Ok this is a little complicated, so I will describe it as best as I can.
I sold a Digitrax decoder equiped Athearn GP40 to a guy on Ebay. It worked just fine for me but I use Digitrax controls, he on the other hand uses Lenz Controls. He says he put the loco on the tracks and it does not work. He hasn’t opened it up to check the decoder or tried it on anything else.
Are there compatibility issues with this combination or do you think (like I do) that he is doing something wrong?
Thanks!
What address does the locomotive have? Did you reset the decoder before shipping it to a set of defaults, or a documented set of CVs? Was this information provided to the buyer? Yes, the decoder should work just fine with both systems. But it could have reset to factory defaults on start-up or enroute. If you haven’t already done so, you need to document the settings and CVs of the decoder when it left your hands. Then, the buyer has a starting point for trouble-shooting.
Although I haven’t dealt with selling DCC-equipped locos yet, my eBay selling policy is to take back a non-functional, damaged, or mis-represented item. I give a full refund (including shipping both ways) when the item is returned in the same condition I shipped it in. I do not reduce price or do partial refunds - I’ve seen too many scams there.
I would suggest that in this particular case, that if the buyer is unwilling to do more than just put it on the track and try to run it (after you have given him the necessary documentation for programming the decoder), then he isn’t ready to buy used DCC locomotives. Taking it back (and reselling) may be the most practical course in that event.
just my thoughts
Fred W
Could be any number of things – he’s using the wrong address; his layout is badly wired; decoder damaged in shipment; it was broken and you didn’t know it; maybe he dropped it.
I suggest the two of you work out a trouble shooting checklist much like software tech does.
Start with the changes you had made to CVs, the last time you ran it, how you packed and shipped it, how he opened it, what he’s done with it – basically run through the whole history of the loco and the decoder. Somewhere in there is the answer.
Then you can start process of elimination. For instance, right now you know it doesn’t run on his layout, so have him take it to his LHS or another layout and see if it runs there.
Sooner or later, you’ll pinpoint the prob.
I have a loco that did much the same thing. The previous owner had assigned a four digit address. The Bachmann EZ-Command system doesn’t recognize four digit addresses so I did a dead reset on it, which is just like the regular programming routine to set an address, except that there’s no loco on the track for the first few steps. At the appointed time in the step by step process I set the loco on the track and programmed a two digit address. The controller erased the four digit address, reset the decoder to default and set the new address. If a cheap Bachmann system can do it, his system should be able to.
I have plenty of Digitrax decoders that run just fine with my Lenz DCC system. Of course, they were programmed on my system, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t work. I’ve run both 2-digit and 4-digit engines from my system on the Digitrax system at my LHS with no problem.
What’s the cab number? There is one incompatability between Lenz and Digitrax systems, between 100 and 127, inclusive. One of them treats these as 4-digit addresses (Digitrax, I think) while the other treats it as a 2-digit address, since it only takes up 1 8-bit computer byte.
Thanks for your help guys! I have never had this problem before, so I was kind of lost on what to do. I have had people try to rip me off and tell me there is a problem when there wasn’t so I have a no return policy (but nothing I have ever sold has been misrepresented).
The only ‘incompatibility’ between Digitrax and Lenz is the cutoff between 2 digit and 4 digit addresses. In Digitrax they go from 1-127. In Lenz they go from 1-99. So a short address of 100 in Digitrax would not be addressable by a Lenz system because the Lenz expects that to be a long address. So if the address in the decoder was between 100 and 127, you need to tell the person to program CV8 to 8 which will reset the Digitrax decoder and set the address to 03. He can the program it as desired with his Lenz system.
–Randy
If you have Ebay questions I may be of help. I work there, I can give my personal advice and my thoughts.