Hello everyone! I just bought a 29483 digital starter set and I have a big problem.

1/ I followed the instructions in the manual, but the mfx loco is found but does not register. When I put it on the rails mfx blinks a couple of times on the MS2 screen than nothing. No Loco!

2/ When I do a search it finds the loco then the display says "reading-loco" then it doesn't get added. The mfx text keeps blinking after.

3/ I tried adding the loco from the database, but it's not listed. Go figure! This being a set, shouldn't the 29483 be in there???

4/ I finally tried adding it manually using the address 44 as indicated in the booklet. This kinda worked but there is a big problem. All the functions work, but you have to press stop twice for the train to respond. So to increase speed for instance, you rotate the dial, press stop ( train stops ) press stop ( train starts and increases speed ). This is obviously not how it's supposed to work.

I've searched the forums and google and didn't find any similar problem mentioned.

What do you guys think? Where is the problem? The loco? The MS2?

I bought the set new but on eBay from a seller called lonepcfn, so returning it would blow.

Please help a noob out :)

Edited by user 04 October 2013 03:24:46(UTC)  | Reason: Solved

Hi!
Welcome to the forum!
You don't find any mfx locos in the DB, mfx locos have to register automatically.
Most likely a decoder problem, but could also be a trackbox problem.

The loco must not react to address 44 if mfx is activated in the MS2 menu. Never, not even after a double click on STOP.

If you disable mfx in the MS2 menu, then all mfx locos will have to use the MM protocol.
A new decoder or a new trackbox may be cheaper than the return postage, so maybe just wait and use address 44 until you buy a second mfx loco.

Most likely it's either the decoder or the trackbox. It could be something else, but if you only used the items from the starter set and got the loco running with MM protocol then I cannot image which PEBKAC could prevent the loco from registering automatically.

The MS2 has an option somewhere that displays its software version. Which version is yours?

Edit: I see your dealer is in the US, so maybe postage will be cheaper than a new decoder.

I got the new 37106 mfx loco and adding it with mfx enabled did not work. But unlike the 29483 the MS2 was able to search, find it and add it using MM2 with mfx disabled. So I did not have to add it manually as with the 29483 loco.

So is it the railbox or the MS2 that's bad? Do u think updating the software on the MS2 could fix it.

BTW, I did factory reset the MS2 and made sure the railbox was updated to v1.39, but none of that helped.

Do you get a blinking "mfx" as with the other loco?

Last thing you can try is hook only a single 24188 to your railbox and give it another try with mfx enabled. "Detect loco" should give mfx locos a kick if they don't register automatically.

Do you connect the railbox directly to the track? Or did you get a little "black box" for the connection? Märklin made some radio interference suppressors for FCC compliance (maybe that (if present) disturbs mfx).

Let's hope William & staff at MMM can help you out, buy a wagon or such too if they are helpful...

Yes, it get exactly the same symptoms as with the first loco. mfx blinks twice then nothing. A forced search yields nothing when mfx protocol is enabled.



I already tried that but forgot to mention it.



I do have the little black box between the railbox and the track. Since I'm visiting the dealer later today or tomorrow I'll let them take a crack at it.

I'm actually planning to get some track extensions and possibly the Marklin 37790 High Speed Train TGV POS SNCF but they require that you also buy the set of cars # 43420, 43430 and 43440 which is a bit too long of a train for my humble stater set .

That's what It was!!! The little black box or "FCC Connection Set 74041", as Marklin calls it, is what prevents mfx locos from registering and operating using the mfx protocol.

Now why the HELL would Marklin add a component that renders a system almost unusable? And if there is no way to be FCC compliant and keep mfx running, why is there not a single word about the limitation in the MS2 manual or the 74041 booklet?

I also would like to point out that there is no way to bypass the black box without cutting and taping the feeder wire or buying flat sleeve connectors (74995).

I hope this post will save future purchasers of Marklin products containing "FCC compliant" railboxes some head scratching and maybe even product returns.

This sux!

Thanks again Tom and to everyone else who commented.

There are three "black boxes": first came two for FCC compliance, a small one for MS2 and a larger one for CS2.
Much later came a black box for EU compliance, shipped with recent CS2s.

I haven't heard of FCC "black boxes" interfering with MS2 before. So maybe it's a rare combination of tolerances (black box clears mfx more effectively than usual and railbox is less sensitive to mfx signals than usual), maybe the black box is defective, maybe it's by design (and dealers tell their customers to bridge the black box). Just speculating.

Maybe others who have a railbox with black box can share their experience?

The description for that board indicates it must not be used for digital operation. Delta is digital - and still they shipped that board with Delta starter sets.

I used one of those on my layout - and some locos worked, others did not. Removing that board solved the problem.

Märklin shipped a few 2013 new locos without FCC approval. But if they are serious about growing in America, they will have to find a solution that is FCC approved - for the locos and the controllers.

Ray,

Was it one of those Delta starter sets that came with a Delta lok and an analog transformer? Just curious.

-Brandon

I don't know it's the right strategy, or any strategy at all...I just sort of expect that's what will happen so that they can keep FCC compliance with minimal effort. It would be nice if as you suggest they made the black box removable, and spades on the end of the wires instead...of course this would add (however slight) cost.

My father in law has an MS2 that came with a US starter set...next time I am up that way I'll have to look and see if it has the suppressor. He has two loks (like you), both are MFX and both work with MFX (I had to re-add one a while ago as something caused the initial MFX registration to "loose" some of the sound icons...maybe due to suppressor?). I probably won't be there for a few weeks, but I'll hopefully remember to update the thread.

-Brandon

Purely for interest, I checked the set this past weekend, there was no suppressor I could find. Nor was there one in the box, which leads me to believe he never received one. The starter set is 29539, which according to the Marklin product database is a 230v kit, which is probably why it does not have the US (FCC) specific suppressor. His kit has a US power supply, but I suspect the dealer just switched it.

-Brandon