They say no question is a dum question. I have recently changed to DCC, using a Prodigy Express system. I have read the manual time after time, but I cannot figure out how to change CVs. I know I am missing something simple. Can anyone help me. Thanks ahead of time.
Bob,
Sandy Southern R.R…
I’ll go and proclaim my ignorance for all the world to writhe in disgust and railroad me out of town.
Write on a peice of paper a column of numbers starting at zero and ending at 255.
Let’s say… CV number 8 is the whistle volume. It is like a binary switch assigned to just the whistle volume. If you access CV 8 the engine is going to sit there on the program track expecting the next number value you enter to be the volume level.
Easy enough.
Now. That is all Im going to put here. Nice and simple none of that complicated headache inducing stuff.
There must be a “program” button on your paddle, or maybe it is on your control box…I am not familiar with your system. When you press program, your screen should ask you/prompt you to input the CV you want to change…whether it is your system volume, start voltage, momentum, and so on. So, you must consult the manual for your decoder as well as the one for your DCC operating system. Between the two manuals, you will learn how to control which CV that affects what behaviour you wish to alter.
Anyway, hit program, enter the CV, and then enter the value you want to assign to that CV. Your decoder manual tells you what the possible range is for values for each CV (they differ from CV to CV, even on the same decoder). Once you decide on a value, you acquire the CV and input the value. Press “enter”, I would expect (again, re-read your controller manual) and the loco should give a quick lurch.
If none of this is true, I need a Scotch!
One CV value on Factory XYZ engine will NOT be the competitions Big Boy BCD’s Engine.
Keep ALL the manuals that come with ALL of your DCC engines now and in the future.
Usually very complete sets of manuals are availible online. I think Broadway is into thier 4th revision of the QSI manual.
One thing you want to run away from, is analog programming. That Tech 4 power pack is going to wear out the directional switch as it happened to mine. Not to mention inducing the engine to sit there on the track and act strangely as if it got a mental issue which means some of it’s CV’s got scrambled to something else.
The text below is from the PE manual. What don’t you understand ?
For some old decoders, you have to skip the Addr programming and use
the CV program mode to program CV29 with a value of 2 and CV1 with a
short address (1-127). Detailed steps are as follows:
Press Prog to select Prog Prog Track
Press Enter six times until CV# displays on the screen
To select CV29, press 29 and Enter
CV data displays. Press 2 and Enter
CV# displays again. Select CV1 by pressing 1 then press Enter
CV data displays. Press the loco address (1-127) and then Enter
From another section of the manual:
Programming Loco on the Program Track
Make sure your Cab is allowed to program on the Program Track.
Place the loco on the Program Track. Press PROG to select "Prog Prog
Track". Press ENTER.
0 - 9, enter the loco address followed by ENTER, or press ENTER to skip.
Note For the beginner or if you want to only program the loco address, you
can stop right here. Put the loco back on the Main Track. Select the loco
by pressing LOCO then enter the loco address and press ENTER. Now
you can run the loco.
data and then press ENTER.
Input data and then press ENTER.
Input data and then press ENTER.
data then press ENTER.
Variable).
At this point, you have already finished most of the decoder
programming. You can stop programming here by pressing ENTER. The
Prodigy Advance allows you to enj
Each decoder manufacturer uses different CVs for sound decoders because that aspect of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) DCC Standards and Recommended Practices was left up to the individual developers. The NMRA specifications apply only to CV1 through 95, with some of these left up to the manufacturer, also.
CV8, for example, is reserved for the manufacturer’s identity number assigned by the NMRA. Digitrax has been assigned manufacturer number 81 hex, so that is the number that must be in CV8 of all Digitrax decoders, and CV8 cannot be changed by the end user; however, CV8 can be used to reset some brands of decoders to their factory default settings by programming a certain number into them. This does not actually change the number that is in CV8, but triggers a decoder reset.
So to answer your original question, you need to refer to two separate documents: The instruction manual that came with your DCC system where it tells you how to program a decoder CV; and the manual that came with the decoder that lists the CVs that it uses. For some decoders you must download the documentation from their web site to learn what CVs they use.
Certain CVs must be the same for every brand of decoder if they are to receive NMRA certification. You can download the listing of NMRA CVs from their web site if you think you really need it.