Hornby sapphire- alongside other decoders

[Chris1970]

Hi

I’ve got a class 108 2 car DMU( Bachmann sorry!) The dummy car has a Hornby sapphire chip in it my Sprog recognises it , the power car has a Econami Soundtraxx decoder in it, I’ve tried linking them with the same running number etc still not getting the correct lighting, both show white at either end and the destination blinds are only showing one way … is it maybe that they don’t recognise each others decoders? Spent best part of 12 hours today, I would rather be doing this than anything else today but it got a bit trying in the end !

Any help would be appreciated

Chris

[Fishmanoz]

There is no mutual recognition between decoders, even if on the same address via the same controller (consists excepted).

I believe your solution is simple: change the direction of travel of the Sapphire decoder by adjusting CV29. that will mean when the Econami is running forward, the Sapphire will be in reverse, and vice versa, with directional lighting appropriate to each.

Come back if you are unsure how to do that.

And this is not a Sapphire problem either. All decoders will work this way.

[96RAF]

I have the same Class 108 2-car DMU and it has a mismatched pair of old Uhlenbrok decoders. They were set up contra as Fishy says in CV29 and work well, noting the cabin lights are very dim and come on with the directional lights and the destination boards. No other lights or separate controls are available. I can't say I have noticed but I believe the destination boards only light in the direction of travel as they are likely linked to the fwd direction running markers.

I find the lights very fiddly on that model as the long contact strips from chassis to body are easily displaced when putting the body on. I am also not that impressed with their method used to pick up power from the axles. But it is a very nicely detailed model.

[P-Henny]

Open the 'Useful Links' pinned sticky thread (located at top of 'General Discussion' sub-forum & linked to below), then scroll down to the "DCC CV29 Calculator" link. This online calculator will assist with the adjustment needed for CV29 that others have indicated.

https://uk.hornby.com/community/forum/useful-links?ccm_paging_p=1

BIT 0 in CV29 sets the decoder direction. This will make more sense after you have seen the calculator support text.

As others have said, adjusting CV29 is the usual recommended solution for your universally experienced issue and is common to ALL decoders, not just Sapphire.