Low Cost DCC Frequent Questions

This page contains frequent questions related to the Low Cost DCC Controller.

Answers may also be found on the LC-DCC forum.

Windows 10 USB3 communications not working
Check the status of the USB port using the Windows 10 device manager. If the port is displayed as not working or not started then try and turn off Windows 10 USB power management, this link can help. Also try using a USB HUB to connect to the LC-DCC controller.

Potentiometers do not seem to work
Use a terminal and the LC-DCC commands ?ADC, ?POT1, ?POT2, ?POT3, ?POT4 to check the ADC and potentiometer status. When first powered the LC-DCC system needs to measure the maximum volatge so set all potentiometers to maximum position before powering the LC-DCC system. The LC-DCC system will however automatically check the maximum volatge if not set (i.e. potentiometer not at maximum setting). Once the maximum voltage has been established the potentiometer is enabled and ready for use. If you set the engine address for the potentiomter or command an emergency stop then the potentiometer MUST BE MOVED TO THE CENTER (zero speed) position before the potentiometer will become active.

CV Values are always read as zero in Service Mode
Check connections to programming track are good. Check power supply is on.

CV Values are read but appear incorrect
Check connections to programming track are good.

Engine moves during CV reading & writing
This is common as the engine powers the motor to signal acknowledge back to the DCC controller.

Hornby R8247 Decoder Not Working
These decoders can use four separate addresses for the four decoder point coil outputs. So when adding point controls to the track control layout you must add for each output two controls. One control direction must be set to 0 and the other set to 1 but they must have the same address. Also if the R8247 is programmed with a Hornby Select DCC controller, the address set on the controller will not be the DCC decoder address. For example if you program 61 on the Select controller this will program DCC decoder address 17 followed by 18, 19 and 20 for the four outputs. If the R8247 is used in one address mode then the output ports are switched by setting an accessory decoder value of 0/1 for output 1, 2/3 for output 2, 4/5 for output 3 and 6/7 for output 4. When programming decoder addresses using the DCC controller software remember to take one from the actual address you required before programming CV1 as the address range is 1..512 but the CV address range starts at zero (for address 1).

M3/M4 Software Not Working
Verify using the programming tools that the software has been loaded into flash. Look at the board LED and reset the board. The board LED should flash once second after power up in IDLE state.

INA219 Error
If on any screen where the track current is displayed a message appears saying “NO-INA219” this indicates that the INA219 is not connected correctly to the processor board. The INA219 is however optional and is only needed in service mode to read CV values and to perform current overload detection.

Learning DCC Concepts Accessory Decoder Address Programming
On the track control screen there is a popup menu for sending accessory commands to an address to allow configuration of learning DCC Concepts accessory decoders. This should be done before any train control is attempted or the menu will become disabled.

TermTerm Or Windows Software Not Communicating With DCC Controller
Try re-installing the driver for the serial port being used on Windows.