Thanks, Roy! I agree, it's not very fun. I even find that if I speed match locomotives together and then change other qualities like load compensation, I have to speed match all over again. So it's sort of tedious. Like you said, it's much more fun when locomotives run perfectly out of the box. -Cam

you would likely find in a true consist the 40-2's would likely be the shunters and wouldn't provide power at all you would likely running ace's as the drive unit and the 40-2's tow alongs or pushers

I started with the EZ Command too, idk why they're marketed to people who want to do DCC stuff, all it does is let you controll speed, direction, and a couple sound buttons. They suck lol

I'm glad to hear that! -Cam

Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful. I'm finally getting around to actually doing this with all of my locomotives. -Cam

There are other videos that get into the basics. He kept on point, which I appreciate.

Awesome! Glad this was helpful. -Cam

Thanks, Steve! And that would be a great video to do. I actually don't have JMRI set up on any of my computers yet. That's something that I plan to do, so at that time I will make a video. -Cam

No problem! I'm glad it's helpful. And no, the locomotives don't have to run flawlessly to speed match them. They'll get programmed in the same way that your nice running units do. So it's not like you're going to harm anything if some of your locomotives run worse than others. It's more of an unprototypical annoyance than anything. -Cam

Cam, that's true. And thanks for the tip.

Thanks man! Glad you liked it. -Cam

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed. The only CVs between CV 2 and 6 are CV 3 and 4 which only control acceleration and deceleration, respectively. The only way to affect the speed curve between start speed (CV2) and mid speed (CV6) is to set the voltage for each individual speed step. It's easy enough to do with programming software; not so much on a DCC throttle. Hope that answers your question. -Cam

Thanks I ended up trimming back CV2 slightly to 1 and CV 6 up to 90 (Bowser defaults them to 3 and 88). That took care of the surge at around speedstep 25 of 99. Still some initial back and forth right off the start but I've seen that with real units when they first start so no big deal. Thanks again.

Absolutely! I frequently run consists of different models and makes. I mix Athearn, InterMountain, KATO, Scaletrains, and Walthers. There are certainly mechanical differences, but honestly the biggest influence on being able to run locomotives together is the decoder. I have a mixture of decoder makes and can run them all together well, but it would certainly streamline things if you have the same decoder type across all locomotives (such as ESU). However, it's certainly not necessary. -Cam

Thanks, David! Yeah, this approach is very simple and quick, and it works perfectly. To answer your questions, yes, it still works very well. I should've mentioned that in the video, but the three locomotives I was running were all different brands and there were two different decoders: Digitrax and Tsunami. So this is a universal way to speed match because CV 2, 5, and 6 are an NMRA standard. -Cam

@@TorryGood i used the seconds count app on Android and entered speed steps 10 through to 100 into z21 app. It works perfectly and is free

Thank you! I actually consisted them together so that I could change the CVs independently. If you program them to the same address/ID, any CV change will register under both units. I did a separate video on consisting, if you want help with that. -Cam

As long as it runs slowly and to your liking, that shouldn't be an issue. Decoders use what's called BEMF to automatically modulate motor input. This allows the motor to run smoothly at low speeds and to compensate for any resistance it encounters. This is great for low speed operation, but when you want to create consists, it's advantageous to turn this feature down. Which CVs are used and how that feature behaves varies from decoder to decoder, but it's likely that the high CV 2 value is a result of BEMF being turned down. I run all of my locomotives this way, which means CV 2 usually is a bit higher (in the 5-15 range) to get the locomotive moving smoothly. -Cam

Yes, assuming that the 3-point speed curve feature is enabled (it usually should be by default), changing the start, mid, and max voltage will automatically interpolate all of the steps in between. So 3/4 speed should be the difference between 1/2 and full throttle. Hope that helps! -Cam

Believe it or not, all 3 of those locos come from different manufacturers (Intermountain, KATO, and Athearn) with 2 different decoders (Digitrax, and Soundtraxx). So I would think you shouldn't have any problems with your mix of manufacturers. -Cam

Good question! I was just using my NCE Powercab handheld throttle. I've used Digitrax before, but I don't exactly remember the buttons you have to press to change CVs. -Cam

It certainly should. The CVs in this video are NMRA standards, so almost all decoders should use them. -Cam

Hi, Ron! Yes, I've long been intrigued by the RailPro system. It's something I'd love to get into at some point. I still see advantages to DCC systems, but it's mainly to do with the proliferation of DCC products. Yet, with the way that I generally operate with my own equipment by myself, I probably wouldn't suffer at all with a switch to the RailPro system. Good suggestion. -Cam

It was supposed to be 2.5%, but in a few short places it's closer to 2.7%. That's only along the upper level mountain grade. The lower level still has a significant grade, but it's much more subtle (closer to 1.2%). -Cam

Yes because the worm gear they have

I see what you're saying, but there isn't really any flaw. What we're doing here is really just syncing the running characteristics across a speed range. These are all different locomotives, with different decoders that come programmed from the factory a certain way. While some will have overall lower pulling power than others, that's often a combination of weight and gearing in addition to the actual motor. So I'm not extremely concerned with the maximum output of the motor because it's top speed is often greater than the prototype's. As long as the top speeds of the locomotives are prototypical and synced, I think it's ok to rerate the voltage down to a level that achieves that goal. But I really appreciate the input! -Cam

I wan't thinking of max power though by the indication of the speed step and likely output power you may not get them to the exact same power level, and trying to create a pseudo power profile defeats the purpose of what you are trying to achieve here.. even at half to 1/4 the speed 1 has more power than the other go back an watch your own video and you will understand where I was coming from in terms of actual power between the 2 units of mismatch power.. you may want to do a current draw on both units to understand what i initially said..

Ok, yes I think I better understand what you were saying, and I totally agree that it would be nice to upgrade weaker power units. I'm really not trying to argue that speed matching is the ultimate fix. The purpose of this video was just to visually communicate how to sync different locomotives to run smoothly together without pulling against each other too hard. Speed matching does not address the power differences, but it does take into account the other aspects of the drivetrain such as the gears and wheel diameter. That said, I do agree with you and understand what you're saying. -Cam

Oooh, I forgot to add that I think load compensation and BEMF will make up for some voltage derating in a situation with a heavy load. So there isn't a complete loss of performance when derating a more powerful motor or decoder.

Yes, you are correct, and I see what you're saying. Around the 8 minute mark, it does seem like I'm suggesting that locomotives from the factory come with different CV values and that's the only thing differentiating them. Of course, if that were true, the answer to that would be to just program in the same CV values for all locomotives. So, that's not what I was trying to suggest, but it was a bit confusing. I started the video explaining what a 3-point speed curve is relative to a single locomotive (in which case the whiteboard does make sense), but then I started using it to explain how 3 locomotives might behave. I probably should've redone the y-axis and erased the absolute CV values on each of the curves. However, I think most people found it fairly clear because later I did explain that we're not matching CVs. We're matching speeds by understanding the speed differential between two locomotives and then adjusting the CVs directionally on one of them and relative to the other. I think it certainly helps to pick a common locomotive, but I think most people who would watch this video (including myself), don't have enough locomotives to have a "common" or "oddball" locomotive. However, it is a good point about picking a baseline locomotive that makes life easier when programming the rest of the fleet. I've found that I don't really know what locomotive that is until I start programming, and it's really dependent on decoder and less on the locomotive manufacturer. As for your starting speed step, I like how you do it, but at least for the locomotives I've had, that hasn't been a possibility without changing other drive characteristic CVs. For example, a CV 2 value of 1 might cause the lead locomotive in this video to hesitate and lunge in speed step one, but a value of 2 might be perfect. In other words, because a lot of decoder manufacturers program BEMF or load control to 100% from the factory, starting smoothly in speed step 1 is the only option. Of course, consists run better with lower BEMF, and that also gives you the option to start a few speed steps higher. I just didn't want to open that can of worms in this video because I had originally planned for this to be a multi-part series. Anyway, these are good points you make, and maybe I should return to this subject with them in mind. I'm also curious, you say that your locomotives don't start immediately in speed step 1, so I'm assuming that you have adjusted BEMF down to make that possible. If this is the case, do they always smoothly start up, or do they ever lunge when you reach the right speed step? I've had a lot of fun on my mountainous layout with cranking load control/BEMF way down because it really takes quite a bit of throttle to get a heavy train started, but occasionally when I reach the "voltage potential" to get the train moving, the consist lunges before quickly leveling out at a slow start speed. -Cam