Digitrax

Manufacturer: Digitrax

Summary: Manufacturer of a complete line of DCC products – Everything from Starter Sets to function, multifunction and accessory decoders.

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General information
Phone	+1-850-872-9890
Fax	+1-850-872-9557
Email
Main URL	Main URL
URL to manuals	Product Manuals
Address	Digitrax, Inc. 2443 Transmitter Rd Panama City, FL 32404-3157 USA
Date Opened	1993
Date Closed
Successor
Device Types	Other, Booster, Command Station, Mobile Decoder, Power Supply, Stationary Decoder, Throttle

Getting started with Digitrax

For those just getting started with Digitrax products, or want a quick over view, we highly suggest reading the Digitrax primer. It reviews basics the basics of the Digitrax system so that one can easily compare with other DCC systems out there.

Manufacturer ID # 129

Products Offered

Digitrax offers a large number of products. Please the Digitrax Products page for details.

Digitrax FAQs

Q: Digitrax PR4 and LocoNet

The PR4 should be on its own LocoNet segment, with no devices upstream or downstream sharing the connection.

If other devices are connected (daisy chained) to it, the unit may become unstable and lockup when changing from Programming to LocoNet modes.

Ideally, it should connect directly to the command station's LocoNet port.

Edit FAQ Related Articles: Computer Interface, Decoder Programming, LocoNet, LocoNet Termination Related Manufacturer: Digitrax Categories: Computer Interface, Programming, Throttle Network

Q: My Train Keeps Stopping

If a train, that for no obvious reason, suddenly comes to a stop and adjusting the throttle causes it to resume its journey, the likely cause is two throttles are sharing the same address.

Some DCC systems allow two throttles to control a single address for the purpose of operator training, creating consists, and other functions. Digitrax uses the term Steal to indicate that the address is currently in use, and the operator can choose to take (steal) control of the address or not.

The second throttle is often referred to as a Ghost or Phantom Throttle. A product of poor operator discipline, as someone hasn't cleared that address from their throttle during a previous operating session, or earlier in the current session. That throttle is set to a zero or non-zero speed, and will regularly be polled by the command station. When that happens the ghost throttle overrides the throttle in use.

Digitrax DCC Systems:

Every throttle, which is a LocoNet device, creates a slot when it selects a locomotive's address. The slot associates the throttle with that address.
Variables such as speed, direction and active functions are written to that slot by the throttle. This allows the throttle to be disconnected from LocoNet without impacting the operation of a train.
- This also allows a throttle to control multiple trains independently using multiple slots. Another throttle can steal an address, which creates a new slot associated with the second throttle.
There are two slots assigned to that locomotive's address. One slot is set to speed zero. At some point the command station will refresh the slots. It reads the slot which is set to zero speed and sends a packet addressed to your locomotive telling it the speed is zero…

JMRI can help by using the slot monitor to clear all unused slots, or to release a specific slot.

See the article about dispatching for more details.

Q: Addressing Conflicts between DCC Systems

There can be conflicts between address modes and DCC systems.

A common one is a restricted range: Lenz restricted their Primary Address range to 99. Some low cost, basic DCC starter sets limit the total addresses to ten or less. Which is perfectly acceptable, providing that limitation is clearly identified on the package and in the instructions.

Another is how the manufacturer interpreted the Extended Address range: Most use 128 as the beginning of the Extended Address range and their software works according. NCE allows values between 1 and 127 to be used as Extended Addresses, whereas most other manufacturers do not.

Digitrax's implementation of Extended Addresses ends at 9985, many other DCC systems allow addresses up to 10,240.

Conflicts usually occur in the Primary Address space, either caused by the limited range or the use of those addresses as an extended address.

Edit FAQ Related Articles: Address Range Related Manufacturer: NCE, Digitrax Categories: Command Station, DCC

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