Using CV 54 for Auto Adjusting

 

I have a AM08 Desiro from Van Biervliet that I want to digitalize:

I plugged an ESU 59620 LokPilot V5.0 DCC, but the running was not smooth at all - similarly to what I experienced by inputting a "blank" decoder into the Piko BB 60000.

After a little research, I found this article on auto-adjusting decoders with CV 54: link. ESU actually released a video explaining exactly what to do:

• Make sure the engine has 2 to 3 meters to run
• Set CV 54 to 0
• Press F1
• The engine will run at maximum speed for a short period of time
• CV 54 has a new value and the running should be smooth

And it worked beautifully:

The next step is to look into interior lighting for this AM08, but the goal of this post was about auto-adjusting decoders with CV 54.

Consist of two Piko engines BB 460000 - part 1 (fail)

I found this video that explains the 3 ways to do a consist:

1. Basic consist: both engines have the same address - I don't want to do that
2. Advanced consist: both engines have a different address, but they both use CV19
3. Command consist: the ECoS Command Station manages two engines as a consist

I also found this article very helpful: https://tonystrains.com/news/complete-guide-to-consisting/

One of the pre-requisite for consisting engines is speed matching. To run a test, I created a command consist and put each engine on separate tracks as my test bench allows for this:

Unfortunately, Piko's decoder seems to have the M4 protocol, so it's very different from the ESU decoder in the other engine. I've tried to overwrite the ESU settings with those from a different engine to have a smooth-running, but it didn't help.

At this stage, I've decided that I will use the Piko decoder in another engine. For my consist, I'm ordering two decoders from Train-Modelisme. Stay tuned!

Digitization of Piko engines: BB 460000

 

Following on my quest to digitalize my engines, I want to make a digital consist of two BB 460000, just like the prototype below:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150753720@N04/48536721122/

For this consist, I have BB 460054 and BB 460050 as Piko 96479 and Piko 96470, both in DC.

Digitization of BB 460054

I decided to have the BB 460054 with the sound decoder from Piko. First, let's do an analog run:

Then, I opened the engine: there are 3 screws to remove; it's easy to follow the instructions. The cabin comes out first, then the back of the structure, and by pivoting the front comes out fairly easily too.

For the decoder, I chose the Piko 56427 SmartDecoder 4.1 Sound PluX22 

It can be purchased here and at several online stores as well. The manual is here. The speaker needs to be soldered onto the engine's circuit board, so I decided to test the decoder first:

For the sound, there are two steps:

1. Solder the wires from the speaker onto the engine's circuit board. It's well explained in the instructions and there is no + or - wires;
2. Remove two screws that hold a metal weight and place the speaker into the plastic holder provided as a spare part.

And let's give it a try:

And here's the final result for this engine:

Digitization of BB 460050

For the BB 460050, I used a blank ESU decoder LokPilot V5.0 DCC Plux 22 - ESU 59622. 

As you can see the running is not as smooth as the other engine which will be an issue when trying to run as a consist.