Challenger Tsunami 750 Heavy Steam Problem??

[DocGeoff]

My Athearn Challenger has a Tsunami 750 Heavy Steam decoder. It finally got fixed and for the last week has run beautifully. Today when I fired up the DCC the engine sit there and made idle sounds. I tried to re-set to factory specs with both CV30-2 and CV 8-8 and it still just idles with no response??? Does anyone have a suggestion? After of almost two years, thanks to Lee, it was running like a Swiss watch, then today ugh, nothing, no response. I run the layour with a Digitrax Super Chief. In the morning I am going to contact Soundtraxx and see if they can offer any suggestions, but I am open to the brains of DCC on this forum, too.I have a booster on the program track and it shows that the re-set was good????
Thaks for any help forthcoming,

[Day One]

I've worked with a few Tsunami 750 decoders on a digitrax chief system and they just don't work quite right with the digitrax system as the programmer. I was tempted to get a booster too but procrastinated long enough that another solution presented itself to me. I used a SPROG II to reprogram mine and it has functioned fine since then. My issue was that I could program every CV under the sun just fine with the exception of changing the address, CV29, and reset. On one unit I got all of the sounds and light effects programmed fine while running on the main but it would never allow me to change the address. (programming track or otherwise) On another unit, it did basically the same thing except that it did change the address. Only it didn't. I don't know what it did but the address was no longer 3 and never became what I set it too. It wouldn't let me reset to default either.  I had a loco with no address for about 7 months until I used the SPROG II to reprogram it.

So....I dunno how helpful that is. Obviously either digitrax or Soundtraxx don't adhere to the guidelines for programming correctly or they would work OK with each other. I'd suggest trying to borrow or test a SPROG II since the booster doesn't seem to be making up for the deficiency either.

[mmyers]

First make sure it's not in a consist.
Try programming on the main. You can not change a short address if the decoder is currently set to run on a short address. Same is true if on an extended address. So if the CV29 is programmed to run on its short address, you can only program a long address on the main. After programming the new long address, then change CV29 to activate the long address. After doing so, select the new long address and you can change the short address.

If you are not sure of the correct address, there is one drastic way to program on the main. First remove any other loco with a decoder that is on the tracks. Then dial up address 00 and go ahead and program on the main. All NMRA decoders answer to address 00 which is why you need to remove any other loco's from the track first. You should be able to do the reset using address 00 too. NMRA set this little feature up so that every decoder gets an emergency stop message when the button is pressed but it can be used for programming when all else fails.

Martin Myers