 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General ModelsRailroadsRocketsRadio Controlled Air ModelsHelicoptersLand ModelsWater ModelsModelGeeks.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Model Forum / General / Railroads / May 2008DCC throttle malfunctioning
The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer responds properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob counterclockwise and instead of a straight-line sequence the readout might run 30-29-28-27-26-25-24-36-34-33-32-44-40-39-27-36-35 and so forth. It also happens when increasing speed but not so noticibly. Is this something that I can reprogram or do I need to send my throttle to Digitrax for service? Carter >The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer responds >properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob counterclockwise and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Is this something that I can reprogram or do I need to send my throttle to >Digitrax for service? Sigh. Reinstall Windows and reboot. Oh, wait. Wrong fix for the wrong problem. Lost my head. -- Ray > Sigh. Reinstall Windows and reboot. > > Oh, wait. Wrong fix for the wrong problem. Lost my head. And uninstall Vista and IE8. -- Cheers Roger T. Home of the Great Eastern Railway at:- http://www.highspeedplus.com/~rogertra/ Latitude: 48° 25' North Longitude: 123° 21' West > And uninstall Vista and IE8. Hunh? Wuzzat? Never heard of 'em.  SignatureSteve >> And uninstall Vista and IE8. > > Hunh? Wuzzat? Never heard of 'em. Must be a Mac user. -- Cheers Roger T. Home of the Great Eastern Railway at:- http://www.highspeedplus.com/~rogertra/ Latitude: 48° 25' North Longitude: 123° 21' West >>> And uninstall Vista and IE8. >> >> Hunh? Wuzzat? Never heard of 'em. > > Must be a Mac user. Nope. Experienced Windows user - experienced enough to avoid switching to their "latest and greatest" until there's absolutely no way not to, and that point sure ain't here yet for those twin piles of doggie breakfast. SignatureSteve "Steve Caple" >>>> And uninstall Vista and IE8. >>> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > to their "latest and greatest" until there's absolutely no way not to, and > that point sure ain't here yet for those twin piles of doggie breakfast. We are in 100% agreement. :-) -- Cheers Roger T. Home of the Great Eastern Railway at:- http://www.highspeedplus.com/~rogertra/ Latitude: 48° 25' North Longitude: 123° 21' West > The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer > responds properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Carter Are you alone on your system, or do you have other throttles? Sometimes a throttle doesn't release the address properly, and you get funky behavior. We (a club of around 6-7 regular operators) get funky operations sometimes when there's a lot of people running, especially over the radio side. Try the left wheel and see if it does it too. If so, try resetting your system. Puckdropper SignatureIf you're quiet, your teeth never touch your ankles. To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm >> The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer >> responds properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Puckdropper If that does not work, the encoder may be bad. That means a trip to Norcross is in order. Howard G > The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer responds > properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob counterclockwise and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Carter Sounds like a service issue to me, you're working a variable resistor, and anything mechanical can develop problems which affect its electrical performance. http://www.digitrax.com/kb/ is their tech support page, a good place to start. OTOH, in case it is a programming issue, you could try resetting everything to to factory state first, the reprogramming the CVs. If the throttle has the same issues when reset to factory state, then there are problems you can't fix. If it's OK, reprogram the CVs, one at a time, and testing functionality each time. This will reveal which CV is messing things up, which may be useful information when you contact Digitraxx. Good luck. Signaturewolf k. >> The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer >> responds properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > performance. http://www.digitrax.com/kb/ is their tech support page, a > good place to start. Well, except that the DT400 uses encoders instead of pots, I agree that it's a problem with your right encoder. I'd call Digitrax first to confirm it's there's no way to "reset" it, but it sounds like a trip to Norcross is in order. Stevert > Sounds like a service issue to me, you're working a variable resistor, > and anything mechanical can develop problems which affect its electrical > performance.http://www.digitrax.com/kb/is their tech support page, a > good place to start. > -- > wolf k. DT400 does not use potentiometers (aka. variable resistors). It uses digital encoders (continuous turning). Having clarified that I agree that whatever the knob is turning is defective and it shoudl be returned to Digitrax for servicing. BTW, one of the reasons I don't care for Digitrax is those silly encoders which turn and turn and turn. I like a throttle with positive stops on both ends of the knob rotation. Yes I know that they sell utility throttles which use a potentiometer. But those are too simple (not enough function buttons). Peteski >The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer responds >properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob counterclockwise and >instead of a straight-line sequence the readout might run >30-29-28-27-26-25-24-36-34-33-32-44-40-39-27-36-35 and so forth. It also >happens when increasing speed but not so noticibly. Meaning it jumps up and down when turning the knob in one direction? That sounds like something is electronically messed up in the handheld, not software. There are a couple throttle settings you can change (look it up in your booster's manual), but none of them are going to make the throttle jump around like that. >Is this something that I can reprogram or do I need to send my throttle to >Digitrax for service? You might try to reset the throttle to factory settings, but this is probably something you'll need to send the throttle in to fix. The only other thing I can think of is a loose set screw on the knob, but that doesn't fit your description very well. * Signature* PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. On 5/27/2008 10:10 AM PV spake thus: >>The right throttle knob on my Digitrax DT 400 throttle no longer responds >>properly. It's most noticible when turning the knob counterclockwise and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > in your booster's manual), but none of them are going to make the throttle > jump around like that. How about physically cleaning the encoder? Sounds like a shot of electronic tuner cleaner or similar might be in order; the encoder's switch contacts may be gunked up. SignatureThe best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. - Attributed to Winston Churchill Thanks Guys... it looks like the DT400 is getting a trip to Norcross. Appreciate all the comments (at least the ones that applied to my queary) Carter > On 5/27/2008 10:10 AM PV spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > electronic tuner cleaner or similar might be in order; the encoder's > switch contacts may be gunked up. >How about physically cleaning the encoder? Sounds like a shot of >electronic tuner cleaner or similar might be in order; the encoder's >switch contacts may be gunked up. While I know absolutely nothing about DCC and/or encoders thereof I do know that typical mass-merchandised radio-shlock type "electronic tuner cleaner" ain't worth a fart for dang near anything, let alone real electronics. The stuff to use is Caig's DeoxIT from Caig laboratories: http://store.caig.com/ It ain't cheap but it works very well indeed. Been usin' it on my musician pro audio and R/C airplane gear for years. Good stuff! Don't work for Caig labs, just happy to've discovered their products. Tejas Pedro >How about physically cleaning the encoder? Sounds like a shot of >electronic tuner cleaner or similar might be in order; the encoder's >switch contacts may be gunked up. I've never had to take one of them apart to see if the shaft encoders are optical or electrical, so I don't know if degunking the contacts will do anything other than make it spin easier. I would think that if the contacts are messed up, it would skip settings (say go from 23 to 25 on linear mode with a dead click inbetween), but it wouldn't go back down and then up again. That was the key symptom in the description. One other thing occured to me is that it might be worth clearing all the slots in the booster - I've seen one think that two throttles were the same one or somehow married together so that each got the other's messages (sort of like when you steal a loco). You can clear slots via a CV or by using JMRI. * Signature* PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.