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<h1 id="Top">DecoderPro&reg; Comprehensive Programmer</h1>
<h2>Basic Speed Control Pane</h2>
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<p><a href="Comp_Motor.shtml">Previous |</a> <a href="Comp_Speed_Talble.shtml">Next</a></p>
<p><a href="index.shtml#Advanced%20Programmer">Back to Index</a>
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<p>The<strong>Basic Speed Control pane</strong> looks very complicated, but it can be one of
the most significant in improving the performance of your locomotive fleet.</p>
<h1 class="dp-ctr"><img style="width: 726px; height: 389px;" src=
"images/Speed_Table_Main.png" alt="Speed pane">
</h1>
<p>Let's look first at the top of the pane: You now have the option of using Basic Speed
Control (this pane) or Speed Table to control your locomotive's speed. Which ever one you
select last and write to your decoder will be the method used for speed control. To select
this pane:</p>
<p>Depending upon the decoder manufacturer, any of these settings could be on this pane.</p>
<p>Capability to select the <strong>Use Vstart, Vmid, Vhigh</strong> settings..</p>
<p>Three important CVs are programmed in this pane Vstart, Vmid and Vhigh. They work together
to make a very basic three point speed table. On some decoders these settings may be labeled
differently and all three may not be available. DecoderPro will show the correct options for
your selected decoder.</p>
<p><strong>Vstart</strong>(<strong>Start Voltage</strong>) is the voltage at the first speed
step. If your locomotive didn't start moving until there were three volts on the track with
analog power, this lets you set up the decoder to give it 2.99 volts right away, so it will
start moving when you advance the throttle.</p>
<p><strong>Vhigh(Top Voltage, Max Voltage, Maximum Voltage)</strong> is the maximum amount of
power the locomotive will get from the decoder. If your locomotive looks like Chuck Yeager's
X-1 at full throttle, then you can trim the top speed down to a more reasonable scale
level.</p>
<p><strong>Vmid</strong>(<strong>Mid Voltage, Midpoint Voltage)</strong> lets you configure
the slope between <strong>Vstart</strong> and <strong>Vhigh</strong> a bit, so that if your
locomotive reaches full speed at 5 volts, you can stretch out the lower end of the curve to
get more fine control in a useful speed range.</p>
<p>If you are having problems with unpredictable speeds with your locomotives, check these
settings. Sometimes, one or more of these settings have been changed accidentally (usually
due to an error in programming CV's with a throttle), leading to very odd speed performance.
In particular, if the <strong>Vmid</strong> is lower than <strong>Vstart</strong> or higher
than <strong>Vhigh</strong>, results can be highly unpredictable. DecoderPro will not let you
make this mistake.</p>
<p><strong>Forward Trim</strong> and <strong>Reverse Trim</strong> allow you to compensate
for differences in the forward speed and reverse speed of the locomotive. Most model
locomotives do not run at exactly the same speed forward and backward due to the motor
mechanics and the gear train to the wheels.</p>
<p>The settings for these controls are not as intuitive as you might think. A setting of 0 in
these CVs turns them off. However, a setting of 128 in either of them will have no visible
effect! To make the forward and reverse trim effective, raise the value above 128 to increase
speed, and lower it below 128 to decrease speed in this pane. The Forward and Reverse Trim
does not work the same for all decoders, with variations between manufacturers.</p>
<div class="BOXIT">
<h3>Some suggestions on using the basic motor controls and programming on the main.</h3>
<p>Unless you want to get into some precision speed matching, you probably won't need to
use the <strong>Speed Tables</strong> you'll see on the <a href="Comp_Speed_Talble.shtml"
target="_parent"><strong>Speed Table pane</strong></a>- you'll be able to accomplish much
of what you want using just <strong>Kick start</strong> (<a href=
"Comp_Motor.shtml">previous pane</a>), and <strong>Start Volts</strong>, <strong>Mid
Volts</strong>, and <strong>Max Volts</strong> if they are available in this pane... but
how to do this?</p>
<p>Start with the <strong>Kick start</strong> value, and <a href=
"Programmer_OpsMode.shtml">Programming on the main</a> rather than the programming track.
Set the locomotive to be programmed on throttle step 1. If it moves <span class="ACCENT">at
all</span>, don't change the <strong>Kick start</strong> value. If it doesn't move, slowly
step up the throttle until it does. Then, turn the throttle down. If the locomotive stops
at the same setting it started, you won't need to set the <strong>Kick start</strong>
value. However, if it continues to run at a slower speed than it would start, then increase
the <strong>Kick start</strong> value until it will start and run at its slowest possible
speed.</p>
<p>Now, if the locomotive isn't running at throttle step 1, increase the <strong>Start
Volts</strong> value (and write it) without changing the throttle until the locomotive
<span class="ACCENT">barely</span> crawls... you can usually get this down to a speed of a
tie a minute or so if you like! Remember, you are doing this in "<strong>ops
mode</strong>", so you can make these changes while the locomotive is actually running.
Don't forget to write the value changes to the decoder - they won't take effect unless you
do.</p>
<p>Now, set the top speed of the locomotive. Run the throttle up to full, and lower the
<strong>Max Volts</strong> value (and write it) until the locomotive runs at the maximum
speed you want it to reach, but don't forget that adding a train will slow it down!</p>
<p>Finally, set the <strong>Mid Volts</strong> value about half-way between <strong>Start
Volts</strong> and <strong>Max Volts</strong>. Setting it above or below the median of the
<strong>Start Volts</strong> and <strong>Max Volts</strong> values will give you a crude,
three point speed table.</p>
<p>There are no hard and fast rules for the exact numbers to use. Even identical
locomotives with identical decoders will need different numbers, due to variances in motors
and drive trains. Experiment with the settings - DecoderPro makes it easy!</p>
<p>Note: Not all decoders will have Start, Mid and Max Volts, but will have some version of
this which will be displayed by DecoderPro for the specific decoder.</p>
</div>
<hr>
<p>If you select <a href="Comp_Speed_Talble.shtml"><strong>Speed Table</strong></a> all of
the settings in this pane are ignored.<br></p>
<hr>
<div class="dp-right">
<p><a href="Comp_Speed_Talble.shtml"></a> <a href="Comp_Motor.shtml">Previous |</a>
<a href="Comp_Speed_Talble.shtml">Next</a></p>
<p><a href="index.shtml#Advanced%20Programmer">Back to Index</a>
</p>
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