DCC Down

 I recently purchased an NCE Cab06 because 1) when I build the new layout I'm going to want another cab for the yard and 2) I needed something to test the PowerCab out with and this seemed like a good time to fulfill reason 1.

It got here, I plugged it in and...nothing. It powers up, it shows the address, and it refuses to respond to any inputs at all. Looks like the issues I had with the WFD-31 does indeed end up being PowerCab problems.

So on to other things. I wanted a Digitrax Zephyr system to run my HO with so that I wouldn't have to unplug the NCE to use there and, as I said last time, the only other DCC system I have (Bachmann, made by Lenz) is problematic. On to the auction site, oh look there's one for $100, win the auction and anxiously await its arrival.

When I looked on the porch today I found HURRAY! It's Here!!! Open the box, unpack the system and...

the little gray plug on the back of the unit that the tracks hook up to is not there. Would maybe have been nice to know that so I could have ordered one.

So, I have a plug on order (I actually ordered 2 because 2 is 1 and 1 is none) and maybe by Tuesday it will be here. At that time I can hook the Digitrax up to the layout and box the PowerCab for delivery to NCE. Once that gets repaired and returned I can then hook it up with the WFD-31 and maybe get some cell phone throttle action going...which is where we started this saga.

I would have just run the layout on DC but apparently the TCS decoders I have installed in the Atlas GP7's don't play nice on DC, probably because my DC is PWM. I could hook up the old MRC analog throttle and see, but I don't want to work that hard.

That's enough crying for now. I'm going to go run some trains.