Dipping my toe into the N scale pool

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Due to not having enough space to have an HO layout in my condo and a burning desire to run some trains, I decided to get into N scale. I bought an Atlas Jersey Central FM15-44 (pictured below) equiped with a Lenz decoder and a few sections of track to make a small oval.

While running it I noticed the little lights at the top corners of the body (classification lights?) came on with jsut the track power. But when I turned on the headlight they went out and I couldn’t get them to come back on. I’m using a Prodigy Express system. I noticed when I hold the #2 button down these little light come on, then go out. anybody know how to make them come on and stay on?

J.P.

2

Nothing??? Ok does anybody at least know what those lights at the top corners of the body are? They’re not the headlight theres a separate light for that. Are they classification lights possibly? What was this loco (H15-44) used for? ie switching, main line freight, passenger service?

3

Those are your number boards.

You’d probably get a lot more response over on the DCC board. There’s some real guru’s over there. Here’s a link: http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/744.aspx

4

Thanks for the response Phil but I was talking about the lights in front of the number boards. I circled them in the photo below.

I should have posted a better angIe. Anyway I think I may have the answer, I found some pictures online and they do in fact appear to be classification lights. Not sure why they go off when the headlight comes on though, probly a CV setting. I’ll try your suggestion and ask the DCC part of my Q over on the DCC section.

I must say this is a nice running little engine.

J.P.

5

Hi JP: I don’t know about Lentz decoders, but on my HO BLI F7 A B, with Digitrax Super Chief, I have to press f 11 to have the class lights stay on, and turn them off. Hope this helps.

6

Those are the class lights. They apparantly are assigned to function 2, which is somewhat of a de-facto standard for the horn or whistle, which is why they are momentray and only come on when you hold the F2 button - like most DCC systems, yours is only sending out the command to turn F2 on while you hold the button. Most decoders have an option to reassing which function number controls which output, but I don’t know about the decoder Atlas supplies. This was even discussed in the Electronics and DCC section, and someone said Debby Ames at Lenz even denied that Lenz makes that decoder. Instructions on function remapping might be in the instructions Atlas sent along with the loco. There is also the option to disable the momemtary action of F2 on your DCC system, but then should you ever get a sound loco you’ll have a tough time with the horn if F2 just turns on and off with alternate presses like any other function.

–Randy

7

J.P.

Try looking at your Prodigy manual to see if the F2 function can be enabled(turn on & off) You will probably have to change the setting in one of the CV’s.

I use a Digitrax system on my ‘N’ scale layout and I have good success with a Lenz decoder that came with the Atlas locomotive that I have. I am assuming that the CV’s are the same for both systems.

Hope this helps you.

madmodeler

8

The lights that are circled look to be the headlights?

9

From the PDF manual for the H16-44:

Lighting Options for the H15/16-44 Decoder

The H15/16-44 decoder has four function outputs: A, B, C, and D.

Decoder outputs A and B are designed to control the white LEDs used

for the front and rear headlights, respectively, in these locomotives. The

front and rear headlights can be configured by Bit 0 in CV51 to be either

directional or independently controlled. It is also possible to dim, using a

DCC function, either directional headlights or independently controlled

headlights.

If the headlights are configured for independent control, the front

headlight may be configured with the appropriate bits in CV51 to operate

as a Gyro light, a Mars light, a single pulse Strobe light, or a dual pulse

Strobe light. Similarly, when the headlights are configured for

independent control, the rear headlight may be configured with the

appropriate bits in CV57 to operate as a Gyro light, a Mars light, a single

pulse Strobe light, or a dual pulse Strobe light.

Decoder outputs C and D are designed to control the bi-color LEDs

used for the front and rear marker lights in these locomotives. Decoder

outputs C and D are auto-reversing so that the bi-color LEDs show

green in the direction that the locomotive is traveling and red in the

opposite direction. The only control over these marker lights is on or off.

By default, function F2 is used to turn

10

Instructions!!! What are those?

Besides, wheres the sport in that?