# Factory decoder settings --is it time for a CV database?



## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello all,

This post is sort of in response to the post about the QSI-Aristo rough running thread....
I think it's safe to say we've all spent a fair bit of time fine tuning decoders to get the best performance out of them, whether that means fine tuning for smooth starts, accel/decel, back-emf, voltage output settings for bulbs, sound syncronization etc. Wouldn't it be nice if there was somewhere like a global database we could go to download appropriate CV settings for each loco/decoder combination? I realize there are a lot of combinations, but most installations have been done by now and so I'm thinking it wouldn't take that much to fill in a chart that would at least be a starting point to save us all a lot of time? Now I know that everyone likes things their own way, and after all that's part of the attraction of DCC--the "fine tuning" can be lots of fun! But I'm kind of surprised that more manufacturers don't go to at least a little effort to advise on appropriate base settings for specific manufacturers. It seems to me to be an area of DCC that could be improved. What do you think?

Keith


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

One fly in the ointment is that for the first things you mentioned, they are specific to EACH loco you "tune". Almost all decoders come with reasonable factory defaults. Starting voltage, BEMF settings, momentum, etc. are all different for different locos and 2 otherwise identical locos may take different settings. 

You might find groups of people who have a list of settings, or recommended "tweaks", but DCC people are often individual enough that they do not agree. Just try to get two guys to agree on momentum settings!!! If you haven't tried, try it some time. 

The appropriate base settings are almost always the default settings. 

One thing I have seen is people sharing sets of CV settings in tabular form that can be loaded into a decoder with a tool, like Decoder Pro.... which is what I am doing. 

I also have my "tips" on my web site for the QSI and more to come. 

Regards, Greg


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## Chip (Feb 11, 2008)

DecoderPro seems to be the open source standard in smaller gauges. I find it helpful.

The forums for it and for the SPROG programmer that you can use with it are useful.

The UI is not for your mother-in-law, it is made for bit-twiddling. 


As people adopt DCC, a shared library would be good in large scale. As I mix manufacturer's products,

it would help on the learning curve. 



Chip


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

As Chip points out, there are many differences between manufacturers. A member in our local club brought me his loco to do some programming on--it had a Digitrax decoder (can't recall the exact number...583 maybe). It was the first digitrax decoder I'd ever seen, and I found the user manual tough to figure out, and the factory settings were almost unusable. Instead of having to reinvent the wheel it would have been nice to go to a known library to get it close to start with. 
BTW Chip, the 'bit-twiddling' term is a classic! 

Keith


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