Thanks Bob,

I figure this will make a good project if I get snowed-in.  I can take a handful of old hook horn couplers and work on them.

Cheers,

I was looking through the dicusssion group a couple of days ago and came acrossed a pictorial on how to "trim" a hook horn

coupler so that it would mate to the Bachmann EZmate knuckle.

Now that it looks like I will need it, I can't find it.

Does any one remember it?

Not the one showing all the tools.

Bob, I hope I have all this straight. I tried so many things, I' getting it all mixed together.  Everything worked fine UNTIL I connected the DC controller and the DCC controller together using the interconnect cable per Bachmann EZ Command Manual. When I did that, the DC  loco ran backwards, compared to the indicating arrows on the DC controller. So, as one would do with any DC controller where the loco ran backward, I  reversed the power connection to the track by turning over the connector. That corrected the direction reversal, but that is when the DCC turnout went flakey. When I got my second DCC turnout, I replaced the original turnout with the new one--same results. I then installed both turnouts--same result. I have tried two different DC controllers(mine and the one that came with my grandson's Christmas present. I have tried the DCC turnouts, one at a time and both together. The only thing that corrects both problems is to separate the DC and DCC controllers by removing the interconnect cable, returning DC loco control to channel 10 of the DCC controller and using the DC controller only as a power supply for the remote turnouts.

I hope that covers every thing without getting to far into detail.

I will reply to all the recent posts in one message and save space.

I have tried the DCC turnouts separately. No difference.

By "cycle", I mean both ways. I have two DCC turnouts. The third time that I try to use either of the DCC turnouts(not even just

the same DCC turnout), they will both fail to respond. Turning over the power connector to the track cures that problem.

If it were electrical noise causing that problem, then it is electrical noise that is common to every DC locomotive that I have plus

a brand new Bachmann DC locomotive that belongs to my grandson. Not impossible, but why would Bachmann suggest

using the  DC controller through the DCC EZ Command using the provided interconnect cable, if it caused this kind of problem?

The reversing of the trains relative to the arrows on the DC controller; again, this involves all DC trains, older and newer. Again,

turning over the power feed to the track fixes this, but then the DCC turnouts start doing their thing.

I called Bachmann Tech this morning. He said he had no clue, but would research it with others in the department and email me.

He did say that he thought it "unlikely" that it was faulty DCC turnouts, since they came from different sources.

Thanks Bob.

Absolutely and totally correct.

I am seriously considering making two little stickums with arrows on them, and placing them on the DC controller where the

direction indicating arrows are located.  There-by correcting the direction arrows.

That should provide a laugh to my friends when they come over to see my brand new Bachmann layout.

Attention:  the Bach-mann

Apparently there is a known problem with the DCC turnouts when using them with Dynamis. The throw is opposite to the selected position.  In my case the problem is that the DCC turnouts quit operating.

Is this issue is known to Bachmann and if not, they should be informed.  Also, what might we expect as a correction?

Any information would be very much appreciated.

Bob,

I'm a tinkerer also.  I'm afraid what I have here, though is not something mechanical.  I could be wrong, but I think  the cause

rests in that the electrial polarity is some how interferring with digital command signals.

Quote from: Yampa Bob on January 28, 2009, 08:47:34 PM
A question in my mind is, are the DCC turnouts not wired to be compatible with the add-on DC controller?

Interesting, I have the same question in my mind. Trying to get an answer from Bachmann is nearly as frustrating as the exceedingly poor documentation that they provide.

Yampa Bob,

I have checked the programing. They are programmed  according to Bachmann's instructions and the default setting is straight

as  provided by Bachmann.

It's not that the turnouts reverse, they quit working totally. If the polarity of the power feed to the track is reversed so that

the DC locomotives run in the  direction indicated on the DC controller, then the DCC turnouts quit operating.

If the polarity of the power feed to track is set so that the turnouts work, then the DC locomotives run in the direction

opposite to what is indicated on the DC controller.

I should have included that information. The DCC controlled turnouts also appear to be polarity sensitive. When I first set up the DCC, I put a DC locomotive on the tracks and set the power cable to the tracks so that the DC locomotive ran in the same direction as the direction indication on the DC controller.  The DCC controlled turnouts would not function properly for more than one cycle of the turn outs. So, I had to turn over the power cable to make the DCC turnouts operate. That caused the DC locomotives to reverse.

puzzled?

Rich,

It sounds like the 8 pin plug-in that you are referring to is the one located in the locomotive.  My DC locomotives are all

pre-DCC and none of them have the NMRA plug. My grandson's locomotive is non-DCC ready, and I don't believe it has one either.

If this is incorrect and you are referring to another location, could you please explain where it is and how to get to it.

Thanks in advance.

Bac-Man, et al

I have my conversion to DCC well under way. After a couple of glitches, things seem to be smoothing out.

One curious problem. When I run my DC locomotives, they run opposite to the direction indicator on the DC Controller.

The DC Controller is connected using the supplied interconnect cable to the DCC Controller, as recommended by the E-Z

Command instructions. I tried my grandson's month old Bachmann DC locomotive and it did the same thing.

Any ideas?

One problem solved----another created.

When I finally quit randomly trying different things and sat down with a paper and pencil, I solved the turnout control problem fairly quickly.
I encountered a similar problem with ham radio equipment when digital conrol signals overlaying electrical circuitry  first came into use.
The switching would go flakey if the polarity of the  connection were reversed.
So, I pulled out the power connector to the track and turned it over. You guessed it, problem solved. DCC control of the turnout works the way it supposed to work.

However. Any DC equipment that I put on the track runs counter to the indicated direction of movement on the DC controller.
I have come up with two possible causes. Bachmann has some very poor design engineers. Unlikely for many reasons. Primarily, if this were a design flaw, there would be thousands of folks who had or were changing over to DCC would be asking why their DC equipment was running backwards when the interconnected DC contoller was calling for forward.  Unless someone here can come up with a different answer; it appears that a worker in the Bachmann factory that built the E-Z Commander DCC controller or the interconnect cable, swaped a wire somewhere. I tried a different DC controller in conjunctin with the DCC controller(using the same interconnect cable) and that did not help.  The problem appears to be somewhere in the DCC controller or the interconnect cable. And I don't have enough knowledge of either to determine which it might be.

Bac Man       Any ideas?

Well, I been tryed all the  different configurations of hooking up the controllers that Bachmann suggests.  I tried using button
# 10 for DC controller access.  I have tried running the DC controller through the EZ Commander using the black interconnect cord. I prefer this because it automatically  frees up #10  to provide another digital channel. I even tried using the DC controller to  power only the remote turnouts and the EZ Commander to control the the DCC locos. Regardless of the combination I can only run one DCC loco at a time and maintain the  control of the DCC turnout for more than a few cycles of the turnout. As soon as I attempt to run a second DCC loco, after a few cycles of the DCC turnout, the turnout stops responding.

In all the configurations that I tried all other functions(speed, direction, lites, etc) work fine.

Tyler,

I not sure what you mean by "if you were a  model railroader".  Does twenty plus years, about 20 DC locos and a few dozen cars qualify?

I bought the "set" because, since, because of a lot of use and multiple moves my old track was getting pretty bad. So,  I was "converting" both to EZ Track and DCC, it made economic sense. I needed an additonal DC controller. I needed additional track. As to the manual switch. I don't believe that I said otherwise. My only comments were about the decision by Bachmann to put a manual switch in a moderately expensive DCC set, and my anger at myself for not checking closer before buying the set.

As you said,  "but, oh well"