TechImp Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I have installed a lokmaster V4 decoder into a "Hogwarts Castle" loco. The Railmaster CV's only allow up to CV 255. The lokmaster uses CV32 index register to access many more CV's that Railmaster doesn't seem to address. Am I missing something or is Railmaster that limited? I need to access the auxillary outputs for "firebox" and "smoke" control.TechImp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_Ian Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I don't believe Railmaster can access CV's above 255, I had the same problem with a loksound decoder.I was however able to change the values for cv's above 255 using my Elite controller as long as you know which cv you want to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poliss Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 It would seem to be odd if Railmaster couldn't access CVs above 255 as Hornby's own Sapphire decoder uses CVs 894 and 895 for instance.I can't find any mention of Lokmaster decoders anywhere. Do you mean Loksound or Lokpilot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St1ngr4y Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I think this has been raised before on this Forum, and I think there was a suggestion at the time that it be included in the Desirable Features thread, but I can't remember if this happened.Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientMariner Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I think this has been raised before on this Forum, and I think there was a suggestion at the time that it be included in the Desirable Features thread, but I can't remember if this happened.Ray It has and it was. You can access CVS above 255 using Railmaster: refer to the instructions for the individual decoder. AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechImp Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Thank you for your helpful replies. I have contacted DCCconcepts who supplied the Loksound V4 decoder and they are of the opinion that Railmaster will not do it. They recommend their Loksound programmer for AUD$250.00, which I suppose they would. I am not convinced, as yet that Railmaster won't do it as I have only just begun, hence my post here, looking for those who may have had similar experience. As for the Lokmaster manual; I am a retired electronics/computer person and I haven't quite worked that out yet - it is quite a complex decoder, with many capabilities. I also wonder about the mapping of the Railmaster function buttons; whether that is accessable to be altered by users. The Hornby manual is very basic. I will also check the Desireable Features thread. Once again thank you for taking the time. TechImp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman_Ian Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I think DCC Concepts are correct, if anyone knows how to do it using Railmaster please let us know how.As I said the Elite can do it and the other option is JMRI DecoderPro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientMariner Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I think DCC Concepts are correct, if anyone knows how to do it using Railmaster please let us know how.As I said the Elite can do it and the other option is JMRI DecoderPro. If you read this topic in the Railmaster forum:Loco CVs with numbers greater than 255 All should become clear. AM Admin edit: Added link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan K Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I can confirm that the method described towards the end of the Loco CVs with numbers greater than 255 thread using CVs 96, 97 and 99 does work. I have used it several times to adjust lighting CVs etc.However that method enables you to write to CVs above 255 but not as far as I can tell to read them either to see what the existing value is or to check that your update has worked. Another problem is that if you use indexed CVs via CV32 you need to set it for each update and not assume that it retains the last index value. I found to my cost that it did not and I amended the wrong CV which upset the sounds but I had no idea what the original value was and had to carry out a decoder reset.So the bottom line is that RM will enable you to adjust CVs above 255 and indexed CVs but it is not the ideal way of doing so and is a bit like working blindfolded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnde Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 What limits !Have you tried altering the CV reading numbers in the boxes that default to 0 & 255. Try putting any numerical value , works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechImp Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Thank you Ancient Mariner, I had seen that in the manual, but as it did not refer to Railmaster I glossed over it. I have to report that it does work, but as Alan K mentioned you cannot tell what is actually in the CV that you write over, so can cause problems. You have to be careful to renew each part of the 3 locations, as they reset to 0 and you end up writing 0 instead of what you intend. This is what Alan K is alluding to, I did the same thing. The Railmaster window retains the last value you entered giving you a false impression. I stuffed it up and thank goodness for CV8 factory reset. Lokmaster actually programs itself, facillitated by Railmaster. I would think that this would be a definite useful improvement for Railmaster with very little effort required. Thank everyone for their help and interest. Best Regards, Techimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientMariner Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Thank you Ancient Mariner.... While the CV limit of 255 complies with NMRA standards, I think we are all agreed that the CV limit is an annoying constraint. We have asked for this limit to be raised in some future update of Railmaster. Let's hope that it is sooner rather than later. AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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