I installed 2 TCS A6X in my Athern Genesis F units. They worked well for about 10 min. The B unit suddenly stopped. I reprogramed the address & it ran again but at 1/2 the speed of the A unit. Took decoder out, replaced it with another brand & it runs well. Sent decoder back & received replacement. Yesterday the A unit stopped. After a few minutes it would run again. Is there anything else that could cause this problem? Although the wires are supposed to be able to be held tight by the clips I soldered all connections, so it isn’t a loose connection.
By chance, did the engine derail or otherwise short when the problem occurred??? I’ve had a few TCS decoders go “brain dead” after experiencing a short, and have to be reprogrammed from scratch on the programming track. Then they run fine again, until the next short. I’ve been told that this is common to TCS decoders by another modeler that has more than I do (I’ve only used 2 so far)
Just a thought, hope it helps.[:D]
Two things you can do to avoid this … First, turn off the DC enable in CV29 - set it to either 2 or 3 depending which direction is forward. Second, the newer TCS decoders have a lock feature on CV15 - USE IT !!! By using the lock feature, the programming portion of the IC is now isolated from any external current / voltage surges that can throw off the programming that has already been used. Keep in mind that once the decoder is locked, you cannot READ any CV’s either - until you reset CV15 to a value of 0.
Mark.
Thanks guys, sounds good. I will try it. Jerry
Mark R. In your reply you mentioned locking option on CV15. What # do I set This CV to lock it. Thanks You did mention that 0 unlocks it.
TCS’s instructions for the decoder lock are somewhat confusing. When CV15 = 0 or when CV15 = CV16 the decoder is UNlocked. If CV15 = anything but 0 or the value in CV16 it’s locked. The factory default for CV16 is 1. To lock my decoders, all I do is enter a value of 2 into CV15. To unlock it, reset CV15 to 0.
Keep in mind that once the decoder is locked, you cannot READ any CV’s. This can create a big problem if you are using an Atlas Commander as it needs to read any CV’s 1 through 8 BEFORE it will allow you access to any CV’s above 8. I figured out a “work-around” if anyone needs it.
Mark.
Thanks again Mark. To me all decoder instructions are confusing,but I’ll give it a try.
Changed the CV values today. It was more difficult understanding the Digitrax instructions for programing than actually doing it. We need a good English version of the Digitrax instruction manual… Thanks again. Jerry