I’m sure this problem has been addressed before but I can’t find it.
I just got delivery on an Athearn Challenger. I put it on the track and operated it on address 03 without problems. I even tweaked a few CVs in OPS mode.
The problem is that I can not change the address to match the loco number with my Zephyr. I know the loco has an MRC decoder in it, but I have never had difficulties with them before.
I have turned off the sound and the lights before placing it on the program track to reduce the load. Still no luck!
The decoder will not take the new address, although the Zephyr says it does.
I don’t think MRC decoders have a lock, but am I missing something here?
A lot of people with the MRC decoders have had similar problems, so you arent alone here. I know there are at least a few people on the forums who had this problem and I think at least 1 eventually got it to work. Hopefully they will chime in.
Does it still operate on address 03, even after programmign a long address? If so, you just need to manually set CV29 to the right value to use the long address. Either 34 or 38 - 34 if you don;t want analog (DC) operation and 38 if you do. Like QSI decoders, the decoder is probably not ready to accept the next program command at the time the Zephyr sends it when it tries to automatically configure the 4-digit address.
You hit nail on the head! CV29 was set to 2. I reset it to 38 and everything went according to plan. I had a suspicion that CV29 wasn’t set right. I was just reluctant to tinker with it. The loco is a Christmas present for my grandson. I know he is going to love it.
This is the first MRC decoder that I have had trouble programming.