So I just got into Z Gauge. Just AZL (American Z Lines) for now, will probably get some Märklin later on. (Do some mixed American/European H0f park modellieren in the Julgransby.) But I'm not going to settle for analogue DC, haven't done that for a decade. So I got some Z DCC decoders from TCS (Train Control Systems), specifically for AZL loks. I would much prefer mfx+ decoders, but until Märklin feels like developing Z Digital, those just don't exist yet. I hope it's part of their internal road map, past the LGB mfx+ transition. However I digress.

I installed a drop in decoder in a lok no problem. Hooked up the CS3 to the track and fired it up, backed up last years Julgransby layout and restored the start layout. Manually added a DCC lok at address 3. Lok worked as expected. I could turn the light on and off, switch directions, and it drives the appropriate direction. Now I'd like to change it from the default address of 3. It also appears that TCS, unlike any German or Austrian decoder I've used, defaults DC fallback mode as disabled. Since the Chinese DCC voltage regulator for Z gauge I acquired was a dud (though I did set my hopes low for a $6 part), I figured I should still run DC until I get the proper Digitrax 3 Amp Z Scale Voltage Reducer.

And here's where my issues come in. When I go into edit loks, pick the lok, select the configuration tab to edit CVs, and make a change, the CS3 does it's normal CV programming subroutine: read out decoder, then write the CV that was adjusted. Only problem is, every time it tries to read out the decoder, it comes back with "CV Read Error. Processing Aborted." Same response if I pick the read out decoder option manually. As well as if I try Program-CV Template. There is a read decoder option on the info tab as well, that will come back with "Reading the address was not successful." I've also tried all of this from the programming track port with the exact same results. Somewhere in my attempts to write a value of 1 to CV 1, it did actually take and the lok is now address 1. However I've been unable to write a value of 4 or 12 to CV 29. (4 being enable DC fallback mode, and 12 being enable DC fallback mode and enable Railcom.) I'm not even sure the CS3 supports DCC Railcom, though the CS3 DCC CV Template does list it as "Bi-Directional Communication". I've also tried disabling mfx and MM output, with no change. I'm at a loss as to why it's not working. I'm not sure if I'm just doing something wrong/missing something. Any advice would be appreciated. Oh, before I forget, the CS3 is running software version 2.5.1.

Edited by user 07 April 2024 02:55:20(UTC)  | Reason: Issue Solved

I figured it out. I had made sure to wipe the track down clean, but didn't think to clean the wheels. After cleaning the wheels, I could read and write any CV I wanted.