Hi!

Re 1: In my experience the MS2 with the lower serial number will be the master. It does not matter whether it is left or right.

Re 2: The issue with low current draw applies to DCC only. mfx and RailCom use a different mechanism that is not affected by the current draw of loco lights or loco motor.
But the current draw of other locos or even lighted coaches can disturb mfx registration.
mfx registration can be improved by stopping all trains or by removing all other rolling stock from the track.

Re 3: I don't have a workaround. Push the card in before making changes or write loco settings to a fresh card.

If you insert a loco card which has information saved on it for another loco it will open an entry for that loco in the next free slot and select that. It will not change any settings for the loco you have previously selected. If you then change back to the loco you're working on and save those settings to the loco card it will overwrite the information it previously had on that card.

Please also remember that the settings for acceleration/braking, maximum speed, etc are saved on the decoder, not on the card.

That's not quite how it has appeared to me.

If I'm "on" loco1 and insert a card that has settings for loco2, then - IF loco2 is not already listed on my MS2, then the loco2 settings will be read into a new slot, just like you say. But IF loco2 is already "known" to my MS2 (let's say it's on slot 2), then my MS2 jumps to that slot and uploads the card info there, quite possibly overwriting any settings I had there for loco2. And if I insert a card with loco1 data on it, I see immediately in the MS2 the settings that came from the card, not the ones I had just painstakingly tweaked for my precious loco1.

So, then: When does the acceleration/braking data get transferred from the MS2 to the loco? And if inserting an "old" loco1 card (with the intention of writing out the new, perfect settings I've just made for loco1) "only" changes the MS2 settings but not the loco's, how do I get the loco's settings back into the MS2 so I can write them to that loco card?!

So what's the data "flow" when I load a card into my MS2? Settings from the card go into the MS2 immediately. Then what? When are they transmitted to the decoder for storage? When I change something like acceleration in the loco settings on the MS2, that gets sent immediately to the loco (well, when I hit the "done" checkmark key). So the MS2 and the loco decoder are always in sync.

What you're saying sounds to me like it would bring the MS2 and loco out of sync. If the card data is stored in the MS2 but not sent on to the loco, the system would be inconsistent. That's very upsetting to the mind of an old configuration manager!

/T

The loco card stores name, address and function configuration on the controller (MS2, CS2, etc). I don't think it knows anything else. The reason you use a loco card is when you use MM or DCC locos, and want to add one quickly to your MS2 or CS2/3 without having to set the address, type the name, and choose the functions on the controller. The functions and other CVs/settings are still there on the loco decoder, the controller just doesn't know it.

The actual configuration of the locomotive is stored on the decoder itself as Ray has said.

For example, might have a DCC locomotive with 12 functions. I can take this locomotive to any controller and use it, the decoder knows everything about the locomotive it needs to operate. I could use a DCC controller, I could use an MS2, a friend's MS2, a CS2, etc. However, in the case of the MS2/CS2/CS3, Marklin have you create the locomotive on the controller before using it (this isn't necessarily a standard with other controllers). So, if I use it on my MS2, I have to create a new loco, name it, and set the function buttons F0-F12 on the MS2. If I take ti to a friend's MS2, I would have to do the same thing over. What you will notice is, even if you don't set any, and hit F0, for example, the headlights still come on. This is because the decoder knows this, we're only telling the controller itself there are 12 functions and perhaps giving icons for them.

Now, if I have a loco card and save the name/address/functions (lets say function descriptions to be a little more accurate), I can go to my friend's MS2, plug that in, and not have to spend time creating the loco on the that friend's MS2. Or, if I have more locos than my MS2 database will hold, and delete them from the MS2 entirely, when I get one out the card is a faster way to load it. As a result, the loco card never talks to the loco decoder or vice versa, it just creates the placeholder on the MS2/CS2/CS3 controller. When you set CV values via the decoder, these are written to the loco decoder itself.

This is one thing MFX/MFX+ aims to improve. We don't need to tell the controller the information about the locomotive, the locomotive tells the controller, "Hey, my name is BR78 034, I have 12 functions, these are the icons I use for them, etc".

-Brandon

No, you're quite right of course. I'm just back from some playing around with the gadgets and once I knew what tests to run, it was easy to verify what you were saying. It just didn't match what I was expecting.

But after a bit of thought, I see the validity of how it's done. As you say, if simply inserting the card would trigger re-programming all the way down to the decoder, then it would be too easy to lose all settings by inserting a card with old data on it. As it now stands, you play the settings into the MS2 where you can (have to!) review them one by one to transfer them to the loco. Which can get a bit tedious if you have many settings, I guess, but for my simple stock it will not be any major burden

But this then begs another question. Let's say I load a loco card into the MS2 and find that it's one full of crap settings that I absolutely do not want. How do I trigger a "read" from the loco back to the MS2? Does that happen automagically when the loco and the MS2 "discover" each other after the loco has been placed on the track? When the MS2 is powered on? I tried the "find loco" menu choice but that didn't do much.

/T

Oh, thats great (not!). That's what I was intending to use the loco cards for in the first place and now this discussion has officially gone recursive!

/T

What makes this particularly annoying is that four of my locos were re-built (by me) with mfx decoders in the past few weeks!


This is what I don't get. My cards clearly save and read back settings like acceleration. It's just that I have to open each setting one by one and "apply" them by selecting the "OK" checkmark on the MS2 after I've read the card back in again.


Terminology confusion: What does "CV-values" mean? Something other than the acceleration etc that I've been playing with?


It sounds like when I out-grow the MS2s, my next gadget will not be a Märklin CS after all. Perhaps an ECoS would be better for me?

Thanks!

MS2 can read values from an MFX decoder. If you use MFX the decoder will automatically register with the controller, and there will be no need for a locomotive card.

Personally I only use loco cards for my non-Marklin DCC locomotives and sometimes older MM locomotives, especially if the address is not the default setting the loco database would know otherwise. I just let MFX be MFX with no cards.

If they are factory equipped MFX from Marklin, you can really only use MFX or MM (the latter if you disable MFX on the MS2). If they are retrofit MFX decoders from Marklin, ESU, etc, most allow you to select protocols; you could disable mfx on the decoder and enable DCC if this suites your needs better.

-Brandon

It seems to me from what you say that the loco card memorises what is on the MS2 display. This is not the same as the actual values on the decoder if those values have not been saved to the decoder. If you wish to use the card to save those values as you seem to be doing I suggest you make any changes to CVs with the card in place and save the loco to the card whenever you make any changes. That would effectively synchronise the values saved on the decoder, MS2 and loco card.

I'm pretty sure the saving of this information on the loco card is an unintended and undocumented facility. Marklin tells us that the loco card saves the loco name, address, function icon layout, and picture (when using a CS2). It makes no mention of the saving of CV values.

I agree. When I go into the menus for changing these variables the value on the screen before I start is often way different from the value that I know is in the decoder. I always assume that the initial value is arbitrary and it's what I dial up and save to the loco that is important.

I agree. Like I said to Ray, cumbersome bordering on impractical!

I suspect that it's just now, while I'm still new to these digital features and experimenting with the settings, that I find it hard to remember which setting is good for each loco.

/T

Hi Guys, after reading through all the comments and posts, I am still not clear if a card can be "wiped" and reprogrammed? In our South African currency these cards are pretty expensive for a once-off use...
I recently bought a few cards from Germany but have not used them as yet, but I really hoped to get multiple uses out of them. Something simple like loco name that might be misspelt... would I be able to rectify it, or if I move the decoder to another loco?

Perfect! tkx!!