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R8249 Decoders and R2955 Virgin Charter Relief


IanP

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Hi

 

After successfully adding a R8249 decoder to the Eurostar, I'm trying to achieve the same with the R2955 Virgin Charter Relief to no avail.

 

The Eurostar has been reprogrammed to ID 012 and then removed from the track. However neither the

 

EWS Class 90 or the Mk3 DVT are allowing the RailMaster software to read their CVs. Given that this train pack requires 2 decoders, do I need to do anything special, or should I be looking to swap the decoder with the Eurostar to eliminate a chip/loco problem?

 

Thanks

 

for your advise

 

Ian

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Quick update. I've tried the decoder in the Eurostar and it works, so we're not looking at a faulty chip.

 

I've also tried switching the chip round in the socket in case I wasn't lining up the orange wire in pin 1 with the right socket. Still no

 

joy.

 

I'm sure I'm making an obvious mistake but can't see it.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks again

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58001 said:

Perhaps a silly question, but you are using the programming output of your eLink to read and wright to you DCC decoder?


Nothing is silly at this point. But I can tick that one off as done.

Thanks for the

suggestion and support!
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Ian, can you clarify as to which locos you can't read CVs on the programming track, and which locos you can please?

 

Also, the decoder will allow the the loco to run with the chip reversed or in correctly. The lights won't work back to front though.

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If you scroll down http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.html#Basic until you get to the 8-pin connector, you can see that putting it in the wrong way just swaps red and black, and orange and grey, so it still works. But the blue common positive for the functions

 

ends up in the wrong spot, disabling all but one of the functions, and that one, green, has its polarity reversed from what you are expecting. You should still be able to read and write its CVs too.

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Fishmanoz said:

Ian, can you clarify as to which locos you can't read CVs on the programming track, and which locos you can please?

Also, the decoder will allow the the loco to run with the chip reversed or in correctly. The lights

won't work back to front though.


I'll do my best - here goes:

I have 3 decoders, all can be read on the programming track and be used to drive the train via RailMaster when in the Eurostar. One has been reprogrammed to ID 12 ready for

use in the Eurostar. The other two have not been changed yet so remain at the default ID 3.

When any of them are installed in the Class 90 or the Mk3 DVT, RailMaster fails to read the CVs irrespective of whether the loco's are on the programming track

individually or simultaneously.

Does that help?
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Fishmanoz said:

If you scroll down http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.html#Basic until you get to the 8-pin connector, you can see that putting it in the wrong way just swaps red and black, and orange and grey, so it still works. But the

blue common positive for the functions ends up in the wrong spot, disabling all but one of the functions, and that one, green, has its polarity reversed from what you are expecting. You should still be able to read and write its CVs too.


Thanks

for the link, looks like another night of good reading ahead…
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Ian, can I suggest you start with what works by programming all your decoders to the address you want using the Eurostar power car (note sometimes there is a problem programming decoders in a dummy car without a load on the motor output). Make sure you

 

program dummy car decoders with the same ID as the corresponding power car decoder. Having reprogrammed, replace in the loco you want them in.

 

Now return everything to the layout connected to track output. You can have all 3 together now as they have

 

different addresses. What works now, still only Eurostsr?

 

Despite it being 2 not working previously and only one working the one working seems to prove your setup is OK. I would be looking for such things as clean wheels and the pickups properly tensioned

 

in them. And the decoder not being pushed too far into the socket such that the pins are shorting on something behind.

 

You don't need to spend too much time with Brian Lambert st the moment either, just used him to illustrate what happens with the

 

plug back to front. I do recommend your reading the entire DCC section at your leisure though.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Colin, as you have asked on the Rm forum, I'm going to assume you want to do it with RM. Given this is correct, you must also be using eLink or Elite and it is irrelevant which. What you do have to do is put your loco on track connected to the programming

 

output of your controller, and not have any other loco on that track.

 

Now it really is simple. All you need to do is read the Loco Setup section of your RM manual and do what it says, starting in the Loco Setup window in RM. The manual has all the

 

detail you need and explains it clearly and unambiguously. Make sure you follow each step.

 

Now if you are having a problem with any step, come back and ask us again.

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Fishmanoz in the ideal world this would be fine in the real world it just doesn't seem to work. I am working from page 29-46 of the RM PDF but am having no joy at all. RM is writing to the decoder but on reading after confirming I keep getting a confirm

 

fail notice. Am I doing something wrong and yes I am programing on the prog output to a programming track.ColinR

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It is possible that you have a faulty R8249 decoder. Are you able to program other decoders on the programming track?

 

It should be a straightforward process of reading and writing decoder CVs, assuming you are not using an analgue power track or

 

track power connector, that your loco's wheels and pick-ups are clean and that a clean track is connected to the PROG output of your DCC controller.

 

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