I am in an area where there are no marklin dealers and very few marklin users. I'm hoping that someone could help me with the layout I have under construction.
I started with a digital starter set in 1989 and added to it over the years and ended with a large layout using a 6021 control unit and a 6015 booster with a 80f control on the side . Controls for solenoid accessories were done with 7272 control boxes. The layout was dismanteled in 2004.

Since that time I have retired and this year started constructing a mult-deck layout in an upstairs bedroom . I planned to have this layout digitally controlled using my M track and control system. I purchased four keyboards , a 6017 booster and a memory unit along with more M track and five new marklin k 83 decoders from e bay. One keyboard was used.

To make the story short, the layout has 0 % of the track in place and the control components are installed in neat rows. I have followed the directions in the handbook for the 6021 control unit and I cannot get the docoders to do anything. At present, the 6021 control unit is only connected to the digital components, the 6015 booster is connected to the tracks and the 6017 is connected to a decoders. Each has a seperate transformer. The trains run but the decoders do not respond. The 6021 is set at the universal swithch setting - 2 - - as it was in my previous layout.

What do I do now ?

Dick Setterlund

Yes you definatly need the 6040 keyboard, and could I suggest the Marklin Digital handbook also, it gives a good explanation of how the components work, and how to set them up.
You should be able to get it cheaply on ebay, or possibly even download it from somewhere.

Cheers....

Mike.

Hi Dick,
Personally I have noe experience with the 6021 but it does sound like you have the right componenets. I believe there are some dip switches on the keyboards themselves which relate to the address range of the keys. Check these and the addresses of the decoders match.
Hope that helps

Caillin

Just like when I was at school, read the question Mike.

The download from BigDaddy should do it.

Cheers.....

Mike.

Dick I would start out simpler for testing.
connect one keyboard to the 6021. then connect that to a k83. Dale Shults made a cool tester for k83's search his web page for it.http://modeltrain.servehttp.com/layout.nsf so you might build one for testing.
make sure the keyboard and k83 dip switches are set correctly.

Dick,

If you test this switch by connecting the yellow wire to a yellow output of a transformer and touch the blue wires against the mass (brown) connection does this switch operate normally??? (traditional method)??

Have you checked the red/brown connections between the 6021/boosters with the tracks and with the k83. Are they not accidently connected the wrong way around?

You could also test a K83 output by connecting a 20v bulb between the yellow and correspondig red/green terminal and see if it lights up when you press the corresponding keyboard button for a short time.

I wonder if the turnout motor is shorting out. I am tiring to remember how the light is wired into the m track turnouts but it could be causing the problem if it is getting a voltage in form a separate transformer and going back through a common ground.

I checked the old Marklin Digital handbook as I have no M-switches at hand. The light is internally connected to the yellow wire of the switch. So the mass must be flowing back via the rail itself as far I can see on the drawing. It is suggested to disconnect this wire as it can then be feed by a separate power source as not using up the digital power available for the switch lighting.

So there should be a common ground between the different components. On my setup I connected the ground wires from the transformers together. I also use a setup with 6020-6040-6043 for switching and a separate 6021+booster for driving.

Dick are you abole to control loc's with your 6021?

is there a red light on when the 6021 is turned on no flashing??

Tex,

I would suggest that a short has (had) developed between the yellow and red.
This results in stressing the driver transistors of the 6021.

2 situations usually occur
- 1 A "good" short - will blow the transistors
- 2 A "poor" short will make them sluggish

Your description is typical of (2) - a poor short with the the transistors delivery power but not crisply enough for the decoder to understand - A loc will therefor assumes "analogue mode" and will take off at 2/3 speed.

occasionally different address patterns may make the signal recognisable but this is borderline.

replace BOTH driver transistors

BEFORE you connect it (or any other controller) to the layout thoroughly check for yellow<> red shorts,

Tex, there are some other threads around dealing with what type of transistors are in the 6021. They are quite common Darlingtons, and are fairly easy to replace, if you have some good soldering skills.

Thanks for the information. Would like to close out the topic as the short has been found and repaired and my new 6021 is in and everything is running as designed. It was, as I suspected from an old 5111 M-track feeder in which the red wire had faded to brown. It still concerns me that a "small" short can cause damage without triping out. I will try to have the old 6021 repaired based on the information that I was given.

Dick Setterlund