Hello Walter,
Many questions in different topics.
To avoid disappointment, first create a few routes and let one locomotive drive back and forth and observe the driving behaviour but especially whether it stops at the desired place. Besides that there are also things like Cv settings of the decoder in the loco itself. WDP wants to control the loco but does not know what the settings of the decoder are. But first start with creating a route and observe the behaviour of the locomotive and check the switches. I have added two pictures.
About the CV setting of a decoder is a general story for decoders.
The important thing is that certain conditions have to be met first.
1- The Infrastructure Rails and switches must be carefully laid out.
The hardware of the DCC central unit, switch decoders and in particular the feedback buses such as (BidiB) (LocoNet) (Xpress bus) and many other derived variants must be well adjusted to each other, taking into account the size of the layout.
I have a BiDiB system for controlling locomotives and the Railcom feedback indicators on my layout.
2 Other driving behaviour via Windigipet (speed measurement) and software finetuning.
If these conditions are first met and the locomotive displays the desired driving behaviour (manually) with the set maximum speed, acceleration delay, braking distance.
Only then you can do the so-called fine tuning in Windigipet within the range that is set in the Cv values of the decoder.
Programming the decoders, how do I do that?
To easily program decoders and to save the data of the settings, it is wise to use a programmer like the ESU programmer or another programmer.
Windigipet also includes a verry good programmer. It comes with many basic values of decoders.
The main advantage of this programmer in Windigipet is that it stores the settings per locomotive.
This means that if settings are lost or a decoder breaks down and needs to be replaced, these saved CV settings can be reprogrammed in one operation.
There are a number of basic settings which are important for the proper functioning of the decoder and the locomotive. One of them is the address for the locomotive (CV1), which must be unique.
Besides the address, the most important CV settings that are changed are CV2 to CV6, and CV 29.
First, a unique locomotive address is selected and programmed into the CV1 of the decoder.
I do not use long loco addresses. We can come back to this in a later stage, in this case it is not so important, as long as it is lower than 99 and unique.
The next important step is setting the CV value of CV29.
I set this for each locomotive to:
Normal direction, 28 steps, Analogue and digital operation enabled.
The rest of the options are switched off. This results in CV value 6 for most decoders.
Now we manually run a test run with it to check if everything works as it should.
In some cases, the CV value of the load control (the Back EMF control) must also be adjusted.
This involves adjusting the settings from CV52 to CV56.
If the locomotive exhibits strange driving behaviour, such as jerky or irregular running (which usually happens in the lower control range), it is time to adjust this value.
These CV settings can be a real headache.
Without knowing what certain settings do, you can "ruin" the control so much that the locomotive runs even worse.
Here is the procedure I use when these CVs need to be adjusted.
Adjusting the load control.
The load control ensures that the locomotive maintains the same speed under varying loads.
Sometimes it turns out that the standard settings are not sufficient and the load control is too bright or does not regulate the speed properly.
It can be difficult to find the right balance, but in case of irregular running, CV52 is adjusted first.
If changes here give no or insufficient result, we can be helped a bit by an undocumented setting.
With this setting it is possible to let the decoder itself program the best setting in CV 53 to CV56.
It is not certain that the new value set in the decoder by this procedure will give the intended result.
Before carrying out this method, I first read out and note down the values in CV53 to 56 (whether they have been changed or not).
Then I proceed as follows:
- Program CV54 with the value 0
- Place only the locomotive on a straight track. There must be an overrun of at least 2m.
- Make sure the address of the decoder is selected on the controller and that the speed is set to 0.
- Now choose function F1.
- The locomotive will now automatically make a "jump" to the front.
The decoder now determines the characteristics of the motor and overwrites the values in the addresses CV53, 54, 55 and 56.
Now CVs 53 to 56 are read out manually and recorded.
The above is repeated three times and the average of the three CV values is entered in the relevant CV.
Again some test runs are made to check whether the locomotive now runs "nicely".
In particular the slow acceleration and deceleration should be "smooth".
If not, CVs 52 to 56 are "adjusted" manually.
When adjusting the CVs, you should know what you are doing. I use the following guidelines for this.
- CV52: Control parameter K at low speed. (0-255, default 32)
In CV52 the K parameter of the load control is stored at low speed.
It indicates the strength of the control in the lower range. The higher the value, the stronger the decoder will try to control the motor if the speed needs to be adjusted.
The K value should be changed if the locomotive runs jerky in the lower range(s).
I first reduce the value in steps of 5 to see if the locomotive then runs regularly in the lowest position.
If not, I try to increase the value in steps of 5 to see if this gives an improvement.
With some engines it may be necessary to adjust CV2, the starting voltage, to a value between 4 and 6 to obtain a clean behaviour in step 1.
- CV53: Set reference voltage. (0-255, default 140)
CV 53 sets the value for the reference voltage of the counter EMK, which is generated at the maximum speed of the motor.
If the locomotive has already reached its maximum at ¾ of the control range and the speed at the remaining part hardly changes or does not change anymore, I adjust the value downwards in steps of 5.
- CV54: Control parameter K. (0-255, default 48)
In CV54 the K parameter of the load control is stored. It indicates the strength of the control.
The higher the value, the stronger the decoder will try to control the motor if the speed needs to be adjusted.
I change this K value if the locomotive runs jerky over a wide control range.
I start by reducing the value in steps of 5 until the locomotive runs smoothly.
If the locomotive only runs jerkily in the lower range but well in the middle and upper range, CV 52 must get a value that is 5 to 10 higher than the value in CV 54.
- CV55: Control parameter I. (0-255, default 32)
In CV55 the reaction inertia of the motor is determined. Engines with a large flywheel or with a large and/or heavy armature will react slower than engines without a flywheel or glock armature.
The value must be adjusted if the locomotive makes a small jump or runs erratically in the lower range of the control.
Increase the value in steps of 5 if the locomotive has no or a small flywheel or decrease the value in steps of 5 if the locomotive is equipped with a flywheel until it runs quietly.
- CV56: Adjustment range. (1-255, default 255)
CV 56 determines up to what % of the total range the load control has an effect.
With a value of 32 the load control is switched off after reaching half the speed.
If, after adjusting these CVs, the test runs are satisfactory, there are a few final steps to complete the programming.
The next step is to adjust the CV value of CV2 to set the minimum speed. The locomotive should just start driving in the lowest step (1).
If the locomotive runs irregularly in the lowest step, then CV 52 can be adjusted.
Finally, the CV values of CV3 and CV4 (acceleration and deceleration delay) are set to 3 (almost lowest possible value), to avoid problems later on in Windigipet with regard to braking and accelerating.
In Windigipet you can simulate the mass. If the values in CV3 and/or CV4 are too high, this may give incorrect results when braking in the blocks in Koploper.
The reason why I do not set these to the lowest value, has to do with the transition between two speed steps.
If there is no delay at all, you will see that the locomotive accelerates and decelerates with jerks.
If you enter a value which is a bit higher than the lowest possible value, the transition between the steps (especially in the lower part) is a bit more even.
Suppose a real BR89 (T3 ) has a max speed of 40 Km per hour. Your locomotive with the newly installed decoder gives this locomotive a measured speed of 110 Km/hour , then in most cases the max speed in Windigipet is reduced.
What actually happens in Windigipet is that the step range is reduced to 10 speed steps instead of 28. After all, steps 11 to 28 have all been software enhanced above the max speed. It is therefore not surprising that this locomotive does not run very well and that the sliders on the locomotive settings page in Windigipet are hardly effective.
By changing the CV value of the curve in the decoder itself, whereby speed step 28 is also 40 km/h, Windigipet can control this loco very well and it will also show a nicer driving behaviour.
If everything is programmed to your satisfaction then the data is stored under a unique name in Windigipet. Make a Backup and be careful with it, after all, it takes a lot of hobby hours.
I usually use the brand name and catalogue number of the decoder, supplemented with a loco number. ( lenz_gold+1043_Br89T3adrr89
Have fun with Windigipet
Kind Regards
Rupert van Swol
