Power Cab System Reference. Manual - part 7

To select a locomotive for operation:

Press the SELECT LOCO button

Enter the 1 to 4 digit address of the loco/consist to be operated. A “Leading

Zero” is necessary for long addresses below 128. An asterisk will be displayed
before any long address below 128 (example below).

Press the ENTER key.

Locomotive address examples:

4421 = Long Address

006 = Long Address as entered.
*006 = Long Address as displayed

45 = Short Address as entered

045 = Short Address as displayed

LOC: will be displayed when addressing a single locomotive
CON: will be displayed when addressing a Consist.

CONTROLLING HEADLIGHTS AND

OTHER DECODER FUNCTIONS

Pressing HEADLIGHT will alternately toggle the headlight of the locomotive on and
off.
To toggle other functions simply press the number key that corresponds to the
function you wish to control. E.g. - The ‘1’ key controls function 1.
Your cab will display which functions are on and off on the lower right of the display.
The letter ‘L’ stands for Headlight (Function 0) and numbers 1-6 stand for functions
1-6 (functions 7 through 12 are not displayed on the cab but work if you push the
buttons). In the example below the headlight plus functions 2 and 6 are on.

LOC:4449 xx:xxPM

FWD:02 L-2---6

OLD AND ADVANCED CONSISTS

EXPLAINED

Before setting up any consist an explanation is needed to understand the operating
differences between Advanced and Old Style consists (also called brute force or
Universal). Basic decoders that have a short address but no CONSIST address
(Early Lenz, MRC 30x/31x series and Digitrax 120 series Decoders) can not be
used with advanced consisting.

ADVANCED CONSISTS

Decoders that support advanced consisting have an additional short address, the
CONSIST address, in addition to their normal Long and Short addresses. The
consist address is stored in CV19 and can have a value of 112-127.
A decoder considers itself in a consist if the Consist Address (CV19) is something
other than 0 or 128. A decoder is added to a consist when the command station
sends a command to set the consist address in the decoder to the consist number.
The decoder will now use this new consist address for speed and direction
commands. This has many advantages including the need for fewer communications
on the track and no need for the operator or command station to keep track of which
locomotives are in what consist on the layout.
Each locomotive in an advanced consist will still respond to function or programming
commands using the original locomotive address. This means the operator can turn
lights or other functions on or off for each locomotive individually.
To kill an entire consist, a command is broadcast on the tracks for each decoder
with that consist number to clear its consist address and return to individual
operation. Locomotives can also be individually dropped from a consist. You can also
add locomotives to a consist after the initial set up of that consist.
Advanced style consists can easily be taken from layout to layout and they will
continue to operate as a single unit.

OLD STYLE CONSISTS (also called brute force or
Universal)

With an Old Style consist, the command station keeps track of each locomotive in
the consist within the memory of the command station. Each speed change of the
cab generates a separate speed command to each of the decoders in the consist.
These extra speed commands on the track have significant ramifications if you have
a lot of consists operating at one time as in a club situation. The effect is to slow
down locomotive response to the throttle speed controls.
Use this method of building a consist with MRC and Digitrax 120 series decoders.
Decoders in an old style consist have no knowledge of being in a consist and will not
operate as a unit when moved to another layout. You can add one or more advanced
consists to any old style consist.

SETTING UP AN ADVANCED CONSIST

To set up a consist press SETUP. This screen allows you to choose the type of
consist to be created. For those consists that will contain advanced decoders, press
ENTER to select the advanced mode.

CONSIST 2:00PM

ENTER=ADV 1=OLD

An advanced consist has no limit to the number of loco’s assigned.
NOTE: you can not setup, add, or delete a loco from a consist while the locomotive
is moving. It must be at speed 0. Decoders will not accept consist commands while
they are in motion. This prevents reception of false consist make/break commands
due to electrical noise generated by the wheels rolling on the track.

CONSIST ADDRESS:

The consist address can be any number from 112 through 127. The system will
suggest the first available consist address (the priority is highest to lowest). Press
ENTER to accept this address.

SETUP 2:00PM

CON ADDR: 127

You may enter any other number you wish (from 112 to 127) then press the ENTER
key. If you have locomotives on the layout using short addresses make sure you
don’t pick an address already in use. This is one reason to use long addresses with
your loco fleet. It will keep the short addresses free for consists.

ENTERING THE LEAD LOCO NUMBER

Entering the lead loco number is optional but recommended. The command station
keeps track of consists by their lead loco number. The locomotive is the loco that the
command station will send function commands to. For example: headlight on/off
commands. If the command station did not know the lead loco it would not know
which locomotive should have the headlight turned on or off.

The lead loco number also acts as an alias for the consist number entered above.
Say you have a bunch of consists stored on staging tracks and you wish to operate
one of them. After the consist is set up, you can select the consist by pressing SEL
LOCO then entering either the lead loco number or the consist number. The lead
loco number is typically easiest to remember because it is the number printed right
on the locomotive. The consist address may not relate to any visible or easily
remembered number.

SETUP 2:00PM

LEAD LOCO: _

Enter the lead loco number followed by pressing the ENTER key.

ENTERING THE LEAD LOCO DIRECTION

If the locomotive is to operate in the forward direction press ENTER. Press the
DIRECTION key if you wish to have the locomotive operate in the reverse direction.
Subsequent presses of the DIRECTION key will keep changing the direction. When
you get the direction you desire press the ENTER key.

CONSIST 2:00PM

DIR THIS LOCO: F

This informs the decoder whether the loco is in the line-up facing forward or reverse.
For instance, in an A-B-A consist the lead A unit and the B unit will be setup in the
Forward direction, and the second A unit will be setup in the Reverse direction.

ENTERING THE REAR LOCO NUMBER

Entering the rear loco number is optional. The command station keeps track of
consists by their lead or rear loco number. If you select the consist by the rear loco
number the direction of the consist will be reversed from the direction of operation if
you selected it by the lead loco. You don’t have to enter a rear loco number if you
don’t need/want to operate the consist in reverse. The rear loco number also act as
an alias for the consist number just as the lead loco number.

SETUP 2:00PM

REAR LOCO: _

Enter the rear loco number followed by the ENTER key.
NOTE: If you plan on dropping the rear loco from the consist later on, DO NOT enter
it as the rear loco. Enter it later on when prompted for mid-consist locos.

ENTERING THE REAR LOCO DIRECTION

If the locomotive is to operate in the normal direction press ENTER. Press the
DIRECTION key if you wish to have the locomotive operate in the reverse direction.
Subsequent presses of the DIRECTION key will keep changing the direction. When
you get the direction you desire press the ENTER key.

CONSIST 2:00PM

DIR THIS LOCO: F

ADDING A MID-CONSIST LOCO

At this point you can start to add more locomotives to the consist. Enter the next
locomotive (decoder address) followed by pressing the ENTER key. If you don’t
want to add any more locomotives to the consist just press ENTER.

CONSIST 2:00PM

ADD LOCO: _

ENTERING THE LOCO’S DIRECTION

CONSIST 2:00PM

DIR THIS LOCO: F

As with the lead locomotive, this informs the decoder if the loco is in the line-up facing
forward or reverse.
If the locomotive is to operate in the normal direction press ENTER. Press the
DIRECTION key if you wish to have the locomotive operate in the reverse direction.
Subsequent presses of the DIRECTION key will keep changing the direction. When
you get the direction you desire press the ENTER key.
At this point you will be prompted to add additional locomotives. If you don’t want to
add any more locomotives to the consist just press ENTER or PROG/ESC with out
entering an address.

DROPPING A LOCOMOTIVE FROM AN ADVANCED
CONSIST

To delete a consist locomotive press DEL

DEL LOCO 2:00PM

ENTER LOCO: _

This will drop the loco identified from whatever consist it was part of. There is no
need to know the consist number for this operation. You cannot drop a lead or rear
loco without clearing the entire consist. Deleting a loco sets CV19 to a value of 0 in
that loco.

ADDING A LOCO TO AN ADVANCED CONSIST

Select the consist.

ADD LOCO 2:00PM

CONSIST ADDR: _

Press ADD . Enter the address of the consist, or lead loco, to which the loco is to be
added and then press the ENTER key.

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