new berkshires &how to sort out some minor slow speed problems &wheel hitch

[kewatin]

 love my new berk but after a couple of hrs of break in running my slow speed start &smooth running was not acceptable. thanks to john c from another forum he did some testing and suggested to change some cv values.
i set CV 213&214 TO A VALUE OF 1  CV 209 TO 15 AND LASTLY CV210 TO 240. WHAT AN AMAZING DIFFERENCE it made loco starts smooth&slowly at speed step 1 on my NCE POWER CAB, the wheel hitch is on my loco is now gone.
changing volume is set by holding #8 on my nce power cab & It cycles thru from high to low.only improvment i will make to this outstanding loco will be to change out the speaker for a better quality one ,but hey for the price with sound BACHMANN hit a home run with this one. now MR BACHMANN HOW ABOUT A MIKADO &PACIFIC IN THE FUTURE.
Hope the cv adjustments help those experiencing issues with their berks.thanks again to john c for the time spent testing &sorting the cv's out for the best solution to the sound trax decoders.
regards&later KEWATIN

[James in FL]

Hi kewatin,

Thanks for that useful information for those using DCC and can change CV's,
How does that relate to those still running analog DC systems who have no access to DCC to get this lokie running acceptingly?
Tells us how to turn the sound off, without access to a DCC control system?
How to get rid of that jack-rabbit start and stop?

Yes, I can cut something on the board, to disable the speaker, but what about momentum?
Does not seem to work with that decoder. Lots of voltage to get it moving still a jack rabbit start on DC.
It appears the solution is to remove the DCC board and straight wire to DC.
Can you offer advice or opinion on this?

[kewatin]

hi james,after checking 3 other forums ,this fix applies only to dcc system operated locos.i would not give up as i remember MARK FROM SPOOKSHOW's website mentions on reviews of many of bachmann;s dual eqiupped locos that if you changed the start voltage from 10 to 0 you would see a big difference in slow speed &start perfprmance.he also mentions that they would operate on dc much better also.my son runs dc only &ireprogramed some of his bachmann locos 2-8-0, 2-6-6-2,mountains and he said he noticed a big difference in performance.of course bachmann was using lenz decoders at that time so i am not sure what improvment could be gained by programing the cv's in my post to the sound trax decoder and then trying it on dc.if you know someone with a dcc system ,perhaps they could program it for you &you could try it.don't think you could screw any thing up.perhaps SKIPGEAR TONY HINES could answer this question.i am lucky i got 2 off these locos and both are running really great with the adjustments made in my post.have about 21/2 hrs running on each of them.i ee most retaolers are out of stock ,so maybe they are still on west coast due to strike. sorry i could not be of more help.regards&later KEWATIN

[James in FL]

Thank you for your reply kewatin,

But the questions remain;

How does that relate to those still running analog DC systems who have no access to DCC to get this lokie running acceptingly?
Tells us how to turn the sound off, without access to a DCC control system?
How to get rid of that jack-rabbit start and stop?

I think the answer is that you cannot get from here to there.
Am I mistaken?

One would need access to DCC control. No?

[kewatin]

hi james
yes you are right ,i just checked the quick start booklet that comes with the locos and it looks like you need dcc to set the values for sound in dc analog.it says you can go into cv 197 to set functions for sound control.it also states that you should use a quality power pack that uses filtered dc power&not to use older rheostat style or momentum with this decoder.also if the power pack has pulse control to turn it off. sorry i cannot help you more,but perhaps some folks with more knowledge than me can help.
regards&later KEWATIN

[skipgear]

Somebody out there has already created a dummy plug to fit in place of the decoder socket that made a fairly simple fix but you have to come up with the right plug to do it and then decoder the pinouts.

Our loco's finally arrived at the shop today so I will have a little more input after I take them home and play with them.

[plas man]

love my new berk but after a couple of hrs of break in running my slow speed start &smooth running was not acceptable. thanks to john c from another forum he did some testing and suggested to change some cv values.
i set CV 213&214 TO A VALUE OF 1  CV 209 TO 15 AND LASTLY CV210 TO 240. WHAT AN AMAZING DIFFERENCE it made loco starts smooth&slowly at speed step 1 on my NCE POWER CAB, the wheel hitch is on my loco is now gone.
changing volume is set by holding #8 on my nce power cab & It cycles thru from high to low.only improvment i will make to this outstanding loco will be to change out the speaker for a better quality one ,but hey for the price with sound BACHMANN hit a home run with this one. now MR BACHMANN HOW ABOUT A MIKADO &PACIFIC IN THE FUTURE.
Hope the cv adjustments help those experiencing issues with their berks.thanks again to john c for the time spent testing &sorting the cv's out for the best solution to the sound trax decoders.
regards&later KEWATIN

many thanks KEWATIN , as a proud owner of the Berkshire from across the 'pond' , I carried out the above and it worked wonders , highly recommended by any one that owns the locomotive.

[kewatin]

 
plas man
  kewatin here, you are more than welcome, i now own 3of these locos &all 3 now are sweet runners
after changing the cv values.many thanks to john c  for all the testing and trial runs to get the best performance from these locos.perhaps BACHMANN would add these settings during the manufacturing process,sure would make a lot more people a lot happier with their new purchase and less returns  for warranty work.BACHMANN has come a long way,but their is still room for improvement and i am very appreciative that they are offering some of the best
steam locos available in n scale to-day.
regards&later  KEWATIN

[plas man]

thanks KEWATIN , only modification to other CV's was - CV2 to 0 , I using a Hornby Elite/select controller set up .

for a future loco a Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson would be most welcome .

[Mike C]

 Just bought the second one today and just like the first one it runs great !  I used a slightly different CV adjustment though .  CV 209 is at 230 , CV 210 is at 30 , CV 212 is at 150 , CV 213 is at 2 , and CV 214 is at 3 .  There is just a bit of difference between these settings and the settings that  Kewatin uses . I tried different settings , but feel that I am getting better slow speed control with these settings .  Of course some locos will be a bit different , so it helps to try different settings to get the best control .