Brand new BLI Consolidation steam loco with Paragon 2 dcc/sound decoder. NCE Power Cab. Programming on the main.
I am able to control the overall volume by changing the value of CV 133, but when I enter a value for CV 143, which is supposed to control the air pump sound, nothing changes.
Ideas?
Thanks,
-Matt
My first though is to switch to a program track and make sure a booster is on it. Those sound chips tack more juice to program for some reason.
my other thought is maybe there is no 143 on that chip. I would be inclined to start stepping up from 134 and see were it stops.
shane
The solution there is to put the loco on the Programming Track and call up CV 143 to see if it exists and to see the value currently in CV 143.
That said, CV 143 should be present on all Paragon 2 steam decoders.
Rich
The default value of CV 143 is 128. Have you tried to change that value which can range from 1 to 255?
Rich
Hi Shane. I don’t have a booster and I don’t have a programming track. I have the basic starter set, one cab and the power supply. Can’t remember really how difficult it is to set a program track up, but since I was able to change CV133 on the main, I figured it should also work for CV143. When you say stepping up do you mean just trying each CV from there?
Hi Rich. I did try, yes. I set it lower, higher, zero, tried everything just to see if I could discern a change. The air pump volume only changes along with the main volume, CV133.
Thanks for asking, guys.
-Matt
Also, Rich, my NCE cab doesn’t allow me to see a value, only to enter one. That’s one of the frustrating things about the NCE cab. You have to have some other component to read values, and I can’t remember offhand what it’s called. somethingMax.
When issues like this arise, the key is to have the ability to “read” CV values. Of course, you can “write” CV values by Programming on the Main (POM), but you need a way to confirm or verify those values, if not through a Programming Track, then JMRI, Decoder Pro, or the like.
You should be able to change the value of CV 143 to vary the volume of the air pump, although the air pump volume should not be set higher than the Sound Unit Master Volume (CV 133) or the Maximum Volume (CV 134).
So, you need to find a way to read those CV values. Here is what NCE suggests when using the Power Cab in the absence of a Programming Track.
https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205053409-How-to-view-or-change-a-CV-with-the-Power-Cab
Rich
Matt,
First off: You can read CV values with your Power Cab in Programmnmg Track (PT) mode. Programming on the Main (POM) mode does not allow reading of CVs, which I suspect is what you were using to program with.)
Also, you don’t need a booster with your Power Cab. It has enough oomph in PT mode to read or program a sound decoder. You also don’t need a separate programming track (like the PH Pro does) because your Power Cab is the command station/booster/throttle all-in-one. Just use your layout as the programming track.
To access PT mode:
Lastly, whenever you are initially programming a decoder, ALWAYS use PT mode. If there is an issue with the decoder (e.g. a short), you run far less a chance of frying it than in POM mode.
All the above should be in your Power Cab manual…
Tom
Rich, that was my point… that I wanted to read the value of CV143 but as I mentioned, the little NCE booklet was telling me I could not do so with just the starter Power Cab. The link you sent does not talk about the absence of a programming track, as you said, so I’m confused. It very much says to use Programming Track mode. But since it’s the same instructions that Tom supplied after you, maybe you meant using my layout as a programming track.
Ha! My brand new BLI Paragon 2-8-0 did not come with a manual. I had to scrape one up in PDF from the internet, and for an old paper guy like me, scrolling for specific information on a tiny laptop is frustrating and ineffective. Thank you Tom for supplying this info for me.
I will give this a try at my next work break, using my layout as the programming track, and see if my Power Cab will read the value. Thanks fellas.
-Matt
Yes, exactly, that is what NCE means by “mode”. One of the Power Cab features is to simulate a separate Programming Track by using the Programming Track mode feature.
Let us know what values you are getting in CV 133, CV 134 and CV 143.
Rich
A program track is simple to set up. should be two sets of terminals on the base unit. One for the main. The other set for the program track. One spare piece of track. One wire to one rail. One to the other. The other ends to the terminals and you are set.
ignore the booster thing. My NCE is from 2003 back the. Sound was not only rare but a separate chip. The base units didn’t have the power then to power a sound chip. I forget that has been long since changed as sound is very common now.
using your layout as a program track is what program on the main does. I do have a question. Did you remove every other loco off the layout first?
shane
Shane,
The Power Cab does not come with separate programming track terminals like the PH Pro. Since it’s the command station/booster/throttle all rolled-up-into-one, it uses the PCP panel and the track connection in the 6-contact flat cable for operating & programming.
So, you can use the Power Cab for programming at your layout or at your benchtop. You’ll need the PCP panel in either case. That’s why I have two of those.
Tom
But you can get one of those NCE auto-switch gadgets.
True. I was just addressing Shane’s statement on the separate terminals since Matt was using a Power Cab rather than the PH Pro system.
Tom
Ah. Got it. That part was not clear to me. Thank you again.
Absolutely. I am paranoid about that. I also cannot plug in my DCC cab at the same time as my DC throttles, and I have a center off DPDT between the two systems. I’m being very careful about where my locos are and what kind of brains they have.
Wait…what? What’s a PCP panel? Do I need some NCE or other gear that I don’t have?
-Matt
The PCP panel is the black panel that came with your Power Cab and connects to your track:
You plug the Power Cab into the LEFT connector port using the flat 6-contact cable. That’s how you power your layout. The RIGHT connector port is for an extra throttle. It’s all in the Power Cab manual.
Tom
Oh, THAT. Of course. I have that. It’s on my control panel (photo from back in summer)…
I’ll report back later this evening after I have a chance to get out there. Thanks for clarifying.
-Matt
Here’s what I learned. But first off, thanks Rich, Tom, et. al., for the info on how to read existing CV values. Very helpful. I was able to use the PT mode to query the values.
The air pump CV does not respond to any change in its value. I don’t know why. The volume will decrease or increase only with the master volume (CV133). I suspect this is true for all the other sounds as well, but I didn’t really test. I did check every value from CV133 on up to CV154 and they were all set to 128 except the two I was fiddling with. So my CV143 is now set to a value of “1”, but it appears that it doesn’t matter. I set the master to “20” and the racket is now a little less bothersome. It was driving me crazy, all that knocking.
I am assuming that the knocking was the air compressor/pump, but I don’t even really know. At this point the evidence suggests two possibilities. 1) The air pump CV on my brand new product doesn’t work. 2) The dreadful knocking sound is not the air pump.
[Interrupting thought: You know what I feel like? I feel like that guy in Poe’s The Telltale Heart]
Possibility #2 would be simple but time-consuming to check. I could just reduce the value of every CV related to steam loco noises one by one and see if the knocking stops. But I don’t really have a reason to think that because reliable people here told me that the knocking sound was the air pump, and some videos I watched identified that sound as the air pump.
Possibility #1 seems more likely, that my product is faulty. I must admit I am not very impressed with DCC so far, neither my NCE throttle – which has that irritating jump at each speed step (both on the wheel and with the Inc button) which has been mentioned on other threads – nor with my top-of-the-line BLI DCC loco, which frequently chokes and goes silent and dark in places where my old DC stuff runs just fine.So I would not be surprised to learn that the decoder is just no
In addition to being triggered randomly, you can turn on the air pump with the F4 key (at least with default settings) so you could turn it on to see if it’s the same sound.
Are you running in 28 speed step mode (I believe that’s the NCE default)? If so, that could be the cause of the “jumps” and you’ll get much finer speed control in 128 speed step setting. The 28/128 button at the bottom of the hand controller switches between 28 and 128 speed steps.
Yep.
I would agree that you should check to make sure that each of your locomotives are set to 128 speed steps on your Power Cab. That will allow your locomotive speed to increase & decrease in smaller incriments.
Adding some slight momentum using the momentum button on your Power Cab is another way to smooth out changes in speed. This will also produce a prototypical delay in starts and stops.
Tom