INSTALLATION
It is quite a challenge to install the decoder in your loco. You should have some
basic electrical knowledge. In all decoder installations you must insulate the two
motor leads from the wheel pickups. The decoder is inserted between the
pickups and motor leads. If you are not sure how to install the decoder, please
ask the dealer for help in installation.
Refer to the instructions that came with your Kato PA1 locomotive for removal of
the body shell. Remove the original circuit board by very carefully removing the
plastic clip, bending the two motor leads up, [vertical] and sliding the PCB out. Don’t
lose the clip. There are two wheel pickup contact strips running the length of the
chassis on both sides. These two strips must be wrapped with thin tape approx.
1/4 inch wide (as shown in the image below) to prevent them from touching the
motor leads (two vertical leads). You may have to trim off some (approx.1/4 inch)
plastic near the tape location, on the outside wheel pick up channels to compen-
sate for the tape thickness. Don’t trim any plastic on the inboard side of the wheel
pick up channels. After applying the tape and trimming the plastic, reinstall the
strips. Before installing the decoder, bend the four spring contact strips, located at
each corner of the decoder, approx. 30 degrees in the middle of the contact strip.
Do not bent the spring contact strip close to the decoder board or it might snap off
the board. Make sure they touch the original wheel pick up contact strips. If not,
bend them a bit more. Now, install the decoder in place of the original PCB and
reinstall the plastic clip you removed earlier. Apply a strip of tape over the clip &
down the chassis sides to help hold the decoder in place. After tesing the decoder
installation, (see section on testing), remove the white paper ring on the bottom of
the speaker to reveal the sticky glue, press this side of the speaker down firmly to
the chassis for the best sound quality. Re-install the body shell. Now your loco is
ready to go to work on your railroad.
MAKING A TEST TRACK
We strongly recommend building a test track with a 27 ohm resistor to limit
current. Only test your installed decoder on the test track. The test track will
reduce the chance of damaging your decoder due to an incorrectly installed
decoder.
TESTING
The decoder has been programmed to address #3, 28/128 speed steps. To test,
place the loco on the test track. Select address #3 and 28 speed step. Move up
the throttle and the loco should move. Push the light button [F0] and headlight
should come on. Change the direction of the loco and the loco should change
direction. The loco cannot reach full speed, due to the resistor. If all the above
occurs, you passed the test. Congratulations! Do not run the loco for an
extended period of time on the test track or the resistor will overheat.
I
f your
installed decoder does not pass the test, find the problem, correct it and test it again.
As long as you test the decoder on the test track there is little chance of damaging
the decoder. This is why the test track is so important.
OPERATION
The decoder has start up and shut down features. If the loco was previously
shut down you have to start up the engine. Press any function key to start up
the engine before operating the loco. To shut down the engine you must bring the
loco to idle and then press F8 three times.
Double click F0 will turn on/off sound (CV49). You can’t turn off horn which is
always on. The decoder has four types of diesel prime movers. You can use F12
or CV 123 to select the desired prime mover sound or turn them off. The default
setting(CV123=2) is the correct Alco 244 sound for your PA1. If you want the
decoder to be used in an Electric Type Traction Loco such as Trolley or GG-1 set
CV 123=4 to turn off the diesel sound. With the prime mover sounds shut off, CV
123=4, the traction air compressor will cycle on and off randomly, of course you
can still use F11 to activate the compressor whenever you want while in the
random mode. You can use F19 to select 34 different horn sounds and use F18
to select 8 different bell sounds. With MRC Prodigy Advance
2
DCC which has 28
functions, you can easily setup and access all the decoder’s functions. If not,
you may not be able to access all the features of the decoder. And you have to
use the CV program to setup the decoder.
ULTRA SLOW SPEED CONTROL
For precise slow speed control in the lower throttle settings, set CV # 120 to “1”.
(see CV chart).
EASY FUNCTION MAPPING
This decoder allows certain functions to be re-mapped easily, ( CV numbers- 37,
39 and 42). If the values of these CV’s are set to “0” (default), normal DCC
keypad/functions are applicable. Inserting the values shown in the CV chart
allows certain function swapping for example: F3 becomes F4 and vice versa.
The decoder default is set to automatic notch. You can program CV122 to 3 for
manual notch for realistic operation. And then use F9 to notch up and use F8 to
notch down.
Note: Bell, Dynamic Brake, and Rail Wheel Clack cannot play at the same time.
The decoder can also be operated by a regular DC power pack. This will give
you synchronized engine sounds only. If you wish to enjoy the full array of
sound functions using your DC power pack, the unique MRC Blackbox (item
#0001050) or TECH 6 Power pack (item #0001200) for DC operation will allow
you to control all of the sounds in your sound equipped locomotives. And, they
are easy to setup and use.
Function
Idle/Moving
F0
Headlight on/off or rule 17 or cycle of dim, bright, off
Double F0
Double click F0 within 1 second will turn on/off sound (CV49) with Horn on
F1
Bell on/off
F2
Horn
F3
Air release
F4
Coupling 1
F5
Brake release (idle) / brake squeal (moving)
F6
Dynamic brake on/off
F7
Air hose firing/uncoupling lever
F8
Click 3 times during idle will shut down / notch down while CV122=3
F9
Engine cooling fan / notch up while CV122=3
F10
Rail wheel clack (only moving)
F11
Traction air compressor on/off
F12
Change prime mover type and prime mover off
F13
Air release
F14
Coupler lift bar
F15
Air pump
F16
Associated loco sound
F17
Flange noise 1
F18
Change bell type (use F1 to turn off bell after adjustment)
F19
Horn type select (total 34 different horns)
F20
Associated loco sound
F21
Change bell volume (use F1 to turn off bell after adjustment)
F22
Change horn volume
F23
Change diesel rumble volume
F24
Air release
F25
Flange noise 2
F26
Flange noise 3
F27
Sand drop
F28
Air release
bend the 4 spring contacts on the PCB
Figure 2.
DCC base unit
Power supply
Test track
27 ohm resistor
Figure 3. Diagram of test track
Figure 1.
trim off some plastic
apply tape
apply tape
trim off some plastic