MP15AC Programming

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

I just spent ‘hours’ trying to program the address into a new Athearn MP15AC with Sound/DCC. I could not get it to program on my DCS100 program track. I took the engine to a friends house today(he has a DCS100 with a program track ‘booster’) - Still no luck! I was going to try programming CV17/18/29 ‘on the main’, but decided to try using ‘ops’ mode programming ‘on the main’ as he had no other engines on the layout. It worked! After some other programming, I got the sound levels for the horn/whistle lowered and changed the acceleration. The reason we tried ‘on the main’ programming was that there would be full power there. As a side note, the MRC decoder does not support CV ‘readback’; which may be why it could not complete the 4 digit address so I could key in the ‘y’.

This is the first decoder that I have had trouble with(I know, I have read all of the Genesis/MRC issues, but the price was too good). I have programmed hundreds of BLI/P2K/Soundtraxx/Lenz/NCE/etc decoders and have never had a problem. Trying to program using my DT400 throttle or Decoder Pro failed with normal ‘paged’ mode. I can understand the frustration many folks have with the MRC decoders, and I am sure most of them do not have the ‘programming tools’ that I have available. I amazes me that Horizon/Athearn can produce a ‘premium’ great running/well detailed engine and not put a ‘premium’ decoder in the product. The engine is now running fine, but I suspect that the average modeler would just ‘return’ the engine when the normal address programming fails. I would not expect most folks to get into exotic CV programming(many of the low-end systems cannot even access all of the CV’s).

Jim Bernier

2

That is my experience with Soundtraxx Tsunami. My DCS100/PowerPax/DT400/DecoderPro will not program 2 of my engines, no matter what I try (page or direct). My Tsunmai equiped Bachmann 2-8-0 I can program, no problem. All engines will accept OPS mode programming.

I take all these engines to my Zephyr (no booster at all) and they all can use PAGE, DIRECT or OPS.

As they say, the DCC standards set by NMRA date before sound equiped Locos proliferated. Were stuck with it. But there must be a way of applying sufficient voltage to keep the decoder alive long enough. It’s just that the NMRA elected to keep the voltage at a low level on the programming track to keep from blowing decoders.

3

Well, the issue has never been in the programming of the MRC decoders, it is in the reliability. You get to look forward to the decoder stop responding, taking off at full speed and doing random stuff with your only resolve being shutting down the layout.

David B

4

I tend to try main programming first as most decoders support it and it can be done to any loco even if others are on the track as you have to input the loco number and then go from there. Have you gotten the chance to advance consist? How did that work?