 Joined: 13/02/2017(UTC) Posts: 159 Location: Ottawa, ON
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Hello All,
Has anyone observed or experienced a DCC address not responding? This is an accessory address and not a loco address. In my case, a simple solenoid on address 132 does not respond.
Troubleshooting took the better part of the morning, changing one thing at a time. I changed to a different accessory; changed the decoder; replaced wires; etc. Then I changed the address and voila!... anything connected to that output now worked.
It's a mystery to me, but aside from some little Preiser trolls playing tricks on me, has anyone had a similar problem?
Theories and experience welcome!
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Andry
// Marklin HO K track; ECoS; TrainController Gold; Marklin & ESU decoders; Arduino controlled Switches, Semaphores & Accessories (DCC); Win 11 //
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Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC)
Posts: 9,277
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It´s a bug or so called digital interference that appears.
If you buy a new digital accessories and use same adress the chance if you get same problem are therefore a science proof there is digital interference in the system.
Did you tried reset decoder and test same adress output?
Just in case to know...i have a Trix steam locomotive that start sounds and the lighting by self when i switch the power on.
This happens seldom but just only this locomotive and it seems sound decoder do have digital interference.
Did tested this in both mfx and DCC protocol. |
H0
DCC = Digital Command Control
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Joined: 13/02/2017(UTC) Posts: 159 Location: Ottawa, ON
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Hello Goofy,
Please note (read my second sentence) -- this is not a loco but an accessory. There is no conflict with decoder addresses because all my accessories have unique DCC addresses. I do not purchase digital accessories but use Arduinos with "DCC Shields" to run all my accessories -- over 250 items such as semaphores, lights, turnouts (tortoises), servos, coils, motors, etc. So far, this one address is the only one that will not respond.
Very odd! I'm trying to see if anyone else has come across such an oddity.
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Andry
// Marklin HO K track; ECoS; TrainController Gold; Marklin & ESU decoders; Arduino controlled Switches, Semaphores & Accessories (DCC); Win 11 //
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 1 user liked this useful post by Kiko
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Joined: 12/08/2006(UTC)
Posts: 9,277
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Originally Posted by: Kiko  Hello Goofy,
Please note (read my second sentence) -- this is not a loco but an accessory. There is no conflict with decoder addresses because all my accessories have unique DCC addresses. I do not purchase digital accessories but use Arduinos with "DCC Shields" to run all my accessories -- over 250 items such as semaphores, lights, turnouts (tortoises), servos, coils, motors, etc. So far, this one address is the only one that will not respond.
Very odd! I'm trying to see if anyone else has come across such an oddity.
Then in case this output with this adress are fail. Fix it? |
H0
DCC = Digital Command Control
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Joined: 23/04/2019(UTC)
Posts: 497
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Is the problem with the arduino then? Can't the arduino handle the dcc address 132 anymore?
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1 user liked this useful post by Copenhagen
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 Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,475 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
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Originally Posted by: Copenhagen Is the problem with the arduino then? Can't the arduino handle the dcc address 132 anymore? It should be able to handle any address including this one. It sounds to me like you may have a cabling problem that is messing up the waveform shape of this address. This can happen with a peculiar particular combination of 1 and 0 bits, and the length of wire/termination or lack thereof, on that particular branch of your wiring. I would try reconnecting the decoder on another branch of the wiring and see if it works. If it used to work, and you have added some more wiring since then that wiring may be what is messing with the signal.
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2 users liked this useful post by kiwiAlan
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Joined: 13/02/2017(UTC) Posts: 159 Location: Ottawa, ON
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Originally Posted by: Copenhagen Is the problem with the arduino then? Can't the arduino handle the dcc address 132 anymore? Hello and thanks for responding. I carried out a systematic troubleshooting approach. All components have been changed, one at a time and tested. I changed (and reprogrammed) the Arduino, then I changed the DCC Shield -- with same end result. |
Andry
// Marklin HO K track; ECoS; TrainController Gold; Marklin & ESU decoders; Arduino controlled Switches, Semaphores & Accessories (DCC); Win 11 //
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1 user liked this useful post by Kiko
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Joined: 13/02/2017(UTC) Posts: 159 Location: Ottawa, ON
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Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan It sounds to me like you may have a cabling problem that is messing up the waveform shape of this address. Thanks for your suggestions. In my troubleshooting steps, I changed the wiring from the Arduino to the accessory. Then I tested the old wiring (i.e., connected to different address output from the Arduino to a different accessory) -- everything worked fine. Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan I would try reconnecting the decoder on another branch of the wiring and see if it works.
If it used to work, and you have added some more wiring since then that wiring may be what is messing with the signal. There is no particular "decoder" per say, because the Arduino with the DCC Shield is the decoder -- it decodes DCC signals from the main bus and outputs a HI or LOW on a specific output pin, activating a relay or optocoupler, which turns ON/OFF the particular accessory. (BTW, the relay / optocoupler were also changed to eliminate their malfunction from the equation). That particular Arduino/DCC Shield controls 16 accessories and all work fine except for this address. This means that the Arduino properly detects and decodes DCC addresses from the bus. I did mention already that I tried different Arduino/DCC Shield combinations -- no change. If I reprogram the input/output pins of the Arduino to a different address, everything works. This is what's puzzling and that's the reason I posted my problem. From testing, I think that I've eliminated all possibilities with the exception of DCC address 132. In the vast array of DCC addresses, has anyone else seen such a problem with a specific address? Not particularly the same address as mine, but a similar problem? Puzzling and head-scratching...  |
Andry
// Marklin HO K track; ECoS; TrainController Gold; Marklin & ESU decoders; Arduino controlled Switches, Semaphores & Accessories (DCC); Win 11 //
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