Consist

[majord732]

Could someone please explain to me why I am not able to get two barchmann engines to work together. One decoder is an E-Command and the other is an unknown at this time.
I have tried spreading them as much as 3 FT apart but nothing happens. Both JMRI and NCE will take both consist but only one is working and that is my lead engine.

Thank you for any advice that you can give me.

[Hunt]

1. Are you using NCE Power Cab or what? How long have you been using this DCC system?
2. Identify the Bachmann locomotives -  are they factory sound decoder equipped?
3. Reset the decoder in each Bachmann locomotive.
4. At this point, each locomotive has the same address,   3

With no other locomotives on track --- Place both on track about a foot apart and run using address 3. Do they stay about a foot apart or does one run faster than the other,  how much faster?

[Hunt]

1. Are you using NCE Power Cab or what? How long have you been using this DCC system?
2. Identify the Bachmann locomotives -  are they factory sound decoder equipped?
3. Reset the decoder in each Bachmann locomotive.
4. At this point, each locomotive has the same address,   3

With no other locomotives on track --- Place both on track about a foot apart and run using address 3. Do they stay about a foot apart or does one run faster than the other,  how much faster?

majord732,
Need the above to determine if speed matching is required before consisting.

[majord732]

HUnt, I just got into DCC last year but was doing my homework before I bought my NCE Power Cab.

As far as my engines one is Factory installed and the other isn't. One thing that does bother me is that I am unable to find out what type of decoder
that the one from the factory is. I have tries reaching out to Barchmann but no answer. I will try setting them address 3 and see what happens.

Dave

[rich1998]

It has been a few years. I have the power cab and did it with three locos. I did ABBA. It was not a problem. Just do not remember any details. I did some trimming of the CV's as I recall. The first loco had a factory decoder for controlling the A and B units.

Rich.

[majord732]

Rich ty, I will keep on working at it. I have another decoder on the way so I might try that one vers the E-Z Command decoder.

Dave

[rich1998]

I remember now. It was a Precision Scale Model with decoder in the NYC A running both A and B. 
NYC BLI A and B with TSU-1000 in the next A and B I put in. Matched three decoder with trimming.
Pulled my 45 Pacemaker freight at the club.
I could not afford the proper steamer that pulled the prototypical 90 car freight.
Even had the proper 40 ft caboose in brass.

Rich

[Hunt]

majord732,

After it is known which locomotives you have and they run close enough to be use in a consist then there are different ways to create a consist of locomotives depending on the capability of the locomotive's decoder and how closely you wish to model a prototype consist determine which you should consider.

If you want simple, do not use the consist programming methods provided by the NCE Power Cab but program all the locomotives that make up the consist to same address. If your locomotives are equipped with the basic Bachmann E-Z Command decoder this what I suggest you use. If you have more capable decoders in locomotives with lots of features then perhaps you will want to use advanced consisting.

Jumping ahead ----

"The JMRI consisting tools don't currently work with the Power Cab (due to changed memory access commands with this command station compared to the Power Pro). One day I may get time to look further into this.

You can use the Consist buttons on the Power Cab throttle to create NCE consists and use JMRI throttles to drive them. There is also the Browse Consists (shortcut = PROG 9) feature. Since the Power Cab only supports 16 advanced consists, using the throttle to manage consists is not onerous.

The very ultra-important thing with NCE consists is to only ever use the lead or rear loco address to create JMRI throttles and never the consist address. That's the case with all NCE systems, see the document above. If you do that with your NCE system and JMRI, you'll have no problems."

Dave Heap,
JMRI developer working using NCE hardware
  12/26/20



Now read and adapt to the consist you are trying to create.

Click Here NCE Consisting

Click Here   Setting Up An Advanced Consist The NCE Way



There are some good and some not so good videos on YouTube. Once you identify the locomotives you have I can suggest one or more videos to use with the NCE Power Cab System Reference Manual.

[Terry Toenges]

Not all like Bachmann locos are created equal. My two stock Bachmann DCC equipped F7's pull apart after a few laps when I run them back to back on the same address with E-Z Command.
I know. I know. That's why I should get a different DCC system. 

[Hunt]

Not all like Bachmann locos are created equal. My two stock Bachmann DCC equipped F7's pull apart after a few laps when I run them back to back on the same address with E-Z Command.
I know. I know. That's why I should get a different DCC system. 

Terry,
In your situation, not only do you need a more capable DCC system, you also need to install a better decoder in each locomotive. The basic Bachmann E-Z Command decoder does not have the minimum number of CVs required to speed match the locomotives.

[jward]

Hunt is right. The basic Bachmann decoders do not support adjustments to max and mid range voltages. You can't slow down the faster engine if you can't adjust those.