DC/DCC

[Green_Elite_Cab]

No joke about the decoder installations, Les. (By the way, in Canada we can also vote for whom we like. Unfortunately, like in America, there's not an awful lot of acceptable choices - mine is often "None of the above". I'm not sure if you're offered the opportunity to refuse your ballot in the U.S., though.)

Anyway, to the issue of decoders (I don't want to sidetrack this thread, though) - I've run into some problems. The locomotives run great, but I don't fully understand the "how-to" of setting CVs - where to make the adjustments for starters. There doesn't appear to be any adjustment on the decoders themselves and I'm not sure where else to look. I got these from a friend, supposedly "new", and very cheap, as he said that they're a very basic model with no "bells & whistles" (literally ) and that most folks would want something with more features (exactly what I wanted, though). I didn't get any instructions with them but he showed me how to do one, and assured me that installation would be "a snap" (which it was, and no sign either of that "magic smoke" to which I've seen references). He's gone on vacation, but I figured someone here can help me out. There aren't any markings on the units, so I don't know the brand. I'll try to get a picture later, although my camera fell off the tripod yesterday and doesn't look too good.

Wayne

Oh wow, i should really read all the way through a thread (internet died for a week).

You'll need a system to change them, but The basic CVs are

CV1 - the short address (1-127). its usually set to three
CV2 - Start voltage
CV3 - Accleration
CV4 - decceleration
CV5 - maximum voltage (affects speed at highest "Speed step")
CV6 - Mid voltage (Affects speed "mid range speed step")

After those, most things are just extra stuff. 4 digit adressing can be easy depending on the system you're using. I reccomend an NCE Power cab (i think thats the basic set). the NCE system is the most user friendly out of the box. It will actually walk you through what you want to do, and then do all the complicated programming for you (such as long addresses). It even has a recovery feature if you mess up. Its saved a bunch of my decoders.