Zimo Decoders And Competitor Systems - ZIMO MX638 Series Instruction Manual

Non-Sound Decoder MX600 - MX638 and Sound Decoder MX640 - MX659
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ZIMO decoders and competitor systems

All Zimo decoders comply with NMRA standards and recommended practices and can be used on
layouts with other brands of NMRA compliant systems.
What most systems of other manufacturers have in common, in contrast to ZIMO systems, is that
track power is not stabilized or only partly stabilized and often relatively weak (both in regards to volt-
age and amperage). This can lead to uneven speeds and/or limited top speed because Zimo decod-
ers are of course programmed by default to operate on stabilized and regulated track power from a
Zimo command station of up to 24V.
It is recommended in such cases to:
- change CV #57 (reference voltage) from "0" (automatic regulation based on given track voltage) to a
fixed voltage. For example: "140" for a DCC system with a typical track voltage of 16 - 18V. In this
case 14V will be used as reference, which leaves a certain safety margin during voltage drops. This
does not apply to MX62 decoders, where a fixed value is always used.
ZIMO decoder with Lenz "DIGITAL plus" from software version 2.0
This system uses 28 speed steps beginning with version 2.0 and 128 steps with version 3.0 and up. It
also programs in direct mode according to NMRA DCC standards and is therefore fully compatible
with Zimo decoders.
All Zimo decoders are set to 28 speed steps by default. Make sure the system is also set to 28 steps
for the decoder address in question. Incompatibility will be the result if the speed steps between de-
coder and system do not agree with each other; which is most often noticed by non-working head-
lights. It would only make sense to switch the system from 14 steps to 28 or 128 speed steps, since
setting the decoder back to 14 steps would result in an unnecessary poor drivability.
All configuration variables are accessible; see the cab manual in question for programming proce-
dures. The address is located in the registry's position #1.
The configuration variables #49 to #54 will have no effect, since the signal controlled speed influence
is only supported by Zimo systems.
ZIMO decoder with ROCO Lokmaus-2
Although the Lokmaus-2 allows CV programming, its display is limited to two digits only and therefore limits
the number of CV's and their values to 99.
Zimo decoders offer a special pseudo-programming feature with CV #7 (that normally stores the software
version number) to allow unrestricted programming. It is called pseudo-programming because the perma-
nently stored value in CV #7 cannot be overwritten but rather holds a temporary value that allows the Lok-
mouse2 to be used for expanded programming capabilities (see CV table); the engine must not be running
during the programming procedure!
Example:
To enter a value of 160 (which is not possible with a Lokmouse-2 because value is >99) to CV #5
(max. speed) proceed as follows:
First program CV #7 to 1, followed immediately by setting CV #5 to 60. No power interruptions be-
tween those steps are allowed. Explanation: The value 1 in CV #7 actually 01 (tens digit=0 and ones
digit=1) causes the decoder to add 100 to the CV value that will be entered in the next programming
step. Therefore, a value of 60 entered to CV #5 with the Lokmouse2 is stored as 160!
Example:
To program CV #122 (exponential deceleration), for example, with a value of 25 do the following:
Again, go to CV #7 and enter a value of 10, then go to CV #22 and enter a value of 25.
Explanation: CV #7 = 10. The 1 in the tens digit causes the decoder to add 100 to the CV address in
the following programming step. As a result, CV #122 will be programmed instead of CV #22!
ZIMO decoder with DIGITRAX Chief
No problems expected with this system!
The Digitrax system usually operates at 28 or 128 speed steps. If for some reason the headlights don't work,
confirm that indeed the system and the decoder are set to the same number of speed steps and if neces-
sary, change the speed steps at your cab to 28 or 128 steps.
Special procedures for DCC systems with limited CV range:
Configuration variables #266 to #500 are used for the selection and allocation of sound samples as well
as other settings. Programming CV's in this range is no problem for high-level systems (such as the current
ZIMO DCC systems) both in "service mode" or "operations mode".
There are however many DCC systems in use (some still in production) that can only access CV's up to
#255 or even worse to #127 or CV #99.
For such applications, ZIMO decoders offer an alternative way of reaching higher CV's via lower numbers.
This is done with an initial "Pseudo-Programming" of
CV #7 = 110 or = 120 or = 130
which increases the CV numbers about to be accessed by 100 or 200. For example:
If programming CV #266 = 45 is not possible, programming CV #7 = 110 followed by CV #166 = 45 executes
the desired programming of CV #266 = 45
or
if neither CV #266 = 45 nor CV #166 = 45 is possible, programming CV #7 = 120 followed by CV #66 = 45
also leads to the result of CV #266 = 45.
The initial CV #7 – "Pseudo-Programming" state – remains active for further programming (which means CV
#267 is entered as #167, CV #300 as #200 and so on) until the decoder is powered down. ATTENTION: Af-
ter re-booting the system, the "Pseudo-Programming" is lost, that is programming CV #166 is indeed ac-
cessing CV #166 again. See below to prevent this!
The "Pseudo-Programing" can also be stopped without power interruption with
CV #7 = 0
which means that the programming reverts back to the original CV #166.
Using as an initial "Pseudo-Programming"
CV #7 = 210 or 220
achieves the same results as above but remains active even after the system is powered down. This state
can only be cancelled with
CV #7 = 0,
which is important to remember in order to program lower CV's again.
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