I had a nice surprise in the mail today. My QSI Update chip for my GP9 P2K Engine came today from Tony’s Train Exchange. I had ordered it sometime ago and actually this seems early on the schedule for releases. Too busy tonight to do an install, and my Chip extractor is at work.
I’ll jot down my current settings, pull the old and in with the new and give a report after I’m done.
Chris
Chris,
A very small, flathead screwdriver will serve as a chip extractor in a pinch. Gently pry up one corner, then pry up the opposite corner, etc. till the chip comes out. Worked great for me. I especially look forward to hearing how your CV2 programming goes.
Tom
Chris that is really good news. The few times I looked at the schedule they didn’t even have a date for the GP-9? Thats the one I am waiting on. I really hate the horn so I think I will go with the alternate on this one.
Terry[8D]
Please let us know if they used the correct prime mover sounds (567 rather than a 645) this time! Or better yet, if it is user selectable for those who want original vs. rebuilt models.
NOT a very successful evening so far.
Lost one screw for the body
the Removal Tool cut the wire from the truck (mostly MY Fault)
New Chip installed and now I can’t program a darn thing. I remember having this problem before and I think I need to do a full reset of the chip with the Magnetic Wand thingy, BUT I CAN’T FIND IT! I swore I put it in the box that it came in, but I’ll be darned if I can find it.
None of the sounds seem changed…
The Horn sounds the same…
Seems to have better or more noises during the idle sequence…
Can’t really be sure of anything till I reset this thing.
All in all, I am NOT a happy camper!
Chris
Chris,
You should be able to reset it manually with your throttle:
CV49 = 128
CV50 = 255
CV56 = 113
Once you press ENTER for the last change, you’ll hear an audible “Reset” from the decoder and you’re back to the factory defaults.
Tom
I ordered my GP-9 upgrade today from Litchfieldstation. Can’t wait to get it in. Hope mine goes smoother than yours Chris[:D]
Terry[8D]
Terry,
With a clearer mind this morning I can say this. The Instructions are pretty good that are supplied with the Chip upgrade. Have your instruction sheet from your GP9 with you when you take it apart. There are some added screws on the body for the QSI equipt units from what I can see.
Be careful about the feeder wires from the truck that run up and over where the chip lies. I almost need to recommended using the screwdriver method shown in the instruction sheet over using the dedicated puller that I have. These wires are fine gauge puppies. I’m surprised that they work at all.
I’ve sent am e-mail to Walther’s to see if I can get another magnetic wand or see if there is a good subsistute for it that I may have. I really don’t know why it won’t program. My worry is that I may have a pin that is askew on the chip package and that may be what it’s problem is.
I may wait until Saturday morning to do some more tinkering with this unit. My older eyes after a hard day at work just do not have the patience to do the fine detail work like I should.
Chris
Got any Kadee uncoupler magnets? Or even a decent fridge magnet will work. There’s nothing special about the wand, it’s just a plastic stick with a magnet on it. You can get small magnets at Radio Shack and other places. The Rix magnetic uncoupler will work too.
–Randy
Randy,
That was my thought also. I need to look at the Instructions tonight and see. My Wand that I recieved had no handle at all. It was about 1 inch long and maybe 3/16’s of an inch in diameter. It was in a plastic bag taped to the box te GP9 came in.
I was thinking that one of the magnets from my RIX decoupler would work too.
Thanks for that info Randy!
Chris
Chris - Almost any magnet will work. It simply activates a magnetic reed switch. It shouldn’t take much. My biggest problem was finding the correct spot on the hood to place the magnet. I couldn’t find the manual at the time. You said you were not able to reset by CV’s?
Terry[8D]
Terry,
For some reason I can’t set CV’s or Change the address of the locomotive. I need to play with it when my mind is clear and NOT after a long day of work. I still may look it over and try it again tonight.
Chris
Chris - I just got my confirmation email from Litchfiefd Station that my two upgrade chips went out in todays mail. The Lite Mike and the Gp-9. I took the shell off of the Gp-9 and you are right lots of really small wires that can get broke if one is not careful. Just armchair quarterbacking here but I would probably check every plug and wire very carefully to make sure nothing was disturbed and remove the chip inspect it and re-insert and see if that makes a difference. I am sure you would do all this anyways I am justing talking out loud. Good luck and quit working so darned hard.
PS forgot to mention what I found stuck to the speaker when I just took the shell off. The screw I lost two years ago when i first bought the loco. Check you may find yours.
Terry[8D][:D]
Well, it looks like I have one of two possible problems.
OR
As soon as power is applied to the track via DCC, the GP9 reports a verbal RESET. This usually indicates that the magnet is in the correct position on the reed switch and does a full factory reset.
I have inspected the entire install and that does not seem to be the problem. The stock QSI chip can be re-installed and runs fine, so that seems to point to the QSI replacement chip.
I have sent an e-mail to Tony’s Train Exchange to see if they know anything. I may put a meter on the reed switch in the morning and try to buzz that out and see if that is the problem.
Chris
Chris
Well that is bad news if the chip is in fact defective. If so that will be two bad chips that we know of all ready? I should get my Lite mike and Gp-9 chips mid week. Should be interesting.
Terry
Chris,
What DCC system are you using to program your QSI upgrade chip?
Tom
Tom,
I use my MRC Prodigy Advance System with this unit. The previous chip worked fine and I had the changes I needed to make that GP9 run so sweet. I even posted my CV values for my slow speed ops for you if I’m not mistaken.
Bottomline, I think something reall is wrong with the chip. Could be a line of code, or a pin out being wrong. With the Shell off the unit, I am hearing something that sounds like static on the speakers. I was going to turn down the sound but I’m trying to de-bug the rest of the problems. My gut tells me it’s the chip still.
Chris
Chris one thing I just thought of. I think it is QSi that has the quirk that the sound has to be on to adj CV’s. So make sure you don’t have the sound muted. Just a thought. By the way it was me that used your Gp-9 settings. I can’t seem to get mine to slow down. Doesn’t matter now as I have the new chip coming. Hope it didn’t come from the same batch yours did[:D]
Terry[8D]
Chris,
The reason for asking is that I had a problems with my first upgrade chip so Tony ended up sending me another one. Although it did fix most of the problems I was having, I was curious what DCC system you were using because I thought that maybe some of my issues could have been due to conflicts between the chip and my Power Cab. I was not able to successfully program my upgrade chip according to the QSI info sheet that accompanied it. Thanks to Terry I was able to program CV2 with a value that seemed to satisfactorily optimize the low end response of my 2-8-2 Light Mike.
Tom
Terry,
In the new set-up instructions that QSI Includes, they have a method of adjusting the CV’s for the start voltage and slow speed. I was able to move these and hear the audible replies. So at least part of the chip is correct. I can get her to run nice and smooth and SLOW, maybe not as slow as I’d like to see, but as well as I had it with the original chip.
Part of the problem is that as soon as I power her down and power it back up, I get that darn “RESET” and then she goes back to it’s original settings.
I hope the guys at either TTE or QSI can help.
I sent an e-mail to Walther’s and they are sending me a new magnetic wand for this unit.
Chris