Addressing the Hare with a Digitrax Zephyr

Gerr

New Member
Hello; first post for me here.

I've recently added the Hare ( http://dccspecialties.com/products/hare-ng.htm
) New Generation stationary decoder to my new layout. It goes without saying that I'm also using Tortoise switch motors since the Hare is designed for use with it.

I can't say that any part of installing these was difficult (other then threading the tortoise's wire through the little hole in the turnout and connecting it to the tortoise (I found it easy to go top-down when space allowed). This can be complicated when the placement is tight due to table construction. However, I am having some technical difficulties in setting the Hare's address and then programming the CVs. The procedure I am following seems to work half the time and fail the other half. This is preventing me from attempting to set routes (I believe this feature to be more complex to setup).

If you are familiar with the procedure for programming the Hare, please help correct what I am doing wrong--especially if you have a Zephyr system, too.

Addressing:

Turn on the Zephyr.
Set one Hare to Programming mode (involves switching a jumper on the device)
Apply power to the track (power button on Zephyr).
Press switch button
Press numbers to define address, say 101
Press 'c' or 't' (clear or throw)
Remove power from rail
Reset Hare jumper

The manual says that sending a command to an address should be enough to define the address for the decoder.

Programming:

Turn on Zephyr
Set one Hare to programming mode
Apply power to the track
Press prog button several times until OPS is displayed.
Hit the CV button
Hit the numbers for the CV to program
Hit CV
Hit numbers to set the value of the CV
Hit CVWR to write the value
Remove power from track
Move Hare jumper back to run mode

When I follow this procedure, periodically, the Hare gets addressed as a value that it shouldn't be, so going to Switch mode, punching in the address and saying 'clear' or 'throw' results in no joy. When I attempt to set other CV values such as throw speed, startup default position, etc, the Hare sometimes leaves this state on an address that I don't know. (Who knows if the CVs are set right since I can't use the device at this point :)

Any insight anyone can lend would be greatly appreciated. The route setting options are looming on the horizon, but until I can get this black box firmly under my control, I fear treading into those settings.
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
I do have a Zephyr, but no swtich machines yet... Have you tried the Digitrax Yahoo group?

Andrew
 

Gerr

New Member
Thanks, Andrew. I had not found the digitrax group on Yahoo(!) yet, but I did find this post after learning about it: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digitrax/message/100418

The advice provided is at the end of the thread. "Each time you move the Hare jumper to Program mode, it wipes out the switch address (since Zephyr SENDS addresses at power-up and the Hare dutifully records it). So, you have to reset CV63 to 0, exit OPS mode, then select the switch address you want all over again, and send out a Clear or Throw command to that address. Then the Hare records the proper address that it got."

This doesn't seem optimal, so I'm going to keep looking.
 
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