NCE Power Cab

[kornellred]

A couple of years ago, I won an auction on eBay  which consisted of a gaggle of unassembled  Atlas and Kato locomotives, among which are (were) 4 Kato NW2 switchers which are all decoder equipped.  I am at present working on them.

None of the 4 respond to DCC.  All of them respond to DC.  I have an NCE Power Cab set up but have misplaced the user handbook.  I tried resetting CV 8 to a value of 8 on 2 of the units but still no response from either.  Something tells me I am failing to follow the correct steps to program the units (program on main).  Or, the decoders are no good.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,  WillieR

[MK]

Are you sure they are Digitrax decoders?  If they are TCS or NCE decoders you need to write a 2 in CV30.

Them responding to DC is a fairly good sign that the decoders are not toast.

[peteski]

Manual is available for downloads at the NCE site, but I attached it for you here.

[woodone]

Well first off do you have the Power Cab wired correctly?  Using the flat cable to the panel from the throttle?
Ca help more if you would care to share a phone#
Woodone

[Mike C]

  Did you remove the Loco from the rails after doing the reset ?  In order for the reset to be complete you have to either tilt the loco to one side so the wheels on one side come off the tracks , or just take it off the tracks for a few seconds .      Mike

[woodone]

I always wonder what ever happen to the request for help on these?

[Maletrain]

When I read OPs like this one, and see advice to "reset' the decoders before there is any diagnostic effort, I just don't get involved.

With a Power Cab and its manual. why not use the programming track mode to read the decoder?  That will tell you the address and a lot more, assuming there is really a decoder in there.  Resetting is almost never the magic bullet when the problem is something other than not knowing the address and not having a way to read it.  But, the Power Cab does have a way to read it.

[kornellred]

I found my Power Cab manual, and also found out that the NW2's in my group have TCS decoders, and that TCS decoders are reset to factory specs by setting CV30 to a value of 2 using the programming track.

Thanks for the help that I inadvertently received by reading the responses, especially the one that questioned if I assumed that the decoders were digitrax.  I assumed that all decoders whatsoever were reset by setting CV8 to a value of 8.  You know what they say about "assume"  - it makes an "a$$" of "u" and me"!

kornellred