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Programmer_Start.shtml
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Programmer_Start.shtml
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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta name="generator" content=
"HTML Tidy for Mac OS X (vers 31 October 2006 - Apple Inc. build 15.17), see www.w3.org">
<title>Using DecoderPro</title>
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</div>
<h1>Using DecoderPro®</h1>
<a name="Setting_Up"></a><h2>What are the Programming
Modes?</h2>
<div align="right">
<p><a href="Programmer_Setup.shtml">Previous |</a> <a href=
"Basic_Start.shtml">Next</a></p>
<p><a href="index.shtml#Basic%20Programmer">Back to
Index</a></p>
</div>
<hr>
<p>Prior to using the programmer you need to have completed
the previous section (<a href="Start_DCC.shtml">Getting
Started</a>), have your computer connected to your command
station/booster with the required interface device for your
DCC system, you are now ready to actually program a decoder
that has been installed in your locomotive.</p>
<p><br>
On opening DecoderPro, the main page will be displayed:</p>
<div align="center">
<img src="images/Splash_Screen.png" alt="splash" height=
"308" width="496">
</div>
<p>There are four buttons near the bottom, the first one
which is:</p>
<p><b><input name="button" id="button" value=
"Service Mode (Programming Track) Programmer" type="submit">
<a href="Programmer_ServiceMode.shtml">Service Mode</a>
(programming track) Programmer</b> -We will start with this
button to program your locomotive on the dedicated
programming track. <strong>Note:</strong> not all systems may
support this option.</p>
<p><b><input name="button2" id="button2" value=
"Operations Mode(Main Track) Programmer" type="submit">
<a href="Programmer_OpsMode.shtml">Operations Mode</a> (Main
Track) Programmer</b> - or <strong>Programming on the
main(POM)</strong>. This lets you program a specific decoder
on the layout, even while it is operating.</p>
<p><input name="button3" id="button3" value="Help" type=
"submit"> - Accesses the help files</p>
<p><input name="button4" id="button4" value="Quit" type=
"submit"> - Exits the program.</p>
<p><a name="ServiceMode" id="ServiceMode"></a>Click on
<b><input name="button5" id="button5" value=
"Service Mode (Programming Track) Programmer" type=
"submit"></b> and the <strong>Service Mode Programmer
(Programming Track)Programmer Setup</strong> window opens</p>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src=
"images/Set_Up.png" alt="set up" height="452" width=
"556"></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p>The first item at the top of the service mode programmer
pane is a selection for the mode used to program your
decoders. This is a legacy to the olden times and rather
technical, but fortunately DecoderPro has matured to the
point that it is quite good at selecting the best mode for
you. It uses the selection of command station from your
Preferences selections, combined with the decoder
manufacturer and type selections (which we'll get to real
soon now). Just accept what's there as a good start. And,
fear not, for each pane in the programmer has a button which
can be used to change programming mode if you have a problem.
For further details on programming mode <a href=
"Basic_Mode.shtml"><strong>click here</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Now let's determine the type of decoder that's installed
in the locomotive that you would like to program.</p>
<p>The decoder identification is entered by using the
selections in the middle of the page.</p>
<p>Since we want to know what type of decoder is in the
locomotive, we can either look up what was listed when it was
entered in the roster stored in this computer, or we can ask
it what it's manufacturer and firmware version are. The first
is method is <strong><input name="button6" id="button6"
value="Ident" type="button"> ,</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style=
"width: 518px; height: 452px;" alt="ident" src=
"images/Basic_Ident.png"><br></p>
<p>The Ident button was clicked and the locomotive was
located on the programming track, in this case an Athearn N
Scale FP-45 locomotive with OEM Tsunami Sound decoder which
is the Roster.</p>
<p><strong>IDENT</strong> is used to identify a locomotive
that is already stored in your computer's roster file. You
can use the drop down arrow to display a listing of
locomotives in your roster, and then select the desired
locomotive from the list. An alternative is to be lazy and
click the <strong><input name="Ident" id="Ident" value=
"Ident" type="button"></strong> . The program will then query
the locomotive to get it's address which is linked to the
roster entry. The Decoder Pro roster entry includes the
decoder type used when it programmed the locomotive. If it
gets a valid address, but there is no roster entry with that
address, then you will get an error message.</p>
<p>and the other is <strong><input name="button7" id=
"button7" value="Read type from decoder" type="button">
.</strong> You can use one or the other, but they are
mutually exclusive.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style=
"width: 518px; height: 495px;" alt="read type" src=
"images/Basic_ReadType.png"><br></p>
<p><strong>READ TYPE</strong> is the other method located in
the center of the page. If you click on <input name="button8"
id="button8" value="Read type from decoder" type="button"> ,
the system will query the decoder to get the manufacturer and
firmware version number. From this information it will
highlight all the decoders which are known to match. There
may be several, usually with differences in the physical
shape and size to fit in a particular locomotive's shell, or
a few more "bells and whistles". When confronted with a large
selection, you can either remove the shell to try to read
information printed on the decoder itself, or just select one
of the ones with the fewest letters in the model number.
(Letters are often used to separate the shape differences
which have no bearing on the electronic functions of the
decoder.) Just be aware that some functions that Decoder Pro
allows you to program may not be fully operable.</p>
<p>As noted above, these methods will work only with command
stations which are capable of reading back the contents of
CV's, and the process does take some time. Many lower end
and/or older systems and decoders do not provide readback
capability. If the command station cannot read CV's from the
programming track, you will have to select the decoder
manually by using the large selection box in the middle of
the page. With it you can select the manufacturer, family and
specific model of the decoder. This manual method may be the
best and fastest way if you know for sure "What's in
there".</p>
<p>If you have a decoder that doesn't appear in the listing,
you may want to check to be sure that you are using the most
up to date version of Decoder Pro, because manufacturers are
adding models almost faster than the team can enter the new
decoder definitions into the files. You can choose a
manufacturer's version which is as close as you can find, or
if you're only interested in basic programming functions, use
the NMRA© decoder which is a generic file of the CV's
contained in their standards.</p>
<p>The last item on this pane is the Programmer Format entry.
It is preset by your Preferences entry, but you can select
other programmers using the drop down arrow. For now use the
<strong>Basic</strong> programmer, because you won't be able
to do much damage if you make mistakes. We'll get into the
other programmers later on.</p>
<p>Once you have selected a decoder, or Decoder Pro has done
it for you, the <strong><input name="button9" id="button9"
value="Open Programmer" type="button"></strong> will become
activated and you'll be able to move on with Service Mode
Programming.</p>
<p>When you are on the <strong>Setup Pane</strong> and click
on the <strong>Open Programmer</strong> button, the selected
Programmer window will open. All programmers, Basic,
Comprehensive and Advanced, open to the Roster Entry
pane.</p>
<p>Now lets open the <strong><a href=
"Basic_Start.shtml">Basic Programmer</a></strong>, which is
now completely set-up with a decoder and the Basic programmer
is selected.</p>
<div align="right">
<p><a href="Programmer_Setup.shtml">Previous |</a> <a href=
"Basic_Start.shtml">Next</a></p>
<p><a href="index.shtml#Basic%20Programmer">Back to
Index</a><a href="index.shtml#Basic%20Programmer"></a></p>
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