of those electronic breadboards from maplin which makes it a diddle to set up a test scenario. I even used one of their 8 way sockets to plug in the decoder. A spare motor and a few LEDs powered from the elite complete the setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Don't be sorry RDS. I've no doubt you know how do do such things. I couldn't believe the engineer at work. He faffed about for ages trying to see why the printer wouldn't work. I said why don't you swap the line in lead with the other printer. He did and the other printer stopped. It was a line fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Edit ...and all powered from the track terminals of the elite... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Yes, it would be just a bit tiresome and time-consuming taking locos apart to swap chips, which, of course, you couldn't easily do with factory fitted ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Surely factory fitted aren't soldered in but plugged, making it easy to swap once you get the body off. Soldering decoders in would be a mistake in my view, both for fault finding and for replacing as per above if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I always assumed they were just wired in but perhaps I'd better have a peek inside one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 My only factory fitted experience is the mixed freight set. They are plugged. Also, as all they have to do is run the loco, no lights and no other functions, they are a 4 pin special, can't remember the part number off hand. But I suspect these may also be what Hornby fits to a range of factory fitted, particularly steam without lights. I could of course be wrong and this decoder is limited to the cheaper DCC sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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