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FINALLY! JMRI Decoder Pro interfaced with my NCE Power Pro

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    FINALLY! JMRI Decoder Pro interfaced with my NCE Power Pro

    I feel like I ought to get a Victory Medal or something for this.
    • Downloaded and installed production version 5.8 on my laptop. I had version 4.2.24 installed.
    • New version requires Java version 17. I had version 8 installed on my laptop.
    • Got the correct driver installed for my serial / USB cable.
    All this went fairly straight forward. The JMRI documentation ultimately got me where I needed to go. Had to sift through a lot of YT videos which were a waste of time. If there was a video on how to accomplish this task on an NCE Power Pro, NOT a Power Cab, I never found it. The JMRI instructions, while having a great deal of TMI, ultimately made the synapses fire to get across the finish line. Getting the proper settings took about 2 hours of FAFO. In my case, the final FA value was a 7, and the FO value was 10. Here is the mathematical equation eloquently explained:

    https://youtu.be/22rCPuPh1Gw?si=yivTAOEYi8aa9Yi9
    • In my case, the relationship was not linear. It rose exponentially on the Y axis to 6.99, at a very low X axis value.
    • A miracle occurred once I set the connection in JMRI to Serial, and identified my COM port (COM 4). Then the Y axis value went up slightly to 7, with a value of 10 on the X axis.
    I was able to read in two locomotive's into the database, an old Lifelike Proto 2000 SW-7 with an old NCE DA-SR decoder. I knew I had success when I could hear a slight sound every time a CV was read from the locomotive, and I could see progress on the screen. I also read in a recently installed Sountraxx Tsunami 2 PNP decoder installed in an Intermountain F7B. Managed to change CVs on the programming track.

    I now have enough confidence to proceed with installing the same model TSU decoder in the two Intermountain "A" units. Those have a three LED light bar, and I have the necessary resisters to make that work on individual outputs for each LED. Still have a lot to learn about Decoder Pro (particularly using it to program on the main), but at least I now have a working system. I'm hoping for a shallow learning curve on it from this point forward.

    Regards,
    Jerry

    #2
    Congratulations Jerry!!
    No doubt JMRI makes programming and configuring decoders a breeze and you'll find it an indespensable tool.
    So when's the celebration party??

    Comment


    • JerryZ
      JerryZ commented
      Editing a comment
      I had the party at the point of completion. Bundy Rum and Coke. ;-)

    • Russ C
      Russ C commented
      Editing a comment
      Ahhhhhh!!! And I missed it???
      Awww Bundy & coke....dang...
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