QSI Quantum DCC 'plug and play' Bachmann troubles

[ntpntpntp]

To be honest I don't think I've tried my pair of QSI's with my sprog, as I've got the QSI programmer hardware anyway so I use that to access all the QSI CVs. I'd expect the sprog to be able to read-write all the nmra standard CVs but probably not the QSI specific sound stuff etc.

If I get the chance this evening I'll try the sprog with my Bachy Shay / QSI.

 

[ntpntpntp]

Home from work!

OK I dug out an Aristo U25B with a QSI decoder rather than my Shay as it was easier to get out of the box!
Using Sprog and DecoderPro 2.8, no problem getting a decent programming page up for the QSI - plenty more than just the basic motor control!

Both of my QSI decoders are the plain Magnum not the Quantum-Aristo plug-and-play version, but either should talk just as well with DecoderPro.

 

[Cliff George]

Is there a conflict between the Sprog and QSI ?

I'm no extert in QSI or Sprogs but the Sprog web site does suggest that the Sprog has 'variable' results with QSI sound decoders. Scroll down to the bottom of this page: http://www.sprog-dcc.co.uk/faq.shtml#Q103

A fix is mentioned.

 

[beavercreek]

Hi Nick
I too have had another real play with the Sprog and a more recent version of Decoder pro 3. Everything was absolutely fine with the Climax/Tsunami, as before, but the C19 was showing the same strange anomolies as before ...BUT..
I brought in my Bachmann K27 complete with a QSI board that I know works. I attached it up to the Sprog and hey presto it was showing all that should be and it operated exactly as it should, except for the old problem of the rear light also working when the loco is in forward motion.
I tried that, definitely working board, in the C19 and problems straight away....... There is something up with the C19... but what?

It took some time but there seems to be a short with the speaker cable because if I am reading CVs into Decoder and I wiggle the speaker cable, when it is connected to the board, interruptions occur and 'no loco connected' message comes up. I confirmed by attaching the speaker cable from the K27 tender to the C19 QSI board and....everything was fine! All relative CVs could be read and adjusted and control was as it should be.
So next job is to take apart the C19 tender and find out what is up with the speaker cable.....

At least the problem looks like it may have been found out!

What I have found is that the QSI board does not control cab light or marker lights on C19 or K27 so they have to be left in DC mode...

 

[ntpntpntp]

... the Sprog web site does suggest that the Sprog has 'variable' results with QSI sound decoders.

That comment has been there for a long time - it was present when I got my Sprog a few years ago.

 

[ntpntpntp]

... At least the problem looks like it may have been found out!

Splendid!

What I have found is that the QSI board does not control cab light or marker lights on C19 or K27 so they have to be left in DC mode...

Yeah, same here with my two QSI'd locos. I think there was supposed to be some sort of addon module to give control of other lighting functions, but I've never seen one. I presume the new QSI Titans have better support for lighting functions (I've not looked at one in detail).

 

[beavercreek]

Nick Have you found the problem with the rear light being on when the loco is in forward motion. I have played with the CV settings (turning off rear light, automatic, etc etc) but it remains on when the loco goes forward. I have tried reversing the direction in CV or the polarity switch on the loco or even both at the same time but no change. I can get BOTH lights off all of the time though!
Have you got settings to over come this?

 

[ntpntpntp]

I seem to recall reading that this is/was a known bug in the decoder firmware, and there is an upgrade to fix it.

Don't think either of my locos suffer from it, but I'd need to check.

 

[KeithT]

QSI did have an upgrade for the K27 to resolve the light problem and it was available on their site but I was looking through it yesterday and it doesn't appear to be there since the Titan was released.

 

[beavercreek]

I have been checking too Keith and I can't find it either!

 

[beavercreek]

Finally found it ....they don't make it easy............sound file 3017-552
http://www.qsisolutions.com/products/techinfo/qaristo/q2_codes_steam.html < Link To http://www.qsisolutions.c...to/q2_codes_steam.html

Now to get the QSI programmer out!

 

[beavercreek]

A few hours or so of playing around using the QSI programmer and the Sprog with Decoder Pro and I have now got fully 4 working QSI quantums.
The C19 had a problem, but is was one that I did not expect! (it was a lot to do with me making wrong suppositions).
There are two fans in the C19, one on the motor and one in the tender (to keep all of the electrics cool in a hot climate). The one in the tender is optional to plug in so has a flying lead. The speaker lead is usually flying but is actually plugged into the main board .....some makes of DCC plug and play boards must supply sound through their pins as opposed to having a speaker socket so Bachmann have incorporated this into their more recent version main board).
The upshot of this is that I thought that the fan flying lead...you've guessed it...was the speaker, and I was plugging this into the speaker socket on the QSI board...DOH! so the QSI boards were obviously having a very big drain through that socket and showed strange behaviour when I was trying to run them with the DC pack.
When I took the tender apart and discovered what a kn*bhead I had been, I at least had an easy route to end all the woes.
Now everything is hunky dory and I apologise to Bachmann for thinking that they had badly installed the speaker cable, as these C19 locos are a very fine piece of quality modelling.

The upshot of this little debacle is that I have learned how to use the QSI programmer as a CV programmer, a command station and also a sound file updater. That and a nice time with the Sprog/Decoder Pro has given me a little more idea of what parameters of performance and operation, certain CVs affect.
Before I found that the QSI programmer could be used as a command station I tried using a MTS III system (that will be for sale soon if anyone would like it!) to control the functions of the QSI boards but they have too many options for the LGB system and I had also given some of the boards addresses over 25 which gave problems with the 22 limit on MTS lcoo address.


Hey ho, my experience with the dark side grows.....as does my realisation that there are sooooooo many parameters and sooooo little time!