I purchased a couple of Proto Heritage 2000 Y3 Mallets from a friend and I am having difficulty programing one. I didn’t even think it had a decoder in it when I took it out of the box and put it on the programing track so I popped the tender shell and low and behold is a Digitrak decoder. Excuse my lack of attentivenes but still being a little slow this monring I did not recall the model number.
Well I can only ge it to operate on #3 for the decoder address. I have tried programing it on both the main and program track using an MRC Prodigy Express upgraded to an Advanced unit.My son and I have decided to use it strictly in the shop on a test track and for programing. As we are switching his n scale layout over to NCE as well. When you program it in will run forward and backwards as who ever did the install has the other wires taped off so no directional lights etc.
My questions, could it be some sort of conflict between the Digitrax decoder and the MRC control station? Or could it jsut be a problem with the decoder it self?
I have tried giving it different 3 digit addresses as well with no luck, as I tried using the 4 digit road number initially as I do with all of my locomotives.
Different systems treat the addresses between 100 and 128 differently, some treating them as 2 digit addresses and some treating them as 4 digit addresses. The confusion comes from the use of hexadecimal (base 16 rather than base 10) numbers in programing. I don’t know if this is the case here, but try a 2 digit address below 99 or a 4 digit address above 128. When you program a 4 digit address with a Digitrax system, it automatically sets the CV for 4 digit addressing. Some systems require you to set it manually. I don’t know it your Prodigy does that or not.
What address are you actually trying to use? MRC, like NCE, can treat addresses from 1-127 as both long or short. Digitrax uses 1-127 as short ONLY and 128+ as long. On NCE it depends on how you key in the address - 0100 is trated as long, 100 is strated as short.I suppose MRC does soemthign similar.
So if you are trying to program an address between 1 and 127 do NOT allow it to program as a 4-digit long address. It won’t work on the Digitrax decoder.
David, It’s a Digitrax DH83FX as you can see by the horrible camera phone pics not all the wires were used, I cut the masking tape with an exacto blade just to see what decoder it was.
In regard to some of the other question, yes the MRC Prodigy Express/Advanced does program 4 digit addresses with no problems I have programed all four of my DH123P decoders with 4 digit addresses.
All I have done to attempt to give it a new address is program it on the main & the program track by the usual method of hitting program>address> and so on until it completes it’s cycle so to speak I have not done anything with any of the other CV at all as I am not sure what the control so to speak. Should I delete address #3 which this one is responding to first and then try to assign it a new number? I don’t recall ever having to do that in the past.
Typically when I had an issue with a decoder in the past I would erase it’s assigned number, reprogram it to the default #3 make sure every function worked properly and then reprogrammed it with the road number and everything re-checked to make sure everything worked fine.
You certainly can program an address from 1 to 127 as a 4 digit address on a Digitrax decoder. Digitrax command stations do not support 4 digit addresses from 1 to 127, but Digitrax decoders do.
My bad, but it will not work on anythign EXCEPT NCE or MRC, so don’t do it anyway.
As for that install - I hope those are some sort of pins inserted intot he 8 pin socket, and not just the wires soldered in the holes - if the wires are soldered into the holes, you won’t be able to plug in an NMRA plug.
No they are more of a sleeve then a pin, I slid one off and then put it back on, it’s just that it goes over the pin and not inside as intended. Looks like some thing someone had laying around.
