However, lots of folks are working with energy storage in vari-
ous forms, including batteries (hybrid drive), capacitors, super-
capacitors, etc.
As you can see, we have just scratched the surface of this keep-
alive concept and there is a lot more to discuss. Wait until March’s
column when we will be talking about “Stayin’ Alive”. This is fair
warning for you aficionados to get your disco clothes out again.
Until then, I hope that you have green boards. If you liked this
article, please click on the Reader Feedback icon and rate it
awesome. Thank you.
There was a thread on the MRH website about working with
two decoders in one loco. How to set them up and program
them. That prompted me to deal with the topic here.
Recently the concept of decoder locking has become popular
amongst decoder manufacturers. This involves setting CV 15
and CV 16. If CV 16 = 0, locking is disabled. If CV 16 is set to
a value between 1 and 7, then the decoder can only be pro-
grammed when CV15 is set to the same value. When locked,
the decoder will only allow you to change CV15 or CV16.
There are some recommended values for CV16, depending
upon what the specific decoder is doing. Check out the NMRA
site for these ideas:
.
But what do you do if you have an older decoder without the
lock feature? Here’s what I do to keep it simple.
From Mr. DCC’s workbench
– One Loco with Two Decoders
14
14: Two decoders in loco #630: Lenz motor and light
decoder with SoundTraxx DSX sound module without the
loco feature.
MRH-Feb 2013
